Bremerhaven, city, Bremen Land (state), northern Germany. It lies on the east side of the Weser estuary, on both banks of the Geeste River at its junction with the Weser. It became a municipality by the amalgamation of three separate towns: Bremerhaven, founded (1827) as a port for Bremen by its burgomaster, Johann Smidt, on territory ceded by Hanover; Geestemünde, founded by Hanover in competition in 1845; and Lehe, a borough dating from medieval times that attained town status in 1920. The union of Lehe and Geestemünde in 1924 formed the town of Wesermünde, which in turn absorbed Bremerhaven in 1939 under Prussian jurisdiction. This unified city, restored to Bremen in 1947, was thereafter known by the name of Bremerhaven.
Repeated cessions of Prussian territory expanded the docks after the opening of the “Old Harbour” in 1830, and Bremerhaven developed as Germany’s largest fishing port. After 1857, as headquarters of the North German Lloyd Steamship Company (Norddeutscher Lloyd), it became Germany’s largest passenger port, with its Columbus Quay and Columbus Station handling transatlantic traffic. Most freight traffic was diverted to Bremen after improvements were made to the Weser Channel (1883–94). The harbour is now especially important for handling containers and the import and export of motor vehicles. Industry is based primarily on food processing and shipbuilding.
Although heavy Allied bombing in World War II demolished the city centre, the docks were substantially unimpaired. The construction of the Columbus Center in 1971 revitalized the commercial functions of the city centre. The city is the seat of a university of applied sciences. It also features the German Maritime Museum and an institute for polar research. Pop. (2011) 108,156; (2015 est.) 114,025.