The Metropolregion Hamburg (German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 for Hamburg Metropolitan Region) is the compilation of 8 rural district

Rural district

Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties.-England and Wales:In England...

s in the German federal state

States of Germany

Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...

 of Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...

, 6 district

District

Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...

s in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...

 and the city-state

City-state

A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...

 of Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

 in northern Germany

Northern Germany

- Geography :The key terrain features of North Germany are the marshes along the coastline of the North Sea and Baltic Sea, and the geest and heaths inland. Also prominent are the low hills of the Baltic Uplands, the ground moraines, end moraines, sandur, glacial valleys, bogs, and Luch...

. This area covers an area of ca 19,000 km² and is home to 4.266 million inhabitants.

History

On 1 January 2006, the office of the Hamburg metropolitan region opened, as agreed in a state treaty of cooperation (Staatsvertrag über Zusammenarbeit) between Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein.

Geography

In 2005, the Hamburg metropolitan region consisted of the city-state Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

, rural districts of Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...

, and districts of Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...

, with more than 800 cities, towns or municipalities. The region covered an area of 19802 km² (7,645.6 sq mi).

Bundesland	Rural district (Lower Saxony)	District (Schleswig-Holstein)
Hamburg Hamburg -History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
	Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (district) Cuxhaven is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Stade, Rotenburg, Osterholz and Wesermarsch, the city of Bremerhaven and the North Sea.- History :...	Dithmarschen Dithmarschen Dithmarschen is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Nordfriesland, Schleswig-Flensburg, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, and Steinburg, by the state of Lower Saxony , and by the North Sea.-Geography:The district is located on the North Sea...
	Harburg Harburg Harburg is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It takes its name from the town of Harburg upon Elbe, which used to be the capital of the district but is now part of Hamburg...	Lauenburg Lauenburg (district) Herzogtum Lauenburg is the southernmost Kreis, or district, of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bordered by the district of Stormarn, the city of Lübeck, the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern , the state of Lower Saxony , and the city state of Hamburg...
	Lüchow-Dannenberg Lüchow-Dannenberg Lüchow-Dannenberg is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany which is usually referred to as Hannoversches Wendland or Wendland. It is bounded by the districts of Uelzen and Lüneburg and the states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt Lüchow-Dannenberg is a district in...	Pinneberg Pinneberg (district) Pinneberg is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Steinburg and Segeberg, the city of Hamburg and the state of Lower Saxony .-History:...
	Lüneburg Lüneburg (district) Lüneburg is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Lüchow-Dannenberg, Uelzen, Heidekreis and Harburg, and the states of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania .-History:The Amt of Lüneburg appeared in 1862...	Segeberg Segeberg Segeberg is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Pinneberg, Steinburg and Rendsburg-Eckernförde, the city of Neumünster, the districts of Plön, Ostholstein and Stormarn, and the city state of Hamburg.-History:The history of the district is connected with the...
	Rotenburg Rotenburg (district) Rotenburg is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Stade, Harburg, Heidekreis, Verden, Osterholz and Cuxhaven.-History:...	Steinburg Steinburg Steinburg is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Dithmarschen, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, Segeberg and Pinneberg, and by the Elbe River .-History:...
	Soltau-Fallingbostel Soltau-Fallingbostel Heidekreis is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Harburg, Lüneburg, Uelzen, Celle, Hanover, Nienburg, Verden and Rotenburg.-History:...	Stormarn Stormarn Stormarn is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Segeberg and Ostholstein, the city of Lübeck, the district of Lauenburg, and the city-state of Hamburg.-History:...
	Stade Stade (district) Stade is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Harburg, Rotenburg and Cuxhaven, the Elbe River, and the city state of Hamburg.-History:...
	Uelzen Uelzen (district) Uelzen is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Gifhorn, Celle, Heidekreis, Lüneburg and Lüchow-Dannenberg, and by the state of Saxony-Anhalt...

Larger Urban Zone

The Hamburg Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) as defined by Eurostat's Urban Audit covers an area of 7,303 km² and in 2004 contained 3,134,620 inhabitants (pop. density 429/km²). The Larger Urban Zone covers the Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg and only the directly bordering districts:

• Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg (HH)
• Herzogtum Lauenburg (SH)
• Kreis Pinneberg
• Kreis Segeberg
• Kreis Stormarn
• Landkreis Harburg (NS)
• Landkreis Stade

External links

• Metropolregion Hamburg - official webpage