History
Harburg is a borough in the south of Hamburg with a long history. The name „Harburg“ originates from the castle „Horeburg“, which was built about 1000 years ago. „Hore“ means swamp or moor and „Burg“ is the German word for castle. The town belonged to the noble family of the Welfs for many centuries. From 1848 until the joining of Hanover with the German tariff Union in 1854 Harburg enjoyed the privilege of having a duty-free port. The city became a fast growing and important harbor and location of industry for the Kingdom of Hanover, especially in the field of rubber and oilseeds. Since 1866 Harburg belonged to the Kingdom of Prussia. During the pogroms of the National Socialists the Synagoge of Harburg was destroyed. The bombings of the allied forces barely affected the inner-city of Harburg until 1944, although the industrial part of the city and the harbor were the target of massive bombings and destruction. Since 1944 the inner-city suffered from bombs that were actually destined for the oil-industry and the railroad lines. The following years of rebuilding reshaped the appearance of the city tremendously.
Außenmühle
The „Außenmühlenteich“ is a small lake in Harburg that has been laid out by Duke Otto II. (1565). Right at the lake you can find the city park and the “MidSommerland”, which is a public bath including a sauna, a thermal bath and a waterslide. Unfortunately the Midsommerland is somewhat pricey for a student’s income. The path around the lake is perfect for jogging or walking and about 3 kilometers long. During summertime you can have barbecues at the lake. There is also a big spacious site to do team sports. For example the Ultimate-Frisbee-Club of our university is playing here weekly.
Neuländer See
There is another lake in Harburg, the “Neuländer See”. Not only is it possible to swim here, but they also have waterski-facilities installed here. This should be good news for everyone enjoying water sports.
Town hall
Right in front of the town hall the annual Christmas-market is taking place during December. After an exhausting day full of lectures it is always nice to enjoy a steaming cup of hot wine punch here.
Bars und Restaurants
The Lämmertwiete is a popular street with many bars and restaurants like the Caspari, the Brazil Bar or the Irish-Bar Old Dubliner, where you can listen to live-music on a regular basis. Whenever the canteen is closed or the food does not meet your expectations and you don’t want to cook yourself, you can eat at one of the numerous snack bars or kebab shops. They are called “Dönerbude” or “Dönerladen” in Germany. “Döner” is a type of junk-food that is very popular in Germany.
Harbour
The harbor area in Harburg is nowadays mostly being used for office buildings. Throughout the summer the Veritas-Beach-Club has its doors opened here, providing the guests with beach-feeling, drinks and two beach volleyball fields.
Harburger Berge
The Harburger Berge (Harburg mountains) are a somewhat hilly region and forest area in Harburg. The “mountains” are up to 155 meters high and great for mountain-biking.
Public transportation
There are several bus routes in Harburg, which are being operated at least every 20 minutes which are being run by the "Hamburger Verkehrsverbund". Two bus stations can be found at the University. The name of the bus station at the northern end of the campus is “TUHH/Kasernenstraße” and the one in the south is called “Technische Universität Harburg” (no surpise here ;-) ) The northern bus station is being operated by route 142, the other one by routes 143,146,14 and 443. All buses drive to the main station of Harburg. Two commuter train lines lead through the city, the S3 and the S31, which use the same rail-tracks though. The University lies between the commuter train stations “Heimfeld” and “Harburg Rathaus”. Both of them are in a five-minute walking distance from the university.