Hamburg

Hamburg exists because Charlemagne needed a castle to defend against Slavic tribes in 808 CE—1,200 years later, that strategic position between the North Sea and Baltic Sea made it Germany's largest port and Europe's aerospace hub.

In 808 CE, Charlemagne ordered a castle built on the marshy land between the Alster and Elbe rivers, creating the Hammaburg (still visible in the city's coat of arms). In 1189, Frederick Barbarossa granted Hamburg Free Imperial City status, including tax-free passage down the Elbe to the North Sea—an early free-trade zone. The 1241 alliance between Hamburg and Lübeck founded the Hanseatic League, the trading confederation that dominated Northern European commerce for 300 years.

The League's decline didn't doom Hamburg; its position at the head of the Elbe estuary made it Germany's gateway to Atlantic trade. In 1888, Hamburg joined the German Customs Union but negotiated to keep its free port (Freihafen) for another 120 years. The city rebuilt twice: after the Great Fire of 1842 and after WWII firebombing destroyed 70% of its housing. The Speicherstadt warehouse district became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015.

Today Hamburg's €162 billion GDP (2024) and €84,486 GDP per capita make it Germany's wealthiest state—over 50% higher than the national average. The 1.86 million population makes it Germany's second-largest city and the EU's largest non-capital. The port, Germany's biggest and Europe's third-largest, handles 99% containers. Airbus employs 13,000+ at the Finkenwerder plant (world's third-largest civil aerospace site); Lufthansa Technik sets records; Beiersdorf is the only DAX company headquartered here.

By 2026, Hamburg's test will be whether its aerospace strength and Northern European gateway position can offset shipping disruption from decarbonization—the same container dominance that built modern Hamburg could face existential pressure from supply chain reshoring.