Hamburg Harbour

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'Hafen Hamburg - Hamburg Harbour'

Type	Aktiengesellschaft AG
Founded	1189 by Frederick I
Headquarters	Hamburg, Germany
Industry	Logistics
Services	Shippings Packing
Revenue	€44.4 million (2004)
Employees	10,000 (2004)
Slogan	Gateway to the World
Website	www.hafen-hamburg.org

Landungsbrücken (“Jetties”), in St. Pauli district

Hamburg Harbour is a deep water harbour off the North Sea, on the river Elbe in Hamburg, Germany.

It is named Germany's "Gateway to the World" and is the largest sea-port in Germany and - in terms of numbers of containers handled in 2004 - the second-largest in Europe and ninth-largest worldwide.

In 2004, seven million containers were handled in Hamburg.

The harbour covers an area of 73.99 km² (64.80 km² usable), of which 43.31 km² (34.12 km²) are land areas.

The location is naturally advantaged by a branching Elbe, creating an ideal place for a port complex with warehousing and transshipment facilities. The extensive free port also enables toll-free shipping.

Since the harbour is located in a distance of 110 kilometres from the mouth of the Elbe, some ships at times have difficulties accessing the port. Deepening of the river Elbe in response is very controversial for ecological reasons. In part due to cooperation with Lower Saxony and Bremen to build a new container port (JadeWeserPort) in the deep waters of Jadebusen in Wilhelmshaven, Hamburg withdrew from this plan after a change of government in 2001.

A new city district named HafenCity is currently being planned for construction north of the harbour.

[edit] History

The history of the Hamburg harbour is as old as that of Hamburg itself. Founded in 1189 by Frederick I for its strategic location, it has been Central Europe's main port for centuries and enabled Hamburg to develop into a leading trading city with a rich and proud bourgeoisie.

During the second half of the 19th century, Hamburg became Central Europe's main hub for transatlantic passenger and freight travel and from 1871 onward it was Germany's principal port of trade - worldwide. During the division of Germany, Hamburg harbour lost most of its hinterland, but since reunification and the European enlargement the trade volume is growing strongly again.