# Hamburg Metropolitan Region

The Hamburg Metropolitan Region (German: Metropolregion Hamburg) is a metropolitan region centred around the city of Hamburg in northern Germany, consisting of eight districts (Landkreise) in the federal state of Lower Saxony, six districts (Kreise) in the state of Schleswig-Holstein and two districts in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern along with the city-state of Hamburg itself. It covers an area of roughly 26,000 square kilometres (10,000 sq mi) and is home to more than 5.1 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

As of 2005, the Hamburg Metropolitan Region was made up of the city of Hamburg along with numerous rural districts in Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, altogether comprising 800 cities, towns and municipalities with an overall land area of 19,802 square kilometres (7,646 sq mi). Since then it has expanded to cover the districts of Ludwigslust-Parchim (partially from 2012, entirely from 2017) and Nordwestmecklenburg (from 2012) in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
| State | District$^*$ | Population (2012) | Area | Pop. density (2012) |
| Hamburg | – | 1,813,587 | 755 km$^2$ | 2,400/km$^2$ |
| Lower Saxony | Cuxhaven | 198,115 | 2,073 km$^2$ | 96/km$^2$ |
| Lower Saxony | Harburg | 239,269 | 1,245 km$^2$ | 190/km$^2$ |
| Lower Saxony | Lüchow-Dannenberg | 49,082 | 1,220 km$^2$ | 40/km$^2$ |
| Lower Saxony | Lüneburg | 174,685 | 1,323 km$^2$ | 130/km$^2$ |
| Lower Saxony | Rotenburg | 162,182 | 2,070 km$^2$ | 78/km$^2$ |
| Lower Saxony | Soltau-Fallingbostel | 136,072 | 1,873 km$^2$ | 73/km$^2$ |
| Lower Saxony | Stade | 195,606 | 1,266 km$^2$ | 150/km$^2$ |
| Lower Saxony | Uelzen | 93,284 | 1,454 km$^2$ | 64/km$^2$ |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | Ludwigslust$^†$ | 122,564 | 2,517 km$^2$ | 49/km$^2$ |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | Nordwestmecklenburg | 155,801 | 2,117 km$^2$ | 74/km$^2$ |
| Schleswig-Holstein | Dithmarschen | 132,965 | 1,405 km$^2$ | 95/km$^2$ |
| Schleswig-Holstein | Lauenburg | 187,905 | 1,263 km$^2$ | 150/km$^2$ |
| Schleswig-Holstein | Lübeck | 211,713 | 214 km$^2$ | 990/km$^2$ |
| Schleswig-Holstein | Neumünster | 76,951 | 72 km$^2$ | 1,100/km$^2$ |
| Schleswig-Holstein | Ostholstein | 197,882 | 1,391 km$^2$ | 140/km$^2$ |
| Schleswig-Holstein | Pinneberg | 298,826 | 664 km$^2$ | 450/km$^2$ |
| Schleswig-Holstein | Segeberg | 261,988 | 1,334 km$^2$ | 200/km$^2$ |
| Schleswig-Holstein | Steinburg | 130,135 | 1,056 km$^2$ | 120/km$^2$ |
| Schleswig-Holstein | Stormarn | 232,911 | 766 km$^2$ | 300/km$^2$ |
| Hamburg Metropolitan Region | Hamburg Metropolitan Region | 4,990,307 | 26078 km$^2$ | 191/km$^2$ |
| City$^*$ or town | Population (2012) | Area | Pop. density (2012) |
| Hamburg | 1,813,587 | 755 km$^2$ | 2,400/km$^2$ |
| Lübeck | 211,713 | 214 km$^2$ | 990/km$^2$ |
| Schwerin | 95,818 | 130 km$^2$ | 730/km$^2$ |
| Neumünster | 76,951 | 72 km$^2$ | 1,100/km$^2$ |
| Norderstedt | 74,574 | 58 km$^2$ | 1,300/km$^2$ |
| Lüneburg | 70,438 | 70 km$^2$ | 1,000/km$^2$ |
| Cuxhaven | 48,829 | 162 km$^2$ | 300/km$^2$ |
| Elmshorn | 47,490 | 21 km$^2$ | 2,200/km$^2$ |
| Stade | 45,198 | 110 km$^2$ | 410/km$^2$ |
| Wismar | 42,433 | 41 km$^2$ | 1,000/km$^2$ |
| Pinneberg | 41,726 | 22 km$^2$ | 1,900/km$^2$ |
| Seevetal | 39,921 | 105 km$^2$ | 380/km$^2$ |
| Buxtehude | 39,858 | 76 km$^2$ | 520/km$^2$ |
| Buchholz i. d. N. | 36,875 | 75 km$^2$ | 490/km$^2$ |
| Uelzen | 33,467 | 136 km$^2$ | 250/km$^2$ |
| Winsen (Luhe) | 32,638 | 110 km$^2$ | 300/km$^2$ |
| Wedel | 31,725 | 34 km$^2$ | 940/km$^2$ |
| Ahrensburg | 31,292 | 35 km$^2$ | 890/km$^2$ |
| Itzehoe | 30,956 | 28 km$^2$ | 1,100/km$^2$ |
| Geesthacht | 29,098 | 33 km$^2$ | 880/km$^2$ |
| Reinbek | 26,347 | 31 km$^2$ | 840/km$^2$ |
* Districts and independent (German: kreisfrei) cities. $^†$ Ludwigslust was merged into Ludwigslust-Parchim in 2011; pop. data for 2010

### Larger Urban Zones

The Hamburg Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) as defined by Eurostat's Urban Audit covers an area of 7,303 km$^2$ and in 2004 had a population of 3,134,620 inhabitants. The Larger Urban Zone covers only the city of Hamburg and its directly neighbouring districts. The Hamburg LUZ corresponds with the service area of the Hamburger Verkehrsverbund (HVV) transport association with an average population density of at least 150 inhabitants/km$^2$.
| State | District$^*$ | Population (2012) | Area | Pop. density (2012) |
| Hamburg | – | 1,813,587 | 755 km$^2$ | 2,400/km$^2$ |
| Lower Saxony | Harburg | 239,269 | 1,245 km$^2$ | 190/km$^2$ |
| | Stade | 195,606 | 1,266 km$^2$ | 150/km$^2$ |
| Schleswig-Holstein | Lauenburg | 187,905 | 1,263 km$^2$ | 150/km$^2$ |
| | Pinneberg | 298,826 | 664 km$^2$ | 450/km$^2$ |
| | Segeberg | 261,988 | 1,334 km$^2$ | 200/km$^2$ |
| | Stormarn | 232,911 | 766 km$^2$ | 300/km$^2$ |
| Hamburg LUZ | Hamburg LUZ | 2,903,198 | | |
| Schleswig-Holstein | Lübeck | 211,713 | 214.13 km$^2$ | 990/km$^2$ |
| | Ostholstein | 197,882 | 1,391 km$^2$ | 140/km$^2$ |
| Lübeck LUZ | Lübeck LUZ | 391,373 | | |
| Bremen | Bremerhaven$^†$ | 112,895 | 78,87 km$^2$ | 1,400/km$^2$ |
| Lower Saxony | Cuxhaven | 198,115 | 2,073 km$^2$ | 96/km$^2$ |
| Bremerhaven LUZ | Bremerhaven LUZ | 288,635 | | |
* Districts and independent (German: kreisfrei) cities. $^†$ not part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region
* Hamburg City Hall (Rathaus), seat of the Hamburg Senate
* Hamburg's Binnenalster lake
* Travemünde, seaside resort in Lübeck
* Cuxhaven
* Historic market place (Marktplatz) in Wismar