Built by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, Kiel, Hamburg was the second of the Sachsen class to be launched and then commissioned into the German Navy.

[3][4] On 11 February 2014 Hamburg deployed from Wilhelmshaven with the frigates Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Augsburg, the corvette Oldenburg and the storeship Frankfurt am Main to take part in the navy's annual training and exercises.

These concluded at Kiel on 20 June 2014, during which time the ships carried out manoeuvrers as far north as the Arctic Circle and as far south as the Equator, visiting 13 ports in nine countries.

From 20 August to 4 September 2014, Hamburg escorted the MV Cape Ray, carrying Syrian chemical weapons to be disposed of.

[6] Hamburg later became the flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2, and on 8 June 2015 sailed from Wilhelmshaven for a Mediterranean deployment.