Bremerhaven
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Bremerhaven is a city in the federal state of Bremen, Germany. It is located at the eastern bank of the Weser river mouth, opposite the town of Nordenham.
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History
Image:Denkmal Johann Smidt.jpg The town was founded in 1827, but there were settlements in the vicinity as early as the 12th century. These tiny villages were built on small islands in the swampy estuary. There were early plans to found a fortified town at the place in order to protect the ships leaving or entering the Weser, and in 1672 Swedish colonists tried unsuccessfully to erect a castle (Carlsburg) there.
Finally, in 1827 the city of Bremen bought the territories at the Weser mouth from the kingdom of Hanover. Bremerhaven was born and became a second harbour to Bremen, despite the distance of 50 km between the places. Due to the trade with and the emigration to North America the port and the town grew fast.
The kingdom of Hanover founded a rival town directly beside Bremerhaven and called it Geestemünde (1845). Both towns grew and established the three pillars of trade, shipbuilding and fishing. In 1927 Geestemünde and the neighbouring municipalities of Lehe and Wulsdorf were united to become the new city of Wesermünde, and in 1939 Bremerhaven was merged into Wesermünde. Most of the city was destroyed in World War II; however the most vital parts of the port were deliberately spared by the Allied forces to provide a usable harbour for supply of the forces after the war. In 1947 the city became part of the Bundesland Bremen (Bremen Federal State) and was consequently renamed from Wesermünde to Bremerhaven. Today Bremerhaven is therefore, confusingly, part of the state of Bremen but is a city in its own right, distinct from the port city of Bremen some 50 km farther up the river Weser. Template:Cleanup-dateThe overseas port is not part of the city Bremerhaven but under the direct jurisdiction of the city of Bremen, one of the historic members of the Hanseatic League.
Twin cities
Bremerhaven's twin cities include:
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The three roads connecting the city of Bremerhaven to the Autobahn 27 consequently are named after the original three twin cities:
- Cherbourger Straße (AS Bremerhaven-Überseehafen)
- Grimsbystraße (AS Bremerhaven-Mitte)
- Poristraße (AS Bremerhaven-Geestemünde)
Transportation
Roads
Due to its unique geographic situation, Bremerhaven suffers from a few drawbacks in transportation. The city is connected to the autobahn network since the late 1970s, the A 27 runs eastward of the city, connecting Bremerhaven to Bremen and Cuxhaven. Road connections to Hamburg, however, are poor, the Bundesstraße 71 and secondary roads carrying most of the heavy lorry traffic. A proposed solution is the construction of the A 22, the so-called Küstenautobahn, that would link Bremerhaven to Hamburg and Wilhelmshaven/Oldenburg (using the Weser tunnel. Road connections to the overseas port are regularly overloaded by heavy freight traffic, and solutions are presently being discussed, a deep-cut road presently being favoured by the city government and various interest groups.
Railway
Bremerhaven has three active passenger rail stations, Bremerhaven Hauptbahnhof in the city centre, Bremerhaven-Lehe in the northern parts and Bremerhaven-Wulsdorf in the southern parts of the city. A fourth station, Bremerhaven-Speckenbüttel near the border to Langen has been out of service since the 1980s, though it might re-open when the Bremen S-Bahn scheme becomes effective. Bremerhaven's central station lost its last long-distance train in 2000, so nowadays only regional connections to Bremen, Cuxhaven, Osnabrück and Hamburg are provided. The freight rails in Bremerhaven however are still used notably, freight services mostly consisting of new cars, containers and food.
Tourist attractions
Image:Blick vom Radarfunkturm2.JPG Image:Bremerhaven.JPG Image:U boat wilhelm bauer.JPG 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 the German Emigration Center (since August 8, 2005) and the German Maritime Museum (Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum) in the historical harbour with many museum ships such as the Type XXI U-boat Wilhelm Bauer, the Seute Deern (a three-masted sailing vessel), and the Hansekogge, a vintage ship dating from 1380. The Lloyd-Werft shipyard upholds a reputation for building and renovating large cruise liners, for example the Norway. The fishing port also houses an aquarium (the Atlanticum). The zoo reopened on 27 March 2004, after a lengthy rehabilitation. It features Arctic wildlife, both terrestrial and marine. Attractions include the Klimahaus, simulating travel adventure along the 8th line of longitude.
Every five years Sail Bremerhaven is held, a large marine manifestation that attracts tall ships from all over the world. The last time it was held was in 2005, coinciding with Sail Amsterdam.
Trade
Image:Überseehafen3-Bremerhaven.JPG The port of Bremerhaven is the sixteenth largest container port in the world, with more than 3,500,000 containers shipped every year; the port is still growing fast. In addition, more than 1,350,000 cars are imported or exported every year via Bremerhaven.
The car in- and export of Bremerhaven is the second biggest in Europe after Rotterdam. This and the container business are both very important for the harbor and both are growing.
Politics
The Bremerhaven government is a coalition between the Social Democrats and the Christian Democrats.
Sport
Bremerhaven is home to the basketball team Eisbären Bremerhaven who play in the highest German Bundesliga (basketball).
External links
et:Bremerhaven es:Bremerhaven fr:Bremerhaven ko:브레머하펜 it:Bremerhaven nl:Bremerhaven ja:ブレーマーハーフェン nds:Bremerhoben pl:Bremerhaven pt:Bremerhaven ru:Бремерхафен fi:Bremerhaven sv:Bremerhaven