Hamburg is known as the “Gateway to the World.” This cosmopolitan and historic port city on the Elbe River—with access to the North Sea—is an important center of the 21st-century global economy. With 1.9 million inhabitants, Hamburg is Germany's second-largest city.
Shipping routes, highways, railways, and airways: the city is located at a number of transport hubs connecting Scandinavia, Western, Eastern, and Southern Europe. Aviation is an important industry, employing almost 40,000 people.