Binnenalster or Inner Alster Lake is one of two artificial lakes within the city limits of Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, which are formed by the river Alster

Alster

The Alster is a right tributary of the River Elbe in Northern Germany. It has its source near Henstedt-Ulzburg, Schleswig-Holstein, flows roughly southwards and reaches the Elbe in Hamburg. In the centre of Hamburg the Alster has been dammed...

 (the other being the Außenalster

Außenalster

Außenalster or Outer Alster Lake is one of two artificial lakes within the city limits of Hamburg, Germany, which are formed by the river Alster . The size of the Außenalster is 1.6 km²....

). The main annual festival is the Alstervergnügen.

The lake has an area of 0.2 square kilometres (2,152,782.1 sq ft).

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

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.