Wilhelmshaven

As the name indicates ("haven", or rather in its modern German spelling "Hafen" means harbor), Wilhelmshaven's main claim to fame is its connection to the sea and its function as a harbor. Founded in the 1850s as Prussia's military port on the North Sea, it served as the main harbor for the German navy on the North Sea throughout the Kaiserreich (1871-1918). As the treaty of Versailles greatly limited the size of the German fleet, Wilhelmshaven sought and found new economic activities and invested heavily in tourism, which became the second important "industry. Both the Nazis and post-war Germany kept and expanded the military capacities at Wilhelmshaven.
The most controversial piece of infrastructure, however, is an entirely civilian one; the JadeWeserPort, Germany's largest harbor project. It was opened in 2012 and is intended to become the third largest German port on the North Sea (after Hamburg and Bremen), however transport volumes have stayed well below expectations as of 2015, leading to charges that the project is a "white elephant".

Due to the JadeWeserPort, several traffic connections have been upgraded or are scheduled to be upgraded.

By car

A29 is intended to serve as a major transportation route to and from the harbor and thus also serves as a good entry point to the city.

By train

• Wilhelmshaven railway stationRegional trains run from Oldenburg (every half-hour to hourly), Osnabrück (every half-hour to hourly) and - several times daily - Bremen. If you arrive from further away you will probably have to change trains at one of the latter two.

By plane

The next major airport is in Bremen (BRE), but depending on your plans it might also make sense to fly into Hamburg (HAM), as there are more flights to Hamburg than to Bremen.

• JadeWeserAirportThis grandiosely titled general aviation airstrip lost scheduled service when Yourways went belly-up in 2019.

By boat

The harbor mainly caters to freight ships, and does not have many ferry connections. Wilhelmshaven is not a stop on many cruise-lines. A connection to Heligoland was ended in 2014 due to lack of demand.

By bus

Wilhelmshaven has a city bus system, but it does not accept the Niedersachsen-Ticket.

• JadeWeserPort Infocenter

  phone: +49 4421 7719091
  address: Am Tiefen Fahrwasser 11
  An exhibition on the port as well as modern container trade in general. They also offer bus tours through the harbor (€6.90, €5.90 reduced; combined ticket with exhibition €9.90, €7.90 reduced). You can access the roof of the exhibition building to see what is going on at the harbor from a better vantage point.

• Deutsches Marinemuseum

• Botanischer Garten der Stadt Wilhelmshaven

  address: Gökerstraße 125
  botanical garden

• Kaiser-Wilhelm-Brücke159m long swing bridge

• An Bord

  phone: +49 4421 500466
  address: Schleusenstraße 22

• Südstrand 101

  phone: +49 4421 7780664
  address: Südstrand 101

• Apart-Hotel Seenelke

  phone: +49 4421 7557670
  address: Südstrand 120

• Ecosleep Boardinghouse

  phone: +49 4421 7582981
  address: Marktstraße 146

• Hotel Fürstenwerth

  phone: +49 4421 21668
  address: Marktstraße 95

• Varel
• Bremerhaven
• Lower Saxon Wadden Sea National Park