The Port of Hamburg lies on the shores of the Elbe River in Germany about 83 kilometers from the North Sea. It is about 110 kilometers east-southeast of the Port of Bremerhaven and some 58 kilometers southwest of the Port of Lubeck. The Port of Hamburg, with the official name "The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg," is Germany's second biggest city, port, and commercial center. Clearly, the Port of Hamburg has a long history of self-determination. In fact, Hamburg and Bremen are the only two German city-states that retain their medieval independence, a point of great pride for city residents. In 2002, over 1.7 million people lived in the Port of Hamburg, and over 2.5 million called the metropolitan area home.

The Port of Hamburg is the most important component of the city's economy. Ranking second in Germany after Rotterdam, it is Europe's ninth busiest international port. When Germany was reunified and the Port of Hamburg recovered its eastern hinterlands, it became the fastest-growing European port, and the many consulates in the city reveal its importance to international trade. In addition to the Port of Hamburg, the city has an important civil aerospace industry, with one Airbus plant employing more than 13 thousand workers. Heavy industries in the Port of Hamburg include several shipyards and manufacturers of steel, aluminum, and copper. Media businesses are important contributors to the local economy, with many television and radio stations and some of the country's biggest publishing companies, including newspapers and magazines, in the Port of Hamburg. The city is also home to several music companies and Internet-based businesses.

In 825 AD, a moated castle appeared on a promontory between the Elbe and Alster Rivers that proved to the beginning of the future Port of Hamburg. Under Emperor Louis the Pious in 834 AD, the castle became the seat of an archbishopric and the base for Archbishop's missions to the heathens in north Europe. The Port of Hamburg was burned by the Vikings in 845 and eight more times over the next 300 years.

By the late 11th Century, commerce overtook religion as the Port of Hamburg's reason for being. The founding of Lubeck on the Baltic Sea by Adolf II, count of Holstein, promoted the growth of Hamburg as Lubeck's North Sea port. In 1188, Adolph III of Schauenburg granted a charter to build a new town with a harbor on the Alster River with facilities that could use the Elbe. Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa confirmed the privilege in 1189 with a special grant for trading rights, exemptions from tolls, and navigation privileges.

The Port of Hamburg continued to grow through the 13th Century to become an important Hanseatic League city, second only to Lubeck. The Port of Hamburg was an important center for trade between Flanders and Russia, and it played an important role in protecting the Elbe trade routes by obtaining lands along the river's branches. Over time, it gained control of the river's use and was recognized by the emperor for its special role.

As the Hanseatic League began to dissolve near the end of the Middle Ages, the Port of Hamburg continued its strong growth, surpassing Lubeck as an economic center. In 1558, a stock exchange was created, and the Bank of Hamburg was established in 1619. The Port of Hamburg was so well fortified in the early 17th Century that its business was hardly disturbed by the Thirty Years' War that disrupted much of Europe. By 1662, a convoy system for shipping was operating, and Hamburg's merchants were escorted by men-of-war as they sailed the seas. By the beginning of the 18th Century, 70 thousand people lived in the Port of Hamburg, making it Germany's second most populous city after Cologne.

In 1770, the Port of Hamburg was acknowledged as an immediate imperial city, meaning it had no other overlord than the emperor. The Port of Hamburg also gained islands on the banks of the Elbe that became new docks a century later. However, the city's special status did not last long. The Napoleonic Wars brought an end to Germany's old order, and the city-state of Hamburg was annexed into the French Empire in 1810.

After Napoleon was defeated in 1815, the Port of Hamburg became a state in the German Confederation, officially designated as the "Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg" in 1819. Prosperity returned, and the Port of Hamburg's trade expanded to new territories in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. The Port of Hamburg kept its independent status when the German Empire was founded in 1871.

In the 1880s, warehouses were constructed for the new free Port of Hamburg. By the beginning of the 20th Century, about 700 thousand people lived in the Port of Hamburg, and the Port of Hamburg had far outgrown its limits, taking in many smaller towns surrounding its core. At the beginning of the 20th Century, the Port of Hamburg began its efforts to become Germany's "gateway to the world" by building new wharves and docks on the Elbe.

World War I brought the Port of Hamburg's development to a stop in 1914. International trade disappeared, and its fleet of 1466 ships remained in the port. Furthermore, the Allies demanded that almost all of the Port of Hamburg's ships be turned over as reparations after World War I.

Even after the war was over, development in the Port of Hamburg was limited because it had already developed most of its territory. In 1937, the Port of Hamburg incorporated the nearby cities of Wandsbek, Altona, and Harburg that had been part of Prussia. As the Port of Hamburg planned to develop the new areas, World War II arrived.

World War II brought many Allied air raids that destroyed over half of the Port of Hamburg's facilities and took 55 thousand lives. By the time the war ended in 1945, the priority was keeping the Port of Hamburg and its people alive. Yet the city's people had a resilient spirit, and reconstruction came quickly. City-Nord, the Port of Hamburg's huge new business district was built in the 1960s, and the Port of Hamburg's nightclubs became a popular hang-out for British rock bands. The Beatles appeared there in the early 1960s.

In 1962, a terrible flood killed over 300 people and destroyed much of the old city. In the mid-1960s, the Port of Hamburg's population hit a peak of over 1.8 million before the suburban shift began.

When Germany was unified in 1990, the Port of Hamburg enjoyed increased trade with eastern and central Europe, and the Port of Hamburg enjoyed a long modernization effort. In 1994, the Port of Hamburg became a seat for a Roman Catholic bishopric. Today, it is a proud city with cherished traditions and a vibrant cultural and business life that makes it one of the world's most exciting cities.

The Port Authority of Hamburg (HPA) was created in 2005 when port-related authorities were unified to assure future-oriented management for the Port of Hamburg. The port authority is responsible for planning development and strategies that promote the interests of port industry, business, trade, and the public. The HPA is responsible for restructuring and development projects in the Port of Hamburg that promote port growth in line with market demands. The HPA provides port infrastructure, enhances the port's strategic competitiveness, improves customer services, establishes and maintains long-term customer relations, and represents the Port of Hamburg in its dealings with the European Union and other organizations.

In 2007, the Port of Hamburg handled a total of 140.4 million tons of cargo. That total included 98.7 million tons of general cargo, 95.8 million tons of containerized cargo in 9.9 thousand TEUs as well as 41.7 million tons of bulk, 21.7 million tons of grabber, 14.7 million tons of liquid, and 5.2 million tons of suction cargo. Over 12.2 thousand vessels called at the Port of Hamburg in 2007, including 7.5 thousand container vessels, 1.8 thousand bulk carriers, 1.5 thousand liquid bulk vessels, 933 general cargo vessels, and 205 passenger vessels.

The Port of Hamburg contains over 320 berths and 41 kilometers of quays for ocean-going vessels as well as 200 container bridges that are partly controlled by computers. Even though it is some 100 kilometers from the North Sea, the Port of Hamburg is accessible to the largest ships, including bulk carriers of over 300 thousand DWT and the world's biggest container ships. The city and port of Hamburg maintains a continuous commitment to modernization, development, and expansion. New berths for large container ships are under construction, and new basins are being filled to add space for containerized and bulk cargoes.

The Port of Hamburg's local shipyards offer technical and engineering expertise, state-of-the-art technology, and long experience that make the port highly competitive. New ship-building and repair facilities demonstrate the continuing demand for these services, and the shipyards are complemented by a diverse range of services, maritime suppliers, ships' chandlers, and repair workshops for ocean-going vessels.

Among the Port of Hamburg's 320 berths for ocean-going ships are 199 berths for general cargo and bulk traffic, 145 berths at dolphins, 83 berths for coastal shipping, and 38 berths dedicated to container ships and bulk cargoes. Berths have alongside depths from 7 to 17 meters. The Port of Hamburg has 55 landing facilities, 177 bridges, 170 kilometers of public roads within the port, and 350 kilometers of railway tracks.

The Port of Hamburg contains a total of 7.4 million square meters of hard-surface terminal areas. Covered storage areas include over 2.8 million square meters in the Free Port, 350 thousand square meters in inland customs territory, and 150 thousand square meters of air-conditioned covered storage. The port has 17 roll-on/roll-off terminals for stern- or side-ramp ships and ample equipment to handle these cargoes. The Port of Hamburg has silo and storage capacity for about 700 thousand tons of cereals, oil seed, fodder, and other agricultural products and about 700 thousand square meters of storage areas for ores, coal, fertilizers, and other dry bulk cargoes. The port also has tank storage capacity for about 2.2 million cubic meters liquid cargoes and about 3.6 million cubic meters of refined liquid products.

Container traffic in the Port of Hamburg is booming. The port has four container terminals and eight multi-purpose terminals to serve container shipments. The Port of Hamburg has capacity to handle at least 2500 TEUs in a 24-hour period, making it possible for the biggest container ships to leave the port in less than a day.

The Port of Hamburg's Eurogate Container Terminal covers 140 hectares and contains over two thousand meters of quays with alongside depth of 16.7 meters and 18 post-Panamax quayside gantry cranes. The terminal has capacity for 2.6 million TEUs today and plans capacity to reach 4.5 million TEUs by 2010.

The HHLA Container Terminal Burchardkai in the Port of Hamburg covers 160 hectares. With more than 2.8 thousand meters of quays and alongside depth of 16.5 meters, the HHLA terminal has capacity for 2.8 million TEUs and plans to increase that capacity to 5.2 million TEUs. The terminal also has 20 post-Panamax quayside cranes.

Covering 80 hectares, the Port of Hamburg's HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder has 1.4 thousand meters of quays with alongside depth of 16.7 meters and 15 post-Panamax quayside cranes. This Port of Hamburg terminal has current capacity for 2.4 million TEUs and planned capacity for 3 million TEUs.

The Port of Hamburg's HHLA Container Terminal Tollerort GmbH covers 40 hectares and contains 995 meters of quays with alongside depth of 15.2 meters. With seven post-panamax quayside cranes, the terminal has capacity for 950 thousand TEUs today and plans for 2 million TEU capacity.

While 96% of the general cargo handled in the Port of Hamburg is containerized, conventional cargo in crates and bags and on wheels is still important. Heavy and bulk goods like steel pipes must be served as well. The Port of Hamburg has several specialized terminals that handle vehicles, paper and cardboard, fruits and vegetables, scrap, cellulose, magnesite, fertilizers, coffee, sugar, and cocoa. The Port of

Hamburg also handles project consignments, machinery parts, iron and steel pipes, copper plates, and tractor tires. It is one of the most important paper-handling ports and the biggest trade center for pharmaceuticals and raw materials in Europe. The Free Port of Hamburg is also the world's biggest trade and storage center for carpet. Roll-on/roll-off traffic is also a major component of the cargo handled in the Port of Hamburg. Nine specialized terminals serve these cargoes.

Specializing in containers, roll-on/roll-off, heavy lift, and project cargoes, the Port of Hamburg's multi-purpose Buss Hansa Terminal covers 300 thousand square meters and includes 37 thousand square meters of shed space and 70 thousand square meters of expansion space. The terminal has 840 meters of quays with alongside depth of 12.5 meters.

The Buss Ross Terminal in the Port of Hamburg handles bulk cargo, scrap metal, and waste material. Covering 50 thousand square meters, it has a total 230 meters of quays with alongside depth of 11.5 meters.

The Port of Hamburg's Buss Umschlagsges Kuhwerder Terminal specializes in bulk cargo, ores, and building materials. Covering an area of 280 thousand square meters, including 65 thousand square meters of shed space, the terminal has quays of 1150 meters with alongside depth of 11.5 meters. The terminal also has rail connections to the freight railway station Hamburg-Sud.

The C. Steinweg (Sud-West) Terminal in the Port of Hamburg handles containers, breakbulk cargo, project cargo, roll-on/roll-off cargo, forest products, and ferrous and non-ferrous metals. This 180 thousand square meter multi-purpose terminal contains 1300 meters of quays with alongside depth of 13 meters and nine multi-purpose cranes with capacity for up to 100 tons. The terminal has capacity for 250 thousand TEUs and two millions of breakbulk cargo. It contains 100 thousand square meters of covered warehouse space and full rail and road access.

Covering 165 thousand square meters, the Port of Hamburg's Eichholtz GmbH Terminal specializes in handling green coffee, nuts, cocoa, seeds, dried fruit, legumes, dry bulk cargo, non-food goods, over-sized cargoes, and commercial goods of all types. With three 440-meter quays with alongside depth of 11 meters, 100 thousand square meters of the terminal is in the Free Port. It has handling capacity for about 80 TEUs of containerized cargo and a 20 thousand cubic meter cold storage facility as well as facilities for washing, baking, and packing cargoes. Storage includes silos.

The HHLA Frucht- und Kuhlzentrum GmbH Terminal in the Port of Hamburg handles bananas and tropical fruit. With handling capacity for one million tons of cargo, the terminal has three 530-meter berths, 62 reefer connections, over 25 thousand pallet slots in cold storage, and rail connections.

Covering 150 thousand square meters, the Port of Hamburg's Rhenus Midgard GmbH & Company KG / Dradenau Terminal specializes in handing container, cars, and general and project cargo. The terminal includes 50 thousand square meters of covered storage with capacity for 25 thousand TEUs. The terminal has two roll-on/roll-off berths and two lift-on/lift-off berths alongside depth of 11.5 meters. The terminal has rail connections, reefer connections, and container fumigation services.

The Unikai Lagerei- und Speditionsgesellschaft Terminal in the Port of Hamburg covers an area of one million square meters and specializes in handling roll-on/roll-off cargoes, vehicles, forest products, and handling for cruisers. With two 800-meter berths with alongside depth of 11.5 meters, the terminal has rail connections.

The Port of Hamburg's Wallmann & Company / Wallman Terminal handles general and heavy-lift cargoes and containers. This multi-purpose terminal covers 130 thousand square meters, including 60 thousand square meters of warehouse space. The terminal specializes in storing hazardous goods and has rail connections.

The Port of Hamburg has seven terminals that specialize in handling and storing liquid bulk cargoes like mineral oil, liquid raw materials, fruit juice concentrates, palm oil, alcohol, latex, and acids. The Bominflot Tanklager GmbH (Petroleumhafen) has three jetties for ocean-going vessels and three jetties for barges and coasters. It can accommodate ships to 200 meters in length with maximum draft of 8.8 meters. The terminal covers 120 thousand square meters and has a tank farm with capacity for 236 thousand cubic meters. The terminal also has a rail tank wagon filling and discharging station and a tank truck filling station.

The Elbe Mineralolwerke operated by Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH at Kattwyk-Hafen in the Port of Hamburg handles crude oil and mineral oil products. The east quay is 270 meters long, the west quay is 260 meters long, and both quays have alongside depth of 13.1 meters. The terminal's tanker harbor can accommodate ships of 80 thousand tons.

The Port of Hamburg's Elbe Mineralolwerke operated by Shell Deutschland Oil in Seehafen 4 handles mineral oil products, base oil, and lubricating oil. The tanker harbor has two berths of 120 meters in length alongside depth of 6.5 meters and one berth of 100 meters in length with alongside depth of 5.4 meters. The terminal can accommodate tankers of a maximum eight thousand SDWT.

The Elbe Mineralolwerke operated in the Port of Hamburg by Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH at Schmierstoffwerk Grasbrook handles mineral oil products at three jetties. Jetty 1 is 80 meters long with alongside depth of 2 meters. Jetty 2 is 168 meters long with alongside depth of 5.6 meters, and Jetty 3 is 70 meters long with alongside depth of 5 meters. The terminal has capacity to handle 580 thousand tons of lubricant oil.

The Port of Hamburg's Haltermann Products Werk Hamburg handles bulk mineral oil products and vegetable oils. With alongside depth of 7.35 meters, it has one berth for ocean-going vessels and one berth for inland waterway vessels.

The Vopak Terminal Hamburg handles a range of mineral oil products, vegetable oils, carbonic acid, and latex. With four jetties with alongside depth of 12.6 meters, the terminal is equipped with 300 tanks with capacity for 702 thousand cubic meters of cargo. This Port of Hamburg terminal is served by all modes of transport, including pipeline links.

The Port of Hamburg contains three agribulk terminals that allow ships to dock immediately next to large silos and unload cargoes via stationary high-capacity chain conveyors. The Port of Hamburg has silo capacity for about one million tons of cargo.

The Port of Hamburg's Gertriede Terminal Hamburg (GTH) has a 270-meter long berth with draught of 2.4 meters and capacity to discharge one thousand tons of cargo per hour. The terminal has 11 silo farms and two halls with storage capacity of about 225 thousand tons, including a high-capacity plant for cleaning, drying, cooling, and inspecting goods. The terminal also offers pest elimination and customs clearance services.

The NEUHOE Hafengesellschaft Terminal in the Port of Hamburg has two main berths. One berth for discharging cargoes is 280 meters long with alongside depth of 13.7 meters, and it has a discharge rate of 1.6 thousand tons per hour. The second berth for loading is 190 meters long alongside depth of 11 meters and a loading rate of 1.2 thousand tons per hour. The terminal's silo facility has capacity for 180 thousand tons. The tank farm for sweet oils has capacity for 25 thousand tons. The terminal has rail and truck connections.

The Port of Hamburg's Silo P. Kruse has a 275-meter-long berth with alongside depth of 12.6 meters and a discharge rate of 1.15 thousand tons per hour. The terminal has storage capacity for 80 thousand tons and offers a drying plant, pest control, and product washing services.

The Port of Hamburg contains five terminals handling mineral dry bulk cargoes that include coal, ore, building materials, and other dry bulk cargoes. All of the terminals have inter-modal handling between ocean-going and inland waterway vessels or rail or road transport. The Port of Hamburg offers rainproof handling and storage facilities for sensitive goods like potash.

The Hansaport Hafenbetriebs Gesellschaft terminal in the Port of Hamburg has 760 meters of quay with alongside depth of 15.6 meters and can discharge up to 70 thousand tons of cargo per day. It offers 350 thousand square meters of open yards.

The Port of Hamburg's Rhenus Midgard AG & Co. KG Terminal has 500 meters of quay with alongside depth of 10.3 meters and a discharge rate from ten to 75 thousand tons of cargo per day. The terminal contains 119 thousand square meters of open yards and 12 thousand square meters of covered space.

The Buss Kuhwerder Terminal GmbH in the Port of Hamburg has a 380-meter-long berth with alongside depth of 11.5 meters and discharge rate of 15 thousand tons per day. The terminal contains 143 thousand square meters of open yards and 65 thousand square meters of covered space.

The Buss Ross Terminal GmbH & Co. KG in the Port of Hamburg has a terminal area of 50 thousand square meters, a 230-meter berth with alongside depth of 11.5 meters, and a discharge rate of from eight- to ten-thousand tons per day.

The Port of Hamburg's KTG Terminal (Kalikai) has capacity to discharge one-, two-, or three-thousand metric tons per hour. The terminal covers 90 thousand square meters and includes storage capacity for 325 thousand metric tons in ten sheds and six silos. The terminal has a 500-meter-long berth with alongside depth of 11.3 meters.

The Port of Hamburg Cruise Center has welcomed an increasing volume of cruise calls and passenger visits, with 88 cruise calls and 146 thousand passengers anticipated for 2009. The Port of Hamburg is a key cruise destination for Northern Europe.

The harbor is the heart of the City of Hamburg which retains its mercantile and maritime character despite the devastating damage of World War II. The Port of Hamburg is an open but traditional city, with residents that at first appear very reserved but are warm and friendly when you meet them. Hamburg is an international city and a proud city-state with a special place in the hearts of its citizens. There are far too many attractions and events to describe here, so please visit the Port of Hamburg's tourism website for more information on things to see and do.

The Port of Hamburg is a relatively wet and windy city due to its proximity to the North Seal. Summers are warm and rainy with occasional sunny periods. Winters are cold enough some years for ice-skating on the lakes in the city center or on the Elbe, and icy sleet is more common than snowfall. Spring is the best time to visit the Port of Hamburg when the city's thousands of trees begin to bloom. Temperatures range from an average high of 21 °C (70 °F) in July and August to an average low of -2 °C (28 °F) in January and February.

The Port of Hamburg's Altstadt (Old City) is Hamburg's oldest quarter and its most popular tourist attraction. Visitors can find stores and homes that were built with loading canals as well as a street so that goods could be easily moved between land and water. The unique Chilehuas (German), a 1920s building shaped like a ship's prow and sharp-angles, is a popular sight. The Kontorhauser office district is one of Germany's most impressive 1920s settings and the oldest office district in Europe. Deichstrasse (Dyke Street) is an historic traders' street with stores and homes from the 17th to 19th Centuries. Visitors will also find many wonderful restaurants and pubs in the Altstadt.

When it opened in 1911, the Port of Hamburg's Elbtunnel (German) was a technological marvel. The square domed building at the St. Pauli piers houses machinery that operated four big lift cages. The cages carry people and vehicles some 24 meters below the surface to move some 426 meters through two 6-meter diameter tunnel sections across the River Elbe to Steinwerder. The tunnel walls boast glazed terra cotta ornaments depicting river-related items like fish and crabs. Pedestrians and bicyclists can traverse the tunnel free 24 hours a day, while cars are limited to daytime hours.

In the Port of Hamburg's Free Port, visitors flock to Speicherstadt (Storehouse City), the world's biggest connected storehouse complex. At 100 years old, the buildings are wonderful examples of Wilhelminian brick Gothic architecture, complete with pointed arches, little towers, and strange gables. Just as a century ago, the buildings' thick walls protect all kinds of merchandise from oriental carpets to coffee, spices, tea, cocoa, and tobacco. The complex contains several museums that use cutting-edge interactive exhibits to tell the story of workers in the warehouse district.

The Miniatur Wunderland is a wonderful adventure and the world's biggest model railway layout. The trains move through models of Hamburg, the American West, the Alps, and a Scandinavian display that includes ships on water. Located in the Port of Hamburg's Speicherstadt, the facility has been growing since 2001. Visitors can watch the modelers and technicians creating the wonderful landscapes. Thus far, workers have invested some 500 thousand hours and 8.7 million Euros in the intricate and delightful Miniatur Wunderland.

Travelers who want to visit the Port of Hamburg by sea can find a list of scheduled cruises on the Cruise Compete website.