Old Harbor

Where History and Modernity Meet

Along the Old Harbor you will find touristic attractions such as the National German Maritime Museum with the museum harbor and the submarine „Wilhelm Bauer". Here history and modernity come together with the Climate Experience Center and the shopping center "Mein Outlet & Shopping-Center", the look-out platform SAIL City 90 meters in height and the modern Conference Center.

Even Goethe was fascinated by this major project
The Old Harbor 1827 was the first man-made basin in the newly founded Bremerhaven and was the initial seed for the subsequent city and harbor development.

According to the technical standards of that time this project was rather extensive and also arouse interest in other parts of Germany. So has it that in 1829 the 80 year old Johann Wolfgang, who was widely interested, noted in his diary: „...I obtained charts of the Weser River in order to have a better evaluation of the reports given to me about the new buildings near Geestendorf and the Leher
Harbor...". A land reclamation scene in the second part of „Faust" could well reflect Goethe's preoccupation with the harbor project.

The old emigration harbor

The Old Harbor developed into a hub for the up-and-coming emigration to the USA, a function it gradually lost after the construction of the New Port (1851).

But in 1862 it was doubled in size. From 1892 the Old Harbor was used intensively as a fishing port until the trawler fleets and the fish processing industry moved to the fishing port in Geestemünde in 1930.

As a result, the Old Harbor was only used by shipping to a limited extent and was reduced in size several times before it experienced its renaissance as the Bremerhaven Museum Port in 1966. In 1975, another part was added on the east side, while an extension was made on the west side. The Dutch-style bascule bridge leading to the Columbus Center was installed from 1977 to 1978 by the Bremerhaven steel construction company Rogge. The surrounding walls of the Old Harbor from earlier construction phases can still be seen in places today.