All of the cities that we will be seeing in northern Germany are port cities which went to the Protestant side during the Reformation. Most of the cities in northwestern Europe banded together in the later Middle Ages to form a cooperative union known as the Hanseatic League.
The second-largest city in Germany is Hamburg. Germany is divided into sixteen states. Three cities are states unto themselves. We have already visited Berlin, Germany's largest city which is one of the cities that is a state unto itself. The two others are in northern Germany, Hamburg and Bremen.
Hamburg has been an independent, or semi-independent, city-state for much of it's history. Hamburg began with a northern castle that was founded by Charlemagne shortly after he was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor. Remember that the -burg suffix in German place names signifies a castle, but -berg signifies a hill or mountain, as in iceberg.
Hamburg grew through medieval times into an important port city. But it's accessibility from the sea also made it a target of Viking raids. Many people who immigrated to North America from northern and eastern Europe actually sailed from Hamburg. Hamburg is on the Elbe River, which leads to the North Sea.
Ships are very important to Hamburg. The first of the following six images from Google Earth show the numerous canals and channels across Hamburg. The red dot is the location of the City Hall. The pattern is not like that of Amsterdam, where the canals form concentric rings. The next three images show numerous shipping containers being loaded or unloaded by crane. The final two images show a ship being worked on in drydock.






Hamburg, of course, brings the question of it's relationship to the hamburger. Does the idea of putting a slab of meat on a bun come from Hamburg? Everyone seems to have a different opinion on where the hamburger comes from.
I don't know why North America calls it a hamburger. It is not made of ham, it is made of beef. In Europe it is called a beefburger. With so many Moslems, as well as Jews, wouldn't it be better to not call it a hamburger, which makes it seem as if it is made of ham?
Anyway, these scenes of central Hamburg begin at it's impressive City Hall or Rathaus. In so many German cities, the Rathaus and the cathedral are on the main square at the center of the city. These four images, from Google Earth and Street View, show the City Hall of Hamburg.
These eight images, from Google Earth and Street View, are of central Hamburg.
There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >, After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.





















https://www.google.com/maps/@53.6771851,10.2400112,3a,75y,220h,110t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNXe9wxyJbDUWr6tgf9iJ_cTJ6C9eZoczYh505P!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNXe9wxyJbDUWr6tgf9iJ_cTJ6C9eZoczYh505P%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-20-ya102-ro-0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352Bremen is the other city in northern Germany that is a state unto itself. Like Hamburg, Bremen is a port city on a river, the Weser River, that links to the North Sea. Like so many German cities it has a medieval Rathaus, the City Hall, on the main square of the city, with the cathedral or major church nearby.
During the days of the Holy Roman Empire, some city squares had statues of a knight of Charlemagne named Roland. This knight was a legend in much of Europe during the Middle Ages.
The following scenes begin in the central square with the Rathaus and Bremen's Roland. The first two of the following six images from Google Street View are of the City Hall and the third is of the statue.






https://www.google.com/maps/@53.0757911,8.8073733,3a,75y,316.28h,101.56t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipO8k5fvW2pQDUHearDoaSrUzUtNN3InxOHdbkGD!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipO8k5fvW2pQDUHearDoaSrUzUtNN3InxOHdbkGD%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya130.86864-ro-0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352Lubeck is yet another important port city going back to the early Middle Ages. What differentiates Lubeck from Hamburg and Bremen is that Lubeck faces the Baltic Sea, rather than the North Sea. Facing the North Sea is better for access to western Europe and the Atlantic Ocean. But Lubeck is in a better location to access Russia, eastern Europe and Scandinavia by sea.
Lubeck today is especially known for it's picturesque Holstentor Gate, from the Fifteenth Century, to the old part of the city. These views of Lubeck begin inside St. Peter's Church. The first three of the following five images, of the old part of Lubeck, are of the Holstentor Gate.