The Port of Hamburg is a deep water harbor off the North Sea on the Elbe River in Germany. Calling itself Germany's "Gateway to the World," the Port of Hamburg is the largest port in Germany, the second-largest in Europe, and ninth-largest in the world. Port History Hamburg was born in attempts to fight of invading Vikings in about 825 AD with the building of a moated castle called the Hammaburg. Trading businesses were established in the early 1100s. In 1189, the emperor Frederick I Barbarossa granted a charter authorizing special trade and navigation privileges. In 1662, a shipping convoy system was started, and Hamburg's merchants were the first to be escorted by men-of-war on the high seas. As the Port of Hamburg entered the 20th Century, it built docks and wharves on the Elbe to assure its position as Germany's Gateway to the World. But World War I stopped all progress. It had to give almost all its ships to the Allies as reparation from Germany after the end of WWI. Absorbing nearby Altona, Harburg, and Wandsbek in 1937 made Hamburg Germany's major industrial city. Port Commerce More than 15,000 ships from over 100 countries visit the Port of Hamburg every year. Its roofed warehouse and container terminal are the largest of their kind in Europe. Today, the Port of Hamburg ranks second to only to Rotterdam in Europe. It's the 9th busiest port in the world, with shipments of 134 million tons of goods in 2007. When Germany was reunified, it became the fastest growing port in Europe. Cruising and Travel People don� usually think of Germany's principal port as a tourist magnet, but it has many parks, lakes, and tree-lined canals. About 8 million visitors come to the Port of Hamburg every year, and the Port of Hamburg is Germany's fastest-growing tourism location. |