Hafengeburtstag

Last updated
Hafengeburtstag 2015 Hamburger Hafengeburtstag.jpg
Hafengeburtstag 2015
Sea Cloud in Hamburg in 2011 Sea Cloud in Hamburg.jpg
Sea Cloud in Hamburg in 2011
Queen Mary 2 in Hamburg in 2011 Queen Mary 2 Hamburg Germany (9251625602).jpg
Queen Mary 2 in Hamburg in 2011

Hafengeburtstag (lit. Harbour Birthday, Port Anniversary) is an annual public festival and funfair in Hamburg, Germany. It takes place mostly on the first weekend of May to celebrate the anniversary of the port of Hamburg, the largest in Germany. In 2019, the 830th birthday was celebrated and a new record was set; more than a million spectators, among them many tourists from abroad, visited the city. [1]

Hamburg City and federal state in Germany

Hamburg, officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, is the second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and 8th largest city in the European Union with a population of over 1.8 million.

Germany Federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany is a country in Central and Western Europe, lying between the Baltic and North Seas to the north and the Alps, Lake Constance and the High Rhine to the south. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France to the southwest, and Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west.

Port of Hamburg port in Hamburg, Germany on the river Elbe

The Port of Hamburg is a sea port on the river Elbe in Hamburg, Germany, 110 kilometres from its mouth on the North Sea.

Contents

Attractions

The attractions of the Hafengeburtstag extend from Kehrwiederspitze near the Speicherstadt in the east to the Fish Auction Hall near Fischmarkt (Fish market) in the west. Many sailing vessels, tall ships among them, are tied up there, mostly at the Landungsbrücken (St. Pauli Piers). Vessels like Mir, Sea Cloud, Sedov, Gorch Fock and many others regularly visit Hamburg for the celebrations, also naval and cruise ships. The music festival Hafenrock takes place there on several stages, frequently including international artists.

Speicherstadt Part of Hamburg

The Speicherstadt in Hamburg, Germany is the largest warehouse district in the world where the buildings stand on timber-pile foundations, oak logs, in this particular case. It is located in the port of Hamburg—within the HafenCity quarter—and was built from 1883 to 1927.

Fish Auction Hall market

The Fish Auction Hall was built in Altona, today part of Hamburg, Germany, in 1895/96 at the newly constructed fishing port. It is located at 9, Große Elbstraße. From 1982 to 1984 it was fully renovated. Since 1984 it is a cultural heritage monument, which shows the importance of fish trade for the former rival cities of Hamburg and Altona. Today, it is used for events, such as Hafengeburtstag.

In 2016, the cruise ship of AIDAprima was christened at the Hafengeburtstag celebrations on 7 May. [2]

<i>AIDAprima</i> 2016 Cruise ship

AIDAprima is the flagship of AIDA Cruises, built by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding at their shipyard in Nagasaki, Japan. The cruise ship entered service on April 25, 2016, after suffering several construction delays.

History

The Hafengeburtstag dates back to Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who issued a charter to Hamburg merchants on 7 May 1189, granting freedom from customs duties for ships sailing the Elbe from Hamburg to the North Sea. [3] So on the weekend of or around 7 May the anniversary is annually celebrated. The modern public festival takes place since 1977.

North Sea marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean

The North Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north. It is more than 970 kilometres (600 mi) long and 580 kilometres (360 mi) wide, with an area of 570,000 square kilometres (220,000 sq mi).

Related Research Articles

<i>Sørlandet</i> (ship) ship

Sørlandet is a Norwegian heritage tall ship and one of very few full-rigged ships in the world. She is the senior of the existing Norwegian built square riggers, and for more than 50 years she held a central position in the education and training of young people. She is the second oldest of three Norwegian tall ships, the “Great Trio of Norway”, which besides her includes Statsraad Lehmkuhl and Christian Radich.

<i>Alexander von Humboldt</i> (ship) barque

Alexander von Humboldt is a German sailing ship originally built in 1906 by the German shipyard AG Weser at Bremen as the lightship Reserve Sonderburg. She was operated throughout the North and Baltic Seas until being retired in 1986. Subsequently, she was converted into a three masted barque by the German shipyard Motorwerke Bremerhaven and was re-launched in 1988 as Alexander von Humboldt. In 2011 the ship was taken off sail-training and sent to the Caribbean for the charter business, then she was converted to a botel her sailing days over for now and is currently stationed in Bremen, Germany

MS <i>Freedom of the Seas</i> cruise ship

MS Freedom of the Seas is a cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean International. She is the namesake of Royal Caribbean's Freedom class, and can accommodate 3,634 passengers and 1,300 crew on fifteen passenger decks. The vessel also has 4 crew decks below the waterline. Freedom of the Seas was the largest passenger ship ever built from 2006 until construction of her sister ship, Liberty of the Seas in 2007. As of November 2018, she is the 15th largest passenger ship in the world by gross tonnage, at 155,889 GT.

<i>Norwegian Pearl</i> ship

Norwegian Pearl is a Jewel class cruise ship of Norwegian Cruise Line, launched in 2006, sailing itineraries primarily around Alaska and the Caribbean.

SMS <i>Gneisenau</i> (1879)

SMS Gneisenau was a Bismarck-class corvette built for the German Imperial Navy in the late 1870s. The ship was named after the Prussian Field Marshal August von Gneisenau. She was the fifth member of the class, which included five other vessels. The Bismarck-class corvettes were ordered as part of a major naval construction program in the early 1870s, and she was designed to serve as a fleet scout and on extended tours in Germany's colonial empire. Gneisenau was laid down in June 1877, launched in September 1879, and was commissioned into the fleet in October 1880. She was armed with a battery of fourteen 15 cm (5.9 in) guns and had a full ship rig to supplement her steam engine on long cruises abroad.

SMS <i>Moltke</i> (1877) ship

SMS Moltke was a Bismarck-class corvette built for the German Imperial Navy in the late 1870s. The ship was named after the Prussian Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke the Elder. She was the fourth member of the class, which included five other vessels. The Bismarck-class corvettes were ordered as part of a major naval construction program in the early 1870s, and she was designed to serve as a fleet scout and on extended tours in Germany's colonial empire. Moltke was laid down in July 1875, launched in October 1877, and was commissioned into the fleet in April 1878. She was armed with a battery of ten 15 cm (5.9 in) guns and had a full ship rig to supplement her steam engine on long cruises abroad.

<i>Norwegian Epic</i>

Norwegian Epic is a cruise ship of the Norwegian Cruise Line built under that line's F3 Project by STX Europe Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. When built it was the third largest cruise ship in the world.

MS <i>Queen Elizabeth</i> ship

MS Queen Elizabeth (QE) is a cruise ship of the Vista class operated by the Cunard Line. The design is modified from that of previous ships of that class, and slightly larger than Queen Victoria, at 92,000 GT, largely due to a more vertical stern. The ship is able to carry up to 2092 passengers.

AIDA Cruises German Branch of Carnival Corporation & plc

AIDA Cruises is an American/British-owned German cruise line based in Rostock, Germany. The company was founded as Deutsche Seereederei with a ship called Völkerfreundschaft, and entered the cruise industry in the 1960s.

<i>AIDAluna</i> Cruise ship

AIDAluna is a Sphinx class cruise ship, owned by US based Carnival Corp and operated by AIDA Cruises. Built by Meyer Werft shipyards in Papenburg, Germany. She is the third ship of the class, preceded by AIDAdiva and AIDAbella, and is followed by AIDAblu, AIDAsol, and AIDAmar. The ship has a capacity of 2,100 passengers and has a gross tonnage of 69,203. AIDAluna was initially deployed in the Baltic Sea for the 2009 Summer season. In Winter 2009, she was redeployed in Canary Islands. AIDAluna has an 8 × 4.5-m poolside theater, which is a first for AIDA Cruises.

<i>Sea Cloud</i> sailing cruise ship

Sea Cloud is a sailing cruise ship of the Sea Cloud Cruises line. Initially built as a private yacht, it subsequently served as a weather ship for the United States Coast Guard and United States Navy during World War II. The ship served as the first racially integrated warship in the United States Armed Forces since the American Civil War. Following the war, Sea Cloud was returned to private ownership, serving as a yacht for numerous people, including as presidential yacht of the Dominican Republic. The ship currently sails in Europe and the Caribbean as part of a fleet of sail cruise ships operated by Sea Cloud Cruises GmbH of Hamburg, Germany, often under contract to the National Geographic Society.

SMS <i>Stein</i>

SMS Stein was a Bismarck-class corvette built for the German Imperial Navy in the late 1870s. The ship was named after the Prussian statesman Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein. She was the sixth member of the class, which included five other vessels. The Bismarck-class corvettes were ordered as part of a major naval construction program in the early 1870s, and she was designed to serve as a fleet scout and on extended tours in Germany's colonial empire. Stein was laid down in 1878, launched in September 1879, and was commissioned into the fleet in October 1880. She was armed with a battery of twelve 15 cm (5.9 in) guns and had a full ship rig to supplement her steam engine on long cruises abroad.

<i>AIDAmar</i> Cruise ship

AIDAmar is a Sphinx class cruise ship, built at Meyer Werft for AIDA Cruises. She is the sixth Sphinx series ship, preceded by sisters AIDAdiva, AIDAbella, AIDAluna, AIDAblu, AIDAsol and followed by AIDAstella. AIDAmar was delivered to the shipping company by Meyer Werft on 3 May 2012.

MS <i>Europa 2</i> ship

MS Europa 2 is a cruise ship operated by Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, a German-based cruise line. She entered service in May 2013, and is the highest rated cruise ship in the world according to the Berlitz Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships, replacing her fleetmate, MS Europa, which had held that distinction for more than a decade.

<i>Anthem of the Seas</i> Quantum-class cruise ship

Anthem of the Seas is a Quantum-class cruise ship owned by Royal Caribbean International (RCI) and the second ship of her class. The Quantum class is the third largest class of cruise ships behind MSC Cruises's Meraviglia class and Royal Caribbean International's Oasis class by gross tonnage.

SMS <i>Charlotte</i> kreuzerfregatte

SMS Charlotte was a German steam corvette built for the Kaiserliche Marine in the 1880s, being laid down in April 1883, launched in September 1885, and commissioned in November 1886. The only vessel of her class, Charlotte was the last sailing warship built for the German navy. She was armed with a battery of eighteen 15 cm (5.9 in) guns.

<i>Spectrum of the Seas</i> Cruise ship

Spectrum of the Seas is a Quantum-Ultra-class cruise ship owned by Royal Caribbean International (RCI) and the first ship of the modified Quantum-class of cruise ships. The Quantum class is the third largest class of cruise ships in the world, behind MSC Cruises's Meraviglia-class and Royal Caribbean International's Oasis class by gross tonnage.

References