Port of Hamburg

Port of Hamburg Hafen Hamburg
Landungsbrücken (“Jetties”), in St. Pauli quarter
Location
Country	Germany
Location	Hamburg
Details
Opened	7 May 1189 by Frederick I
Operated by	Hamburg Port Authority Hamburg Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA)
Owned by	Hamburg Port Authority
Type of harbor	open tidal port
Land area	43.31 km2 (16.72 sq mi)
Size	73.99 km2 (28.57 sq mi)
Employees	10,000 (2004)
Statistics
Vessel arrivals	9,681 (2013)
Annual cargo tonnage	145.7 million tonnes (2014)
Annual container volume	9.73 million TEU (2014)
Passenger traffic	589,000 passengers (2014)
Annual revenue	€44.4 million (2004)
Main trades	basic pharmaceutical materials, coffee, spice, carpets, paper
Website www.hafen-hamburg.de

The Port of Hamburg (German mostly: Hamburger Hafen, in official usage also Hafen Hamburg) is a German sea port, located on the river Elbe in Hamburg, some 110 kilometres from the mouth of the Elbe into the North Sea.

It is Germany's largest port and is named the country's "Gateway to the World" (Tor zur Welt). In terms of TEU throughput, Port of Hamburg is the second-busiest port in Europe (after the port of Rotterdam) and 15th-largest worldwide. In 2014, 9.73 million TEUs (20-foot standard container equivalents) were handled in Hamburg.

The harbour covers an area of 73.99 km² (64.80 km² usable), of which 43.31 km² (34.12 km²) are land areas. The location is naturally advantaged by a branching Elbe, creating an ideal place for a port complex with warehousing and transshipment facilities. The extensive free port enabled toll-free storing, but this was abandoned in 2013.

The port is almost as old as the history of Hamburg itself. Founded on 7 May 1189 by Frederick I for its strategic location, it has been Central Europe's main port for centuries and enabled Hamburg to develop early into a leading city of trade with a rich and proud bourgeoisie.

During the age of the Hanseatic League from the 13th to 16th century, Hamburg was considered second only to the port and city of Lübeck in terms of its position as a central trading node for sea-borne trade. With discovery of the Americas and the emerging transatlantic trade, Hamburg exceeded all other German ports. During the second half of the 19th century, Hamburg became Central Europe's main hub for transatlantic passenger and freight travel, and from 1871 onward it was Germany's principal port of trade. In her time the Hamburg America Line was the largest shipping company in the world. Since 1888, the HADAG runs a scheduled ferry service across various parts of the port and the Elbe. The Free Port, established on 15 October 1888, enabled traders to ship and store goods without going through customs and further enhanced Hamburg's position in sea trade with neighbouring countries. The Moldauhafen has a similar arrangement, though related to the Czech Republic exclusively.