Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham.
The port of Bremerhaven is the sixteenth-largest container port in the world and the fourth-largest in Europe with 4.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of cargo handled in 2007. In addition, more than 1,350,000 cars are imported or exported every year via Bremerhaven. Bremerhaven imports and exports more cars than any other city in Europe except for Rotterdam, and this traffic is also growing. In 2011 a new panamax-sized lock has been opened, replacing the 1897 Kaiserschleuse, then the largest lock worldwide.
Bremerhaven has only a few historical buildings, and the high street and city centre are almost exclusively post-war. The main attractions for tourists are found at the Havenwelten and include the German Emigration Center (since August 8, 2005) and the German Maritime Museum (Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum) from 1975, featuring the Hansekogge, a vintage ship dating from 1380, excarvated in Bremen in 1962, and the historical harbour with a number of museum ships, such as the Type XXI U-boat Wilhelm Bauer, the Seute Deern (a three-masted sailing vessel), and the seagoing tug Seefalke from 1924. The zoo reopened on 27 March 2004, after a lengthy renovation. It features Arctic wildlife, both terrestrial and marine. The latest addition is the Klimahaus from 2009, simulating travel adventure along the 8th line of longitude and dealing with climate issues. Another tourist spot is the Fischereihafen (fishing port) in Geestemünde which also houses an aquarium (the Atlanticum). The Lloyd-Werft shipyard is renowned for building and renovating large cruise liners, for example the Norway.
Every five years Sail Bremerhaven is held, a large sailing convention that attracts tall ships from all over the world. The last time it was held was in 2010.
