Current Time in Hamburg-Mitte, Germany

Hamburg-Mitte is the central borough of Hamburg, the second largest city in Germany, spread along both banks of the Elbe some hundred kilometres inland from the North Sea. It takes in the historic core of the city, the vast working port, the island districts in the middle of the river and, remarkably, a tiny island far out in the North Sea that belongs administratively to the borough. The maritime climate brings mild winters, cool summers, frequent wind and a good deal of rain.

Around three hundred thousand people live in Hamburg-Mitte, and it is here that visitors find nearly everything the wider city of nearly two million is famous for. The port of Hamburg is among the busiest in Europe and has been the foundation of the city's wealth since it joined the Hanseatic League in the Middle Ages, a heritage still reflected in the official title of the Free and Hanseatic City.

The borough contains the Altstadt and Neustadt, the old and new towns, whose canals, bridges and brick warehouses give Hamburg more waterways than Venice and Amsterdam combined. The Speicherstadt, an entire district of neo Gothic warehouses standing on oak piles above narrow canals, is the largest such complex in the world and, together with the nearby Kontorhaus office quarter and its celebrated Chilehaus with a prow like corner resembling a ship, is protected as a World Heritage site. Beside them rises the Elbphilharmonie, a concert hall of glass waves set on top of an old cocoa warehouse, which since opening in 2017 has become the symbol of the modern city and offers a free public plaza with sweeping views.

The neo Renaissance city hall with its copper spire, the church of St Michael known affectionately as the Michel, the lakes of the Alster in the heart of town and the Landungsbrücken piers where harbour ferries and cruise ships come and go are all within walking distance. St Pauli and its Reeperbahn form Germany's most famous entertainment quarter, a place of theatres, music clubs and nightlife where the Beatles served their apprenticeship in the early 1960s. On Sunday mornings the fish market opens before dawn with brass bands and shouting traders. Miniatur Wunderland, the largest model railway in the world, has become one of Germany's most visited attractions.

South of the river lie Wilhelmsburg and Veddel, one of the largest inhabited river islands in Europe, with a diverse population and ambitious regeneration projects, while HafenCity is transforming former docks into one of the biggest urban development schemes on the continent, complete with its own university.

Transport is excellent, with underground and suburban railways, buses, harbour ferries, a main station used by hundreds of thousands daily and an airport to the north. Several universities and colleges have campuses in the borough.

Hamburg-Mitte is essential to any visit to northern Germany, combining a great port, outstanding architecture, music and an unmistakable maritime spirit.