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
History of Hamburg shot or eaten. A popular belief (omen) is that Hamburg will be free and hanseatic as long as swans are living on the Alster river. On 5 August 1284 a great fire destroyed all but one residential house in Hamburg. The first description of civil, criminal and procedural law for a city in Germany in German language, the "Ordeelbook" ("Ordeel": sentence) was written by the solicitor of the senate "Jordan von Boitzenburg" in 1270. In 1350 the "Black Death", one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, struck in Hamburg killing more than 6,000, half of the city's population. Two