The Rathaus is located in the Altstadt quarter in the city center, at the Rathausmarkt square, and near the lake Binnenalster and the central station.

[1] On 26 October 1897 at the official opening ceremony the First Mayor Johannes Versmann received the key of the city hall.

[2] In the postwar period, various heads of state visited Hamburg and its City Hall — among them Emperor Haile Selassie I, the Shahanshah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in 1955, and in 1965 Queen Elizabeth II.

[6] The roof is made of copper which, over time, has reacted with carbon dioxide and water and turned green, showing the age of the building.

It is a common misconception that Hamburg Rathaus has more rooms than Buckingham Palace (647 vs. 775), on a building area of 5,400 m2 (58,125 sq ft).

Hygieia as the goddess of health and hygiene in Greek mythology and its surrounding figures represents the power and pureness of the water.

It was built in remembrance of the cholera epidemic in 1892, the former technical purpose was air cooling in the city hall.

In the room as of 2008 the entry in the city's Golden Book take place, which was done by many dignitaries including the former German President Paul von Hindenburg and the Dalai Lama.