Historical beginnings
Hamburg had an initial small harbour area back in the 9th century, a pier for trade ships along a Bille estuary arm of the Alster, near Hammaburg. Today’s harbour, however, goes back to the Earls of Schauenburg and Holstein, who established Neustadt at the estuary of the Alster in 1188. The aim was to create a trading area with a convenient voyage to the North Sea. Here is where salesmen, tradesmen and sailors were recruited as settlers, and the area rapidly developed into an important handling and storage area for goods. Rumour has it that Kaiser Barbarossa issued a licence on 7 May 1189 which guaranteed duty-free trade for Hamburg traders and their ships, extending from the city to the North Sea. As this marked the opening of the “gate to the world”, the people of Hamburg see this date as the birth of the Port of Hamburg. A huge fest has been celebrated in its name every year since 1977.
![[Translate to English:] Hafengeburtstag](/fileadmin/_processed_/f/7/csm_Hafengeburtstag_Programm_a947a7fc2d.jpg "[Translate to English:] Hafengeburtstag")
The huge parades at the start and end of the Harbour Birthday celebrations amaze visitors with around 300 ships from all over the world: traditional ships, museum ships, navy and cruise ships, yachts and service vessels of Flotte Hamburg, etc. Many ships can be experienced in person at the Open Ship events – including the new fire-fighting boat “Branddirektor Westphal” for the first time this year. Additional attractions on the water are the Tugboat Ballet and the big fireworks show. On land, too, along the harbour mile from Baumwall to Landungsbrücken, and also including HafenCity, the Speicherstadt and the Övelgönne museum harbour, there’s something for the entire family. Not only culinary delights, but also maritime markets, a diverse range of music events on ten stages, land and harbour tours, as well as exciting exhibitions and guides through museums. And, of course, HPA is delighted to welcome visitors to the info container at Sandtorkai. You can find all the information about the programme and offers at the Harbour Birthday here.
Opening-day church services in St. Michaelis: Friday, 12 noon
Opening Parade: Friday, 2 a.m.
Tugboat Ballet: Saturday, 6.30 p.m.
Fireworks: Saturday, 10.30 p.m.
Closing Parade: Sunday, 4 p.m.
Opening hours of the harbour mile: Friday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to midnight
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
HPA-Info-Container: „Am Sandtorkai“ near Wilhelminen bridge, Friday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
