Factsheet
Hamburg in Numbers
Hamburg has a total area of 755.30 square kilometres, the port of Hamburg covers an area of 74.4 square kilometres, the Alster Lake has an area of 1.6 square kilometres and Ohlsdorf Cemetery (Europe’s largest cemetery) has an area of 4 square kilometres.
Green Areas in Hamburg
Hamburg has approximately 3,000 hectares of parks, around 270 hectares of playgrounds, 1,900 hectares of allotments, some 900 hectares of municipal cemeteries and around 245,000 trees on the streets.
Easy Accessability
Hamburg has 1,460 state parks. They extend over an area of 3,000 hectares; 99% of Hamburg residents live within 300 metres of a local public transport stop and 89% of Hamburg’s population live within 300 metres of a park.
Test Line
The green bus line 109 is powered by alternative propulsion technologies and runs between the city centre and Alsterdorf. The fuel cell bus converts hydrogen into electricity. It is purely electric on Hamburg's roads and emits only water vapour, no pollutants. The fuel cell bus refuels its hydrogen supply at the hydrogen filling station in HafenCity.
Innovative Transport System
The well-developed local transport network of the Hamburg Transport Association (HVV) with its buses, ferries, suburban rail (S-Bahn) and underground (U-Bahn) is complemented by a wide range of car hire and bicycle rental options. To fully benefit from the various means of transport, Hamburg has developed a unique mobility concept that is found nowhere else in Germany: Switchh is an app that helps users when selecting the best mode of transport while out and about.
Green Roof Strategy
Hamburg was the first major German city to launch a comprehensive green roof strategy. Its goal is to green at least 70 percent of both new buildings and suitable flat or low-slope roofs to be renovated. The Hamburg Ministry for the Environment, Climate, Energy and Agriculture is supporting the project with 3.5 million euros until 2024. The grants can be applied for at the Hamburg Investment and Development Bank (IFB Hamburg). The green roof strategy was adopted by the Senate in April 2014.
Germany's first ark region
The ark project certificates commendable farms like the Elbe riverscape with 26 companies. In the biosphere reserve Elbtalaue, citizens and farming companies founded the first ark region in Germany, where old, endangered animals get a new home.
Biosphere Reserves in the Hamburg Metropolitain Region
Five out of the fifteen German UNESCO biosphere reserves are located in the Hamburg Metropolitain Region: These are the Schaalsee biosphere reserve, Elbe river landscape, as well as the Wadden Sea, which accounts for three as it is situated in the three federal states of Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and lower Saxony.