Hamburg 2010. Hamburg Hamburg (; ; officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg; ; Low German/Low Saxon: "Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg") is the second-largest city in Germany with a population of over 1.8 million. One of Germany's 16 federal states, it is surrounded by Schleswig-Holstein to the north and Lower Saxony to the south. The city's metropolitan region is home to more than five million people. Hamburg lies on the River Elbe and two of its tributaries, the River Alster and the River Bille. The official name reflects Hamburg's history as a member of the medieval Hanseatic League and a
Accession of Hamburg to the German Customs Union (Zollverein) by Hamburg. Thus Hamburg consumers had lower prices than consumers within the union. The German imperial constitution of 1871 brought no change in the legal situation of Hamburg and Bremen. Article 34 (and related provisions) went into the new constitution. After Hamburg had agreed to the constitution of the North German Federation, negotiations were held between November 1867 and March 1868 on the size of the free area. It was agreed that this would cover the Hamburg urban area, but not the outlying areas, including Ritzebuttel, Bergedorf and the Vierland (which were a condominium with Lübeck until January 1868), Waldvörfer,