Current Time in Altona, Germany

Altona lies on the northern bank of the Elbe in the west of Hamburg, forming one of the seven boroughs of the city-state. It stretches from the harbour and the fish market along the river westwards past parks, villa quarters and steep wooded slopes to the elegant suburb of Blankenese, where the Elbe widens towards the North Sea. The climate is mild and maritime, with cool summers, grey damp winters and the wind and shifting light that come with life beside a great estuary.

About two hundred and eighty thousand people live in the borough, which makes it comparable in size to a substantial German city in its own right. That is no accident: Altona was an independent city for centuries and only became part of Hamburg in 1938.

Its history is unusual. From 1640 the town belonged to the Danish crown as part of Holstein, and Denmark deliberately made it a place of religious tolerance and free trade in order to compete with its powerful Hanseatic neighbour. Jews, Mennonites, Huguenots and Catholics who were unwelcome in Hamburg settled here, and Altona grew into a prosperous port and manufacturing town. Local legend explains the name as meaning all too near, the complaint of Hamburg merchants about a rival on their doorstep. Prussian rule followed in 1867, industry and shipbuilding expanded, and the borough was heavily bombed during the Second World War.

The Altonaer Balkon, a terrace above the river, gives one of the finest views in Hamburg, looking down on container ships and cranes across the water. Below it runs the promenade to Övelgönne, with its museum harbour of historic vessels, small sailors' houses and the famous beach café where people sit on the sand and watch the ships pass. The Sunday fish market, trading since 1703, is a Hamburg institution where stallholders, brass bands and late-night revellers meet at dawn.

The borough is rich in architecture and culture. The classicist boulevard of Palmaille was laid out by the Danish architect Christian Frederik Hansen, the old town hall is a converted nineteenth-century railway station, and the Altonaer Museum holds outstanding collections on the culture of northern Germany and its coastal peoples. Jenisch Park, with its neoclassical villa and modern art house, is among the loveliest green spaces in the city, and the steep staircase quarter of Blankenese has an almost Mediterranean charm.

Ottensen, a former industrial district, has become one of Hamburg's most attractive neighbourhoods, full of cafés, cinemas, small theatres, organic markets and converted factory buildings. Altona is one of the most diverse parts of the city, with large Turkish, Portuguese, Iranian and Balkan communities, a strong alternative tradition and a football club, Altona 93, whose supporters are fiercely loyal.

Transport is excellent. Altona station is a major terminus for regional and long-distance trains, several S-Bahn lines and bus routes cross the borough, and ferries on the Elbe count as public transport.

Altona is popular for its river views, its markets, its independent spirit and the memory of a town that was once Denmark's rival to Hamburg.