Geography

Vegesack is located at the mouth of the river Lesum

Lesum

The Lesum is a 10 km long river in northern Germany, right tributary of the Weser. It is formed at the confluence of the rivers Wümme and Hamme, near Ritterhude, northwest of Bremen. It flows west and flows into the Weser in Bremen-Vegesack....

, beside the Weser River

Weser River

The Weser is a river in north-western Germany. Formed at Hann. Münden by the Fulda and Werra, it flows through Lower Saxony, then reaching the historic port city of Bremen before emptying into the North Sea 50 km further north at Bremerhaven, which is also a seaport...

 (53°10′07"N 8°37′30"E). Abutting the district of Vegesack to the northwest is the district of Blumenthal, in the southeast the district of Burglesum. Across the river Weser is Lemwerder

Lemwerder

Lemwerder is a municipality in the district of Wesermarsch, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Weser, approx. 27 km east of Oldenburg, and 17 km northwest of the centre of Bremen....

, connected by a ferry service.

History

After the first mention of a ferry across the Weser in the 14th century, the name "Vegesack" (from the pub "Thom Fegesacke") was first used in
1453. From 1619-1623 the first artificial river harbour of Germany was built in Vegesack, and in 1852, Vegesack received town privileges. The forerunner of the German life boat service was founded in Bremen, in 1863 by Adolph Bermpohl  and by the beginning of the 20th century, Vegesack was the port of registry of Europe's biggest herring fleet. Vegesack became part of the city of Bremen in 1939, and the Bremer Vulkan

Bremer Vulkan

Bremer Vulkan AG was a great German shipbuilding company located at the Weser river in Bremen-Vegesack. It was founded in 1893 and closed in 1997 because of financial problems and mismanagement....

 shipyard was a target of the Bombing of Bremen in World War II

Bombing of Bremen in World War II

The Bombing of Bremen in World War II by the Royal Air Force and the Eighth Air Force targeted strategic targets in the state of Bremen, which had heavy anti-aircraft artillery but only 35 fighter aircraft in the area. In addition to Wesermünde/Bremerhaven, targets were also in Farge and...

. The shipyard closed in 1997.

Concentration camp

Bremen-Vegesack was subcamp number 184 of the Neuengamme concentration camp.

Theatre

Since 1989, the Statt-Theater-Vegesack, a semi-professional troupe of actors, has performed both classical and self-composed plays. The performances take place in the Bürgerhaus Vegesack community centre.

Music

The event centre KITO, hosted in an old storehouse, offers jazz, blues, folk and classical concerts and political theatre.

Parks

Along the river Weser is the Stadtgarten (town garden) stretches along the Weserpromenade between the ferry and the Gläserne Werft (shipyard showcase). At the bottom of the scarp you can find many foreign trees and a rose garden, at the top are villas and captain's houses.

Regular events

The Vegesacker Hafenfest (Vegesack harbour festival) takes place on the first weekend in June. Three days full of live music, shanty choirs, maritime attractions and happy people.

The Festival Maritim (beginning of August) also offers a lot of international maritime live music, Kleinkunst, open-air cinema and "Kutterpullen", a rowing contest.

At the beginning of September, Vegesack celebrates the Vegesacker Markt (Vegesack market); a fair with fairground rides, raffle booths, shooting galleries and much more. In 2005 the fair was held for the 197th time. It starts with the pageant across the city, and ends with the wet funeral in the Weser.

Transportation

• Vegesack is connected to the A 27
  Bundesautobahn 27
  branches off the A 7 at Autobahndreieck Walsrode to the northwest, crossing A 1 at the Bremer Kreuz and continuing eastwards of Bremen, toward Cuxhaven....
  
   by the Autobahn 270
  Bundesautobahn 270
  is an autobahn in Germany.The A 270 was created in 2001 as a redesignation of the freeway into the northern part of Bremen. Previously, the freeway was known as the B 74n Lesumerschnellweg...
  
  .
• A railway branch line, operated by DB Regio
  DB Regio
  DB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates short and medium distance passenger train services in Germany, and operates light and heavy rail infrastructure in the United Kingdom.-Germany:...
  
  , links Vegesack to Bremen central station
  Bremen Hauptbahnhof
  is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Bremen in northwestern Germany. It is the most important rail station for both the city and the state of Bremen; InterCityExpress, Intercity, EuroCity, CityNightLine and DB NachtZug services call at the station, which is situated to the Northeast of the city...
  
   and Verden. Public transport is served by several bus lines of the Bremer Straßenbahn AG
  Bremer Straßenbahn AG
  Bremer Straßenbahn AG , often abbreviated BSAG, is the public transport provider for Bremen, Germany, offering tramway and bus services.- Horse tramway :...
  
  .
• A car ferry connects Vegesack and Lemwerder.

External links

• Bremen.de
• Vegesack.de, commercial portal