• A. Venice, Italy
  • B. Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • C. Hamburg, Germany
  • D. Bruges, Belgium

💡 Need help?

This port city in Northern Europe is often compared to Venice due to its large number of waterways, but actually has far more bridges than the Italian city. The city is located on a major river and has countless canals running throughout the entire urban area.

✅ View the answer

The correct answer is C. Hamburg, Germany.

Hamburg has over 2,500 bridges - an absolute world record. For comparison: Venice has around 400, Amsterdam comes in at approximately 1,750, and Bruges stops at 80. The German port city is sometimes called “Das Venedig des Nordens” (The Venice of the North), which is quite ironic when you consider that Hamburg has six times as many bridges as Venice itself.

All those bridges exist because the city is situated on the Elbe River and is literally crisscrossed by canals, the Alster lakes, and hundreds of smaller waterways. From massive traffic bridges to tiny pedestrian footbridges in parks.

📚 More background information

The reason Hamburg has such an absurd number of bridges? Centuries of building around water. As an important port city, water has always played a central role in how the city developed.

What other cities have (figures may have changed since): - Hamburg: 2,500+ bridges - Amsterdam: approximately 1,750 bridges - Venice: around 400 bridges - Pittsburgh (USA): about 450 bridges - Bruges: approximately 80 bridges

Some of those Hamburg bridges are truly spectacular. The Köhlbrandbrücke, for example - an enormous suspension bridge over the harbor that you can see from far away. Or the Lombardsbrücke, which connects the Inner and Outer Alster and looks beautiful.

Surprisingly, most people automatically think of Amsterdam or Venice when they think of bridges. Venice obviously wins in terms of image - it’s the water city par excellence and much better known touristically. But Hamburg beats them both hands down.

Maintaining all those bridges is actually quite a nightmare. Hamburg has an entire team dedicated solely to inspecting, repairing, and renovating. Some bridges are more than a century old and have monumental status, which doesn’t make maintenance any easier.

This question regularly appears in pub quizzes in the geography or general knowledge round, and almost everyone falls for it. People overwhelmingly choose Venice or Amsterdam, which is why Hamburg always causes surprise (and discussion).