Towing Service Hamburg

Seven boroughs and 104 districts

Hamburg is divided into seven boroughs: Hamburg-Mitte, Altona, Eimsbüttel, Hamburg-Nord, Wandsbek, Bergedorf and Harburg, with 104 districts between them. For your location, that means: tell us the district, not the borough, plus the street. "Hamburg-Mitte" alone is too vague for a driver.

The A7 across the city

The A7 reaches Hamburg's city limits at the Schnelsen district. Via the semicircular Ring 3 it connects to Hamburg Airport (Fuhlsbüttel). Next comes a noise-protection tunnel about 500 metres long, and at the Hamburg-Nordwest interchange the A23 joins. After a second noise-protection tunnel of about 900 metres, the motorway crosses the railway tracks to Altona station on the Langenfelde bridge and passes the Altona Volkspark. The eight-lane section currently ends there; the stretch to the Elbe Tunnel is due to be widened by around 2028, including a third noise-protection tunnel of 2.3 kilometres. If you break down here, tell us your direction and the nearest tunnel or the Nordwest interchange.

The Elbe Tunnel: four tubes, one bottleneck

The New Elbe Tunnel carries the A7 under the Elbe in four tubes, two per direction. At 3,325 metres total length, it's one of the longest four-tube underwater road tunnels in the world. A tunnel control centre above the north portal is staffed around the clock and can watch drivers via camera and address them directly. In a tunnel breakdown: hazard lights on, move as far to the side as possible, use the emergency equipment, more in our guide Breakdown in a tunnel. The Old Elbe Tunnel between St. Pauli and Steinwerder, by contrast, only serves local city traffic and has nothing to do with the motorway. Don't mix the two up when telling us your location.

The Elbmarsch elevated road, the Köhlbrand Bridge, and the port

South of the Elbe begins the Elbmarsch elevated road, at over four kilometres Germany's longest road bridge. It passes near the Burchardkai and Eurogate container terminals, crosses a harbour basin and the western approach to the Köhlbrand Bridge, reachable directly via its own exit. Near Moorburg the motorway climbs into the Harburg hills. At the Hamburg-Südwest triangle, the short A261 connects the A7 with the A1. The port area has sections with company premises and heavy truck traffic; there, tell us the terminal, street or gate so a vehicle can find the right access.

Waiting safely in Hamburg

On the A7: hazard lights on, everyone behind the crash barrier, set up a warning triangle if it's safe to do so. In the Elbe Tunnel or a noise-protection tunnel: don't turn around or reverse, drive to the next emergency bay if you can, otherwise hazard lights on and raise the alarm via the emergency equipment or 112, the tunnel control centre watches the tubes by camera. On the Köhlbrand Bridge or the Elbmarsch elevated road, hazard lights are usually enough, and move as far to the side as you can, since there's no continuous hard shoulder there.

Where it often happens in Hamburg

At the transition from the city stretch into the Elbe Tunnel, traffic often brakes abruptly, as it does before the noise-protection tunnels near Schnelsen. In the roadworks zone between the Volkspark and the Elbe Tunnel, lanes narrow in places. In the port area, terminal approach roads are often tight and heavily used by trucks; there, the terminal name and gate help us most.

How to describe your location in Hamburg

• District and street, plus a station or a junction.
• On the A7: direction, last exit, the Nordwest interchange, the Volkspark, or the Elbe Tunnel.
• In the port: terminal, gate or street, and whether it's company premises.
• In water or a storm: see our guide (German) Breaking down on the motorway.

Other major cities are Berlin and Munich. All cities: Towing service in your city (German).