At the southern tip of the Jutland Peninsula , Hamburg stands on the branching River Elbe at the head of a km 68 mi estuary to the North Sea , on the mouth of the Alster and Bille. Hamburg is one of Germany's three city-states alongside Berlin and Bremen , and is surrounded by Schleswig-Holstein to the north and Lower Saxony to the south.
The local dialect is a variant of Low Saxon. The official name reflects Hamburg's history as a member of the medieval Hanseatic League and a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire.
Before the unification of Germany , it was a fully sovereign city state , and before formed a civic republic headed constitutionally by a class of hereditary Grand Burghers or Hanseaten.
Beset by disasters such as the Great Fire of Hamburg , North Sea flood of and military conflicts including World War II bombing raids , the city has managed to recover and emerge wealthier after each catastrophe.
Hamburg is the seat of Germany's oldest stock exchange and the world's oldest merchant bank , Berenberg Bank. Hamburg is also a major European science, research, and education hub , with several universities and institutions, including the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron Laboratory DESY.
