ABOUT: VPG-DVD-222 - HAMBURG Hamburg is a lively metropolis in the north of Germany and contains several green spaces, canals and lakes and provides a good standard of living for its inhabitants. Although known as a harbour city, Hamburg is located on the Elbe and is more than a hundred kilometres from the North Sea. Due to its huge river the sheltered harbour is accessible to large containerships. The Speicherstadt is part of the harbour and is the largest warehouse complex in the world and is crossed by canals that are known as fleets. It was once what amounted to a city of warehouses whose Gothic brick architecture with gables, pinnacles and arches created an extraordinary setting. The tower of St. Michaelis Church is lovingly known as 'Michel' and is one of the city's most famous landmarks and it is also one of the most beautiful Baroque buildings in the north of Germany, its white, grey and golden interior being particularly impressive. City Hall highlights the power of the autonomous Hansestadt Hamburg. This impressive building is supported by four thousand oak posts in the former swampland of the Alster. Hamburg is a green city on the water and gateway to the world: a European harbour that contains the spirit of distant lands!