Hamburg 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 free
Berlin–Hamburg Railway Berlin–Hamburg Railway The Berlin–Hamburg Railway () is a roughly long railway line for passenger, long-distance and goods trains. It was the first high-speed line upgraded in Germany to be capable of handling train speeds of over (up to 230 km/h). This line also has the fastest journey times between two German cities with average speeds of around 190 km/h (). The line built by the "Berlin-Hamburg Railway Company", work starting on 6 May 1844, and was taken into service on 15 December 1846. It was then the longest trunk route in the German states, and ran from Berlin's Hamburg station