"Hamburg is the second-largest city of Germany and is generally taken to be commensurate to its state with a population of roughly 1.8 million people. The city has a wider associated area.
The official name reflects Hamburg's history as in turn a member of the medieval Hanseatic League, a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire, a city-state and becoming one of the 16 states of Germany. Before the 1871 Unification of Germany, it was a fully sovereign state. Prior to the constitutional changes in 1919 it formed a civic republic headed constitutionally by a class of hereditary grand burghers or Hanseaten. Repeatedly destruction has beset the city's history including the Great Fire of Hamburg, exceptional coastal flooding and military conflicts including WW2 bombing raids. Historians remark that the city has managed to recover and emerge wealthier after each catastrophe.
On the river Elbe, Hamburg has Europe's second-largest port yet has a wide corporate base. In media, broadcaster NDR, printing and publishing firm Gruner + Jahr and newspapers Der Spiegel and Die Zeit are based in the city. Hamburg remains an important financial centre, the seat of Germany's oldest stock exchange and the world's second oldest bank, Berenberg Bank. Media and retail-related, logistical and industrial headquarters and facilities include multi-nationals Airbus, Blohm + Voss, Aurubis, Beiersdorf, and Unilever.
The city is a forum for and has specialists in world economics and international law with such consular and diplomatic missions as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the EU-LAC Foundation and the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. Multipartite international political conferences and summits have in recent years included those between Europe and China and among the G20.
The city is a tourist destination domestically and internationally. It ranked 18th in the world for livability in 2016. Speicherstadt and Kontorhausviertel were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2015.
Hamburg is a major European science, research, and education hub, with several universities and institutes. Its creative industries and cultural sites include the Elbphilharmonie and Laeisz concert halls, art venues, music producers, and artists. It gave birth to movements like Hamburger Schule and paved the way for bands including The Beatles. Hamburg is also known for several theatres and a variety of musical shows. St. Pauli's Reeperbahn is among the best-known European entertainment districts."
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