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.
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.
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.
This is a new development in Hamburg, known as Hafen City.
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5401308,9.9950308,3a,75y,300h,110t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNVhERllzdYfhBziiYSNp7-FN_FyORlUPly621A!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNVhERllzdYfhBziiYSNp7-FN_FyORlUPly621A%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-20-ya324-ro-0-fo100!7i9728!8i4864
Here is the northern central city area of Hamburg.
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5577006,10.011948,3a,75y,39.67h,90t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1sPGjk_Z2S8M11gkDvweE_xw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DPGjk_Z2S8M11gkDvweE_xw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D26.223513%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100
This is north of the central city near Hamburg University.
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5726681,9.9864049,3a,75y,160h,110t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1sEkuXh6RKsnFohdECb5C6Yw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DEkuXh6RKsnFohdECb5C6Yw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D160%26pitch%3D-20%26thumbfov%3D100
Here is an area of suburban Hamburg, known as Duhlsberg.
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5830471,10.0658862,3a,75y,260h,100t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1s8YpMy811tGN9FQDJwcTkxw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D8YpMy811tGN9FQDJwcTkxw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D260%26pitch%3D-10%26thumbfov%3D100
This is Harburg, across the Elbe River from Hamburg.
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.4609578,9.9812524,3a,75y,100h,110t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPAqPCPFSg5CmpBh1vBbx5AdXD0Sd119d3wStRO!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPAqPCPFSg5CmpBh1vBbx5AdXD0Sd119d3wStRO%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-20-ya100-ro-0-fo100!7i12000!8i6000
Ahrensburg is a town to the northeast of Hamburg that was built around a medieval palace.
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!8i4352
Bremen 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.
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!8i4352
Lubeck 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
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.8658616,10.6831563,2a,75y,106.13h,90t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1sxEtS8dXOvGgAAAQvxWxilQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DxEtS8dXOvGgAAAQvxWxilQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D116.12696%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100
Kiel is a port city that belonged to Denmark during the Middle Ages. We saw in the posting on this blog, "The End Of The First World War" November 2018, the great historical impact of the mutiny of the sailors at Kiel at the end of the First World War. It doesn't get a lot of attention but there is a canal across the peninsula in the north of Germany so that ships can go between the North and Baltic Seas without going around Denmark. It is called the Kiel or Kaiser Wilhelm Canal.
https://www.google.com/maps/@54.3233533,10.1392417,3a,75y,110.13h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipMOVjRhQHGqMH07xMgfc9pSM8GBPCVCfxuHR9wA!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMOVjRhQHGqMH07xMgfc9pSM8GBPCVCfxuHR9wA%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya122.14493-ro-0-fo100!7i5376!8i2688
Rostock is the other city of northern Germany that has been an important port since Medieval Times. Like Kiel and Lubeck, it faces the Baltic Sea.
https://www.google.com/maps/@54.0886312,12.1402817,3a,75y,176.78h,100.83t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNXpefuYqzTNe9R9xZ5zZ9I3FJdu73r6kNz7qQK!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNXpefuYqzTNe9R9xZ5zZ9I3FJdu73r6kNz7qQK%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya93.80115-ro-0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352
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