The Treppenviertel (“Stairs Quarter”) is a neighborhood within the Hamburg district of Blankenese, located about 10 kilometers west of the city center. It is bordered by Süllberg, Baurs Park and the Hesse Park and, to the south, by the banks of the Elbe. There are few motorable roads in it. The majority of the houses can only be reached on foot via more than 5000 steps, which are spread over various staircases. The location on the Elbe slope is described in travel guides as “Mediterranean” and is therefore referred to, slightly ironically, as “Riviera“. When the weather is good, the view from the upper properties extends as far as the Altes Land. read more…
Königstein Fortress, the “Saxon Bastille“, is a hilltop fortress near Dresden, in Saxon Switzerland, above the town of Königstein on the left bank of the River Elbe. It is one of the largest hilltop fortifications in Europe and sits atop the table hill of the same name. The 9.5 hectare rock plateau rises 240 metres above the Elbe and has over 50 buildings, some over 400 years old, that bear witness to the military and civilian life in the fortress. The rampart run of the fortress is 1,800 metres long with walls up to 42 metres high and steep sandstone faces. In the centre of the site is a 152.5 metre deep well, which is the deepest in Saxony and second deepest well in Europe. The fortress, which for centuries was used as a state prison, is still intact and is now one of Saxony‘s foremost tourist attractions, with 700,000 visitors per year. read more…
Barby is a town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt. It is situated on the left bank of the Elbe river, near the confluence with the Saale, approx. 25 km (16 mi) southeast of Magdeburg. Since an administrative reform of 1 January 2010 it comprises the former municipalities of the administrative community Elbe-Saale, except for Gnadau, that joined Barby in September 2010. The burgward of Barby was first mentioned in a 961 deed by German king Otto I. Since the 12th century, the area was enfeoffed to the Counts of Barby descending from nearby Arnstein, who achieved Imperial immediacy in 1497. Upon the extinction of the line in 1659, the County of Barby fell to the Duchy of Saxe-Weissenfels, ruled by a cadet branch of the electoral Saxon House of Wettin. read more…
The Elbphilharmonie Hamburg (nicknamed Elphi) is a concert hall under construction in the HafenCity quarter of Hamburg. The concert hall is designed by Herzog & de Meuron on top of an old warehouse (Kaispeicher A). It will be the tallest inhabited building of Hamburg, with a final height of 110m. read more…
Like a ship sits the six-story office building on a plot of land, 40 meters out over the river Elbe in Hamburg. It can only be reached by a large staircase on the land side, the board is open to the public, and has on top a nearly 500 square meter wide roof terrace with a good view over the harbor and the northern shoreline. It is also a popular photo opportunity due to its distinctive architecture. The roof terrace is not wheelchair and handicapped accessible because it has no publicly accessible lift. read more…
HafenCity is a quarter in the district of Hamburg-Mitte in Hamburg. It is located on the Elbe river island that was formerly called Kehrwieder and Wandrahm. read more…
