Binnenalster () or Inner Alster Lake is one of two

artificial lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

s within the city limits of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, which are formed by the river

Alster The Alster () is a right tributary of the Elbe river in Northern Germany. It has its source near Henstedt-Ulzburg, Schleswig-Holstein, flows somewhat southwards through much of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and joins the Elbe in central ...

(the other being the Außenalster). The main annual festival is the ''Alstervergnügen''. The lake has an area of .Source: statistical office of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (2006)

Overview

History

The phrase "inner" refers to the old city walls of Hamburg. The Binnenalster was the part of the lake that was "inside" the city walls. The lake was originally created to serve as a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

for a mill. As of 2008 the old city walls do not exist, instead two car and train bridges, the Lombardsbrücke and the Kennedybrücke, span the river.

Location

The Binnenalster is bordered by embankment streets on three sides, only the northern side is bordered by a park. Jungfernstieg – on the southern side, opposite this park is a busy boulevard and center of the Binnenalster. Left and right, Ballindamm and Neuer Jungfernstieg accommodate a number of corporate headquarters and first class hotels.

Public events

Alstervergnügen

The ''Alstervergnügen'' () is an annual street fair held around the lake. It always takes place throughout the first weekend of September, and offers a wide variety of food, drink, vending and games stands, as well as some rock bands. 2013-05-24 08-46-21 Germany Hamburg Hamburg Altstadt 7h

2013-05-24 08-46-21 Germany Hamburg Hamburg Altstadt 7h

Notes

References

External links

Photos of Binnenalster
on bilderbuch-hamburg.de
Photos of Binnenalster
on bilder-hamburg.info
Alstervergnügen Hamburg
Lakes of Hamburg Tourist attractions in Hamburg {{hamburg-geo-stub de:Alster#Binnenalster