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Wilhelmshaven is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated at the western coast of the Jadebusen , which is a bay of the North Sea. Population: 89,000 (1999).1 History
Wilhelmshaven is a very young town, since it was founded in 1869 by the Prussian king Wilhelm I. There was a castle at the place as early as 1383, the Sibetsburg; this castle was owned by pirates and destroyed in 1433 by the Hanseatic League. Four centuries later the kingdom of Prussia planned to establish an own fleet and a harbour at the North Sea. In 1853 Prussia and the grand duchy of Oldenburg entered into a contract: 3.13 km² of Oldenburgian territory at the Jadebusen should be ceded to Prussia. Wilhelm I (later to become the German emperor of the same name) inaugurated the port in 1869 and gave it his name.
Wilhelmshaven grew to become one of the most important German ports. The duchy of Oldenburg benefited as well from the port; adjacent to Wilhelmshaven the town of Rüstringen was founded on the Oldenburgian territory. Wilhelmshaven and Rüstringen were merged in 1937.
In World War II the city, which was occupied by the German navy, was bombed by Allied air attacks; two thirds of the town's buildings were destroyed. After the war the harbour was used not only for military purposes, but for economy and tourism as well. Today Wilhelmshaven is the second largest German port (after Hamburg).
2 Sights
In Wilhelmshaven there is the German Navy Museum, an aquarium with native animals from the North Sea, the information centre of the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park. The town's landmark is the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Brücke ("Emperor Wilhelm Bridge"), which crosses an inlet of the Jadebusen. It was built in 19081908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). Events January-February January 1 A ball signifying New Year's Day drops in New York City's Times Square for the first time January 8 A train collision occurs in the Park Avenue T; with a length of 159 m it was once the greatest swing bridgeA swing bridge is a bridge that has its primary structural support at or near to its centre, about which it can then pivot horizontally. In its closed position, a swing bridge carrying a road over a river or canal, for example, allows road traffic to cros of Europe.
Towns in Lower Saxony
