The Rostock City Harbor is the part of the harbor that lies on the southern bank of the Lower Warnow, north of the historic old town of the Hanseatic city of Rostock. Today, the berths are used for workboats, small to medium-sized passenger ships, riverboats, local and regional transport, and yachts. The maximum permissible draft is 6.4 meters.
The area of the city harbor was cleared of port facilities in 1991 and gradually converted into a shopping mile with restaurants, clubs, theaters and retail stores, including ship accessories. The infrastructure has been completely renewed. Two gantry cranes from the 1960s and a bridge crane from the 1950s on the Haedge peninsula are evidence of the handling technology of days gone by. There are a few small museum ships in Haedge harbor that are still in working order.
In Rostock’s city harbor there is a replica of a harbor treadle crane from 1780, made in 1997 and repaired again in 2008. The original crane was sold and demolished in 1867. With this type of crane, loads are lifted by winding a rope onto the axle drum of a treadle wheel, often also a pair of wheels. The ancient Romans were already familiar with this technology. A replica of such a Roman crane can be found in Bonn-Castell. In the 11th to 13th centuries, this lifting technology was widespread on the Rhine and its tributaries. Here, however, the basic housing of the crane, which served as a support and bearing for the boom, was made of masonry. One such treadle crane, the Old Crane, still stands on the Rhine near Andernach. From the 13th to the 16th century, treadle cranes were primarily made entirely of wood, like the Rostock crane. The Rostock harbor crane was the last new construction of its kind. The Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries replaced lifting technology with newly developed, more effective methods. This crane was not primarily used for loading and unloading ships. It was mainly used to erect the masts of the brigs that were built in Rostock until the 1880s.
Together with Warnemünde, the city harbor is the venue for the Hanse Sail, which takes place every year in August. The commercial buildings at the eastern end of the city harbor, built in the style of the old warehouses, are home to the Deutsche Seereederei, among others. The cruise company AIDA Cruises also has its German headquarters here in Rostock’s City Harbor. One of the cultural venues is Bühne 602, which is used by the Compagnie de Comédie. A venue belonging to the Volkstheater (Theater in the City Harbor) was abandoned in 2014.
