A port of superlatives: as the largest German port, the second largest European port, and the third largest container port on the continent, the Port of Hamburg is also a tourist attraction.
Hamburg boasts another record-breaking fact.
In addition to the facts mentioned above, the Port of Hamburg boasts another record-breaking fact: its origins likely date back to the 9th century. However, the official founding date is May 7, 1189 – the port’s anniversary is still celebrated annually as a major festival for locals and tourists. Since the mid-19th century, the deep-water port, located approximately 100 km from the nearest sea, has been expanded to its current size. Accessible via the mouth of the Elbe River, it is navigable for ships with a draft of up to 15 m – but only because the fairway and harbor basin are regularly dredged. The size of the port area is roughly equivalent to the area of Bayreuth, and around 40,000 people are employed here.
Interest To Tourists
Unlike most other commercial areas, the Port of Hamburg is also of interest to tourists. As early as the end of the 19th century, the owners of ferries and barges, which normally transported dock and shipyard workers to their workplaces, offered sightseeing tours for tourists outside of peak hours. A generation later, the “Grand Harbor Tour” was monopolized, and the barges were now required to have a “harbor interpreter” on board. Many tourists like to travel by boat. To this day, the nickname “He lücht” (he lies) has stuck for this professional group: retired dockworkers and sailors, who initially worked as tour guides, liked to enrich their facts about the port with plenty of seafaring tales.
From HafenCity and cruise liners to Elbe deepening and water pollution
The monopoly of the “Grand Harbor Tour” has since fallen, and today, numerous providers compete for tourists who want to entertain with harbor tours on various themes and of varying lengths. Boats of various sizes are used, but only the small barges navigate the narrow canals of the historic Speicherstadt. In addition, the standard itinerary for many tours includes a passage past Grosser Grasbrook (today’s HafenCity), the former Sandtorhafen (the former heart of the Port of Hamburg), an entrance into the Hansahafen at Kleiner Grasbrook with a RoRo loading quay, and a tour of the last shipyards. And of course, the large cruise ships, when they are visiting Hamburg, are always a special highlight for harbor tourists.
Since the 1980s, however, alternative tours have also been offered that explore the less glorious aspects of the Port of Hamburg. For example, some tours span the period from former colonial policy to present-day trade with developing countries, or address environmental policy, port expansion, the deepening of the Elbe River, and water pollution.
Tips for touring the Port of Hamburg are also available at the Superbude.
If the weather in Hamburg doesn’t cooperate, the city also offers all sorts of indoor activities, such as the Rabatzz indoor adventure center, where young and old can enjoy numerous attractions, or the Black Light District. Here, you can play mini golf or billiards under the unusual and fascinating black light, and try out the laser course.