Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.
The Siebethsburg castle, built before 1383, was occupied by pirates and destroyed in 1433 by the Hanseatic League. Four centuries later, the Kingdom of Prussia planned a fleet and a harbour on the North Sea. In 1853, Prince Adalbert of Prussia arranged the Jade Treaty (Jade-Vertrag) with the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, in which Prussia and the Grand Duchy entered into a contract: 3.13 km² of Oldenburgian territory at the Jade Bight should be ceded to Prussia. In 1869, King William I of Prussia (later also German Emperor) founded the town as an exclave of the Province of Hanover as a naval base for Prussia’s developing fleet. All the hinterland of the city remained as part of the Duchy of Oldenburg.
A shipbuilders was established at Wilhelmshaven, the Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven (Imperial Shipyard Wilhelmshaven). On 30 June 1934, the “pocket battleship” Admiral Graf Spee was launched at Wilhelmshaven. Main sights are:
Aquarium Wilhelmshaven, an aquarium with native animals from the North Sea, the information centre of the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park.
The Botanischer Garten der Stadt Wilhelmshaven, a municipal botanical garden.
The Deutsches Marinemuseum (Navy Museum), whose main exhibits are the former German Navy destroyer Mölders, a submarine, and some smaller warships as well as an exhibition of German naval history from the 19th century onwards.
The Küstenmuseum (Coast Museum).
The Bontekai, city harbor jetty, featuring the former light vessel “Weser” and the steam engine powered buoy layer “Kapitän Meyer”, an active museum ship. During the “Jade Weekend” (late June) it is berth of tall sailing ships, too.
As the town’s landmark the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Brücke (“Emperor Wilhelm Bridge”) is considered, which crosses an inlet of the Jade Bight. It was built in 1905 to 1907; with a length of 159 m it was once the greatest swing bridge of Europe.
The Town Hall (Rathaus), a large brick building, constructed in 1927-1929 by the architect Fritz Höger as the town hall of the city of Rüstringen.
The Christus-und-Garnisionskirche, the oldest church of the city. It was built in 1869 by the Prussian architect Friedrich Adler.
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Denkmal on Friedrich-Wilhelm-Platz, a monument erected in memory of emperor Wilhelm I of Prussia in 1896, who was one of the founder of the city. After the statue had been melted down in 1942, it was reconstructed in 1994.
The entrance building of the former Kaiserliche Marinewerft (“emperor’s shipyard”), built in the 1870s.
The building of the former Kaiserliche Westwerft (“emperor’s western shipyard”), completed in 1913.
