Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free
city-state of BremenThe Free Hanseatic City of Bremen is the smallest of Germany's 16 states. A more informal name, but used in some official contexts, is Land Bremen .-Geography:...
, a
stateGermany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of the
Federal Republic of GermanyGermany , 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...
. It forms an enclave in the state of
Lower SaxonyLower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
and is located at the mouth of the
River WeserThe 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...
on its eastern bank, opposite the town of
NordenhamNordenham is a town in the Wesermarsch district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located at the mouth of the Weser river on the Butjadingen peninsula on the coast of the North Sea. The seaport city of Bremerhaven is located on the other side of the river...
. Though a relatively new city, it has a long history as a
tradeTrade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
portA port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
and today is one of the most important German ports, playing a crucial role in Germany's trade.
History
The town was founded in 1827, but there were settlements, such as Lehe, in the vicinity as early as the 12th century, and Geestendorf, which was "mentioned in documents of the ninth century". These tiny villages were built on small islands in the swampy estuary. In 1381 the
city of BremenThe City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
established de facto rule over the lower Weser stream, including Lehe, later therefore called Bremerlehe. Early in 1653
SwedishSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Bremen-VerdenBremen-Verden, formally the Duchies of Bremen and Verden , were two territories and immediate fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire, which emerged and gained Imperial immediacy in 1180...
's troops captured Bremerlehe by force.
The Emperor Ferdinand III ordered his vassal
Christina of SwedenChristina , later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, from 1633 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora...
, then Duchess regnant of Bremen-Verden, to restitute Bremerlehe to Bremen. However, Swedish Bremen-Verden soon enacted the First Bremian War (March to July 1654) and in the following peace treaty (Recess of Stade; November 1654) Bremen had to cede Bremerlehe and its surroundings to Swedish Bremen-Verden. The latter developed plans to found a fortified town on the site, which only later used to become Bremerhaven, and in 1672 - under the reign of
Charles XI of SwedenCharles XI also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period in Swedish history known as the Swedish empire ....
, in
personal unionA personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
Duke of Bremen-Verden - colonists tried unsuccessfully to erect a castle (named
CarlsburgCarlsburg was a 17th century fortified town in Swedish Bremen-Verden at the confluence of the Weser and Geeste rivers, at the site of modern Bremerhaven, Germany. Planned to compete with Bremen, the settlement did not prosper....
after Charles XI) there, which was meant to protect as well as control shipping heading for Bremen.
Finally, in 1827 the city of Bremen under
BurgomasterBurgomaster is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or chairman of the executive council of a sub-national level of administration...
Johann SmidtJohann Smidt was an important Bremen politician, theologian, and founder of Bremerhaven.Smidt was a son of the Reformed preacher Johann Smidt sen., pastor at St. Stephen Church in Bremen. Smidt jun. studied theology in Jena, and was one of the founders of the Gesellschaft der freien Männer...
bought the territories at the mouth of the Weser from the
Kingdom of HanoverThe Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
. Bremen sought this territory in order to retain its share of Germany's overseas trade, which was threatened by the silting up of the Weser around the old inland port of Bremen. Bremerhaven (literally in Bremian Harbour) was founded to be a haven for Bremen's merchant marine, becoming the second harbour for Bremen, despite being 50 km downstream. Due to trade with and emigration to North America, the port and the town grew quickly. In 1848 Bremerhaven became the home port of the
German ConfederationThe German Confederation was the loose association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to coordinate the economies of separate German-speaking countries. It acted as a buffer between the powerful states of Austria and Prussia...
's
NavyThe Reichsflotte was the first all-German Navy. It was founded on 14 June 1848 during the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states by the Frankfurt Parliament to provide a naval force in the First Schleswig War against Denmark.-History:...
under
Karl Rudolf BrommyRear Admiral Karl Rudolf Brommy was a German naval officer who helped establish the first unified German fleet, the Reichsflotte, during the First Schleswig War which broke out just before the Revolutions of 1848 in the German...
.
The
Kingdom of HanoverThe Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
founded a rival town next to Bremerhaven and called it Geestemünde (1845). Both towns grew and established the three economic pillars of trade, shipbuilding and fishing. Following inter-state negotiations at different times Bremerhaven's boundary was several times extended at the expense of Hanoveran territory. In 1924 Geestemünde and the neighbouring municipality of Lehe were united to become the new city of Wesermünde, and in 1939 Bremerhaven was removed from the jurisdiction of Bremen and made a part of Wesermünde, then a part of the Prussian
Province of HanoverThe Province of Hanover was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946.During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position, along with some other member states of the German Confederation...
.
Bremerhaven was one of the important harbours of emigration in Europe.
As a key base of the
KriegsmarineThe Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
, most of the city was destroyed in the
Bombing of Bremen in World War IIThe 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...
; however, key parts of the port were deliberately spared by the
Allied forcesThe Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
to provide a usable harbour for supplying the Allies after the war. All of Wesermünde, including those parts, which did not previously belong to Bremerhaven, was a postwar enclave run by the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
within the
British zoneThe Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during 1945–49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, US forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the...
of northern Germany. In 1947 the city became part of the
Bundesland BremenThe Free Hanseatic City of Bremen is the smallest of Germany's 16 states. A more informal name, but used in some official contexts, is Land Bremen .-Geography:...
(Bremen Federal State) and was consequently renamed from Wesermünde to Bremerhaven. Today, Bremerhaven is therefore part of the
city-stateA city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
of Bremen, being to all intents and purposes a state comprising two cities, while also a city in its own right. This is complicated somewhat by the fact the city of Bremen has owned the "overseas port" within Bremerhaven since 1927. To further complicate matters, a treaty between the two cities (as mentioned in Section 8 of Bremerhaven's municipal constitution) makes Bremerhaven responsible for the municipal administration of those parts owned directly by Bremen (known as stadtbremisch).
Climate
Bremerhaven has a temperate maritime climate, severe frost and heat waves with temperatures above 30°C (86°F) are rare.
On average the city receives about 742 mm (29.2 inches) of precipitation distributed throughout the year with a slight peak in the summer months between June and August.
Twin cities
Bremerhaven's
twin citiesTwin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
include:
AdanaAdana is a city in southern Turkey and a major agricultural and commercial center. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 30 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean, in south-central Anatolia...
, TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, since May 1959 Cherbourg-Octeville-Main sights:* La Glacerie has a race track.* The Cité de la Mer is a large museum devoted to scientific and historical aspects of maritime subjects.* Cherbourg Basilica* Jardin botanique de la Roche Fauconnière, a private botanical garden.* Le Trident theatre...
, FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, since June 1960 GrimsbyGrimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
, United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, since February 1963 PoriPori is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäenjoki river, which is the largest in Finland. Pori is the most important town in the Satakunta region....
, FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, since May 1969 FrederikshavnThis article is about a Danish town. For the German town, see Friedrichshafen, and for the Finnish town, see Fredrikshamn .Frederikshavn is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to...
, DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, since June 1979 |
SzczecinSzczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
, PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, since October 1990 KaliningradKaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
, RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, since April 1992 Baltimore, United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, since 2007 |
The three roads connecting the city of Bremerhaven to the
Autobahn 27branches off the A 7 at Autobahndreieck Walsrode to the northwest, crossing A 1 at the Bremer Kreuz and continuing eastwards of Bremen, toward Cuxhaven....
consequently are named after the original three twin cities:
- Cherbourger Straße (AS Bremerhaven-Überseehafen)
- Grimsbystraße (AS Bremerhaven-Mitte)
- Poristraße (AS Bremerhaven-Geestemünde)
In addition to that there are also streets, which earlier had been named after Szczecin (Stettiner Straße) and Kaliningrad (Königsberger Straße).
Roads
Due to its unique geographic situation, Bremerhaven suffers from a few transportational difficulties. The city has been connected to the autobahn network since the late 1970s. The
A 27branches off the A 7 at Autobahndreieck Walsrode to the northwest, crossing A 1 at the Bremer Kreuz and continuing eastwards of Bremen, toward Cuxhaven....
runs north-south, east of the city, connecting Bremerhaven to Bremen and
Cuxhaven. Road connections to
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...
, however, are poor. The
Bundesstraße 71The Bundesstraße 71 is one of the longer German federal roads numbered in the 60s and 70s series. It begins at the B 6 in Bremerhaven by the Unterweser and ends in Könnern near Halle in Saxony-Anhalt...
and secondary roads therefore carry most of the heavy
lorry-Transport:* Lorry or truck, a large motor vehicle* Lorry, or a Mine car in USA: an open gondola with a tipping trough* Lorry , a horse-drawn low-loading trolley-In fiction:...
traffic. A proposed solution is the construction of the
A 22is an autobahn in Germany that is currently in the planning stage. The A 22 is supposed to connect the A 28 near Westerstede with the A 27 near Bremerhaven, crossing the A 29 near Jaderberg . A vital part of the projected A 22 is the Weser tunnel south of Bremerhaven, which...
, the so-called Küstenautobahn (or "coastal motorway"), which would link Bremerhaven to Hamburg and
WilhelmshavenWilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...
/
OldenburgOldenburg is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig...
(using the
Weser tunnelThe Weser Tunnel crosses the river Weser in northwestern Germany between the villages of Rodenkirchen and Dedesdorf, offering a connection between the cities of Nordenham and Bremerhaven on a regional level....
). Roads leading to the overseas port are regularly overloaded with freight traffic, and solutions are presently being discussed, including a deep-cut road favoured by the city government and various interest groups.
Railway
Bremerhaven has three active passenger rail stations,
Bremerhaven Hauptbahnhofis the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Bremerhaven in Northwestern Germany. It is the main railway hub for the city, offering regional connections to Bremen Hbf, Osnabrück Hbf, Cuxhaven, Bremervörde and Hamburg Hbf...
in the city centre,
Bremerhaven-LeheBremerhaven-Lehe is a railway station in the Lehe district of the city of Bremerhaven, Germany.-History:The station was opened in 1863 as an extension of the Bremen-Geestemünde line. In 1896, the line to Cuxhaven was opened...
north of the centre and
Bremerhaven-WulsdorfBremerhaven-Wulsdorf is a railway station on the Bremen–Bremerhaven line in the Wulsdorf district of the city of Bremerhaven, Germany.-Operational usage:...
in the southern part of the city. A fourth station,
Bremerhaven-SpeckenbüttelBremerhaven-Speckenbüttel is a currently closed railway station on the line from Cuxhaven to Bremerhaven.The station was closed in the early 1980s, along with several others on the line. The station might be reopened when the Bremen S-Bahn scheme becomes effective in 2010....
near the border to
LangenLangen is a town in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 7 km north of the centre of Bremerhaven, and 30 km south of Cuxhaven.Langen belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, established in 1180...
has been out of service since 1988, though it might reopen when the
Bremen S-BahnThe Bremen S-Bahn is an S-Bahn network in Germany, covering the Bremen/Oldenburg Metropolitan Region, from Bremerhaven in the north to Twistringen in the south and Bad Zwischenahn and Oldenburg in the west. It has been in operation since 2010...
scheme becomes operational.
Bremerhaven's central station lost its last long-distance train in 2001. Now only regional connections to Bremen,
Cuxhaven,
OsnabrückOsnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest...
and
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...
are available. The railways in Bremerhaven, however, still carry a heavy load of freight traffic, mostly new
carsAn automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
, containers and
foodFood is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
.
Tourist attractions
Bremerhaven has only a few historical buildings, and the high street and city centre are almost exclusively post-war. The main attractions for tourists are found at the Havenwelten and include the
German Emigration CenterThe German Emigration Center is a museum located in Bremerhaven, Germany dedicated to the history of German emigration, especially to the United States. It is Europe's largest theme museum about emigration. Visitors can experience the emigration process through interactive exhibits...
(since August 8, 2005) and the
German Maritime MuseumThe Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum is a museum in Bremerhaven, Germany. It is part of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Scientific Community. The main museum building was opened on 5 September 1975 by then-president Walter Scheel, though scientific work already had started in 1971...
(Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum) from 1975, featuring the
HansekoggeBremen cog or Bremer Kogge is a wreck of a cog dated to 1380 found in 1962 in Bremen. Today it is displayed at the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven...
, a vintage ship dating from 1380, excarvated in Bremen in 1962, and the historical harbour with a number of
museum shipA museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
s, such as the Type XXI U-boat Wilhelm Bauer, the Seute Deern (a three-masted sailing vessel), and the seagoing tug Seefalke from 1924. The
zooA zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
reopened on 27 March 2004, after a lengthy renovation. It features
ArcticThe Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
wildlife, both terrestrial and marine. The latest addition is the Klimahaus from 2009, simulating travel adventure along the 8th line of
longitudeLongitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
and dealing with climate issues. Another tourist spot is the Fischereihafen (fishing port) in Geestemünde which also houses an aquarium (the Atlanticum). The Lloyd-Werft
shipyardShipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
is renowned for building and renovating large cruise liners, for example the
NorwaySS France was a Compagnie Générale Transatlantique ocean liner, constructed by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard at Saint-Nazaire, France, and put into service in February 1962...
.
Every five years Sail Bremerhaven is held, a large sailing convention that attracts
tall shipA tall ship is a large, traditionally-rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall Ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or festival....
s from all over the world. The last time it was held was in 2010.
Trade
The port of Bremerhaven is the sixteenth-largest
containerContainerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...
port in the world and the fourth-largest in Europe with of cargo handled in 2007. In addition, more than 1,350,000 cars are imported or exported every year via Bremerhaven. Bremerhaven imports and exports more cars than any other city in Europe except for
RotterdamThe Port of Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, located in the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands. From 1962 until 2004 it was the world's busiest port, now overtaken by first Shanghai and then Singapore...
, and this traffic is also growing. In 2011 a new
panamax-sizedPanamax and New Panamax are popular terms for the size limits for ships traveling through the Panama Canal. Formally, the limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority titled "Vessel Requirements"...
lock has been opened, replacing the 1897 Kaiserschleuse, then the largest lock worldwide.
Politics
The Bremerhaven government is a coalition between the
Social DemocratsThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
and the Green Party.
Sport
The
Fischtown PinguinsThe Fischtown Pinguins, also known as Bremerhaven REV, are a professional hockey team in Germany's 2nd Bundesliga league.The team plays in the Eisstadion Bremerhaven.-External links:*****...
, also known as REV Bremerhaven, are a professional hockey team in Germany's 2nd Bundesliga league.
The
Eisbären BremerhavenThe team was born of the older team BSG Bremerhaven and is playing its sixth season in the Basketball Bundesliga .-Roster:- Depth Chart :-Other Staff:*Assistant Coach: Stephan Voelkel*Athletic Trainer: Michael Seedorf...
(Polarbears), founded 2001, are a Basketball team playing in the 1st division of the
Basketball BundesligaThe Basketball Bundesliga — commonly abbreviated BBL — is the highest level league of club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season is split into a league stage and a playoff stage...
.
Education
Bremerhaven is home to the
Alfred Wegener InstituteThe Alfred Wegener Institute of Polar and Marine Research is a scientific organization located in Bremerhaven, Germany. The institute was founded in 1980 and is named after revolutionary meteorologist climatologist, and geologist Alfred Wegener...
, a national research institute which is concerned with maritime sciences and climate, and to the Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences/Hochschule Bremerhaven, founded in 1975 and expanding since with more than 3.000 students in 2009.
External links
Auswandererhaus
Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum (in german)
Hochschule Bremerhafen
Alfred Wegener Institut (english)
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