Wilhelmshaven


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. Wilhelmshaven is the centre of the "JadeBay" business region and is Germany's main military port.
The adjacent Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park provides the basis for the major tourism industry in the region.

History

The, built before 1383, operated as a pirate stronghold; the Hanseatic League destroyed it in 1433. Four centuries later, the Kingdom of Prussia planned a fleet and a harbour on the North Sea. In 1853, Prince Adalbert of Prussia, a cousin of the Prussian King Frederick William IV, arranged the Jade Treaty with the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, in which Prussia and the Grand Duchy entered into a contract whereby Oldenburg ceded of its territory at the Jade Bight to Prussia. In 1869 King William I of Prussia founded the town as an exclave of the Province of Hanover and a naval base for Prussia's developing fleet. All the hinterland of the city remained as part of the Duchy of Oldenburg.
A shipbuilding yard developed at Wilhelmshaven, the Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven. On 30 June 1934 the "pocket battleship" Admiral Graf Spee was launched at Wilhelmshaven.
In 1937 Wilhelmshaven and the adjacent village Rüstringen merged and the united city, named Wilhelmshaven, became a part of the Free State of Oldenburg.

World War II

In World War II, Allied bombing destroyed two thirds of the town's buildings while the main target Naval Shipyard Wilhelmshaven remained operational despite serious damage. On 28 April 1945, the Canadian First Army captured Emden and the Polish First Armored Division captured Wilhelmshaven, Germany, and took the surrender of the entire garrison, including some 200 ships of the Kriegsmarine. The Poles remained as part of the allied occupation forces until 1947. During World War II Alter Banter Weg functioned as a subcamp of the Neuengamme concentration camp.

Since 1945

In 1947 the city council decided to seek a new emblem for the city. After the Control Commission for Germany - British Element had rejected several designs, Wilhelmshaven selected the image of a Frisian warrior, designed after a nail man erected in the city during the First World War to collect war donations.
Between 1947 and 1972 Wilhelmshaven was the home of Prince Rupert School, a comprehensive boarding school for children of British Army and RAF personnel serving with BAOR. The school relocated to Rinteln in Lower Saxony in 1972, and closed in 2014. There is an active association of former Wilhelmshaven pupils called The Wilhelmshaven Association.
After World War II the shipyard was totally disarmed under the British Commander in Chief, and of course many military buildings were damaged or vacant. While it was prohibited to develop any kind of military linked business Wilhelmshaven took the chance to establish a convenient location for the Olympia Werke which become one of the most popular and quality typewriter factories in the world. In 1953 7000 worker were employed.
Largest groups of foreign residents

Today

Wilhelmshaven is Germany's only deep-water port, and its largest naval base. Concerning the new plans for the Bundeswehr which took shape in 2011 it has become the largest military base in Germany as well.
The benefits of the deep shipping channel were already recognised at the end of the 1950s with the construction of the first oil tanker jetty. Wilhelmshaven has been the most important German import terminal for crude oil ever since. Pipelines from here supply refineries in the Rhine-Ruhr region and Hamburg. Other major business operations followed, and constructed jetties for crude oil and oil products, coal, and chemical products.
One of the main industrial sectors in Wilhelmshaven is the port industry with its wharves, sea port service companies, service providers and repair businesses, transhipment and handling businesses, and agencies, etc. The "JadeWeserPort" – Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven, operational since 2012 and the development of the neighbouring Freight Village provide prospects for employment in areas such as logistics and distribution. In 2016 Eurogate increased transhipment volume up to 480.000 Container. And since Volkswagen is interested in using the deep-water facilities the number of employed workers is assumed to rise from 400 to 600.
Another element of the "Wilhelmshaven energy hub" programme is the chemical industry, as well as power generation.
The German defence forces together with the public sector, are the main pillars of the local employment market.

Sights

Every year in the first days of July, the big "Weekend on the Jade" event attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to the big port, the southern beach and the navy arsenal. Another big event takes place at the end of the sailing season at the beginning of October when two dozen large sailing ships dock in Wilhelmshaven as part of the "JadeWeserPort Cup".

People

Twin towns – Sister cities

Wilhelmshaven is twinned with:

  • Qingdao, China
  • Bad Harzburg, Germany
  • Bydgoszcz, Poland