Wilhelmshaven is the biggest naval base and only deep water harbour in Germany. The focus of tourism, a relatively recent development, in the town is Wilhelmshaven's South Beach, which also happens to be the only South facing beach on the German North Sea coast. Museum institutions such as the sea water aquarium, the Wattenmeerhaus national park centre, the German maritime museum, the Oceanis theme park and the whale.worlds permanent exhibition in the Coastal Museum are popular attractions along South Beach. The neighbouring great harbour with the Weser fire ship Norderney and the old buoy tender "Kapitän Meyer" museum ships as well as the attractive development all around the harbour area are further attractions for visitors.

The town has become the shopping centre for the whole region. Since its completion, the Nordseepassage, with over 60 specialist shops and cafés, has been attracting streams of visitors from the whole of North-West Germany. The proximity to the sea offers the opportunity to
enjoy a perfect combination of shopping and leisure.

OCEANIS - discover the secrets of the deep

Dim, mysterious and still relatively unexplored - the depths of the sea. Mankind prefers to look heavenwards to the stars, press on into the infinite depths of space while just scratching at the surface of 70 per cent of the earth's surface - the seas. But this is increasingly changing. Man is beginning to explore and understand an exciting universe right outside its front door, because, after all, all life originated in the oceans.

There is where Germany's only underwater research station "Oceanis” comes in. Since the EXPO by the SEA in 2000, it has been situated - albeit virtually - 100 metres below the surface of the sea, right on the harbour at Wilhelmshaven. The journey into the deeps begins with a lift. The ocean waves crash over your head, whilst the cabin whooshes down into the depths. The doors open. You're at the entry tunnel. The cold and fluorescent light greets the "Aquanauts”. Portholes give out on the view "outside". An educational and interactive infotainment show is waiting to be discovered.

• http://www.oceanis.de (German)

whale.worlds exhibition in the Coastal Museum

The centrepiece of the whale.worlds exhibition is the whale washed up off the East Frisian island of Baltrum in 1984. Its skeleton and its plasticised organs in particular - in this form, the largest organs in the world – are really impressive. The skeleton and organs are surrounded by interestingly presented information on the evolution of the whale, on whale protection and on whaling. The exhibition also takes as its theme the mystery surrounding the whale, which turns up as a motif in the bible and has stimulated the human imagination for thousands of years.

The weekend on the river Jade, maritime event

Over four action-packed days and nights, the town of Wilhelmshaven and the German navy present a mixture of entertainment, encounters and culture. The weekend on the river Jade is organised by Wilhelmshaven Touristik und Freizeit GmbH. At the centre of this attractive celebration for all age groups are a huge range of events on water and land. The weekend on the Jade is a jolly, international and maritime town and harbour festival with loads of music, things going on and fun!

German naval museum

The museum confronts the visitor with the history of the German navy in its political, technical and social contexts. The central theme of the museum is the history of the navy right up to its current role as part of German federal foreign and defence policy. "People, ages, ships", that's what the exhibition is all about. The exhibits are presented in the historic buildings of the former Scheibenhof workshops and outside by means of two former naval vessels - the submarine U10 and the minesweeper Weilheim. The museum is located in the former Scheibenhof workshops, one of the oldest surviving workshops of the former imperial shipyard. This listed building is situated in the "connecting harbour", an old part of the naval harbour, near the Kaiser-Wilhelm bridge.

• More about the German Naval Museum

Wattenmeerhaus - a house of discovery

The Wilhelmshaven national park centre, Wattenmeerhaus is the major education and information centre for Niedersachsen's Wadden Sea national park. You can see the flora and fauna of this unique habitat at first hand in the Wattenmeerhaus. You will be taken into the realm of the swordfish and lugworms, into the age of beachcombers and whalers. You can look through the coastal research scientist's microscope, experiment with salt, investigate flotsam and bird pellets. You can play the tide organ, listen to an oystercatcher's heartbeat and listen in on the story of the loneliness of the ornithological station. Watching lugworms or cockles in action is especially interesting.

Highlights

• The Maritime Mile, Wilhelmshaven:
• theme parks bring the sea to you right up close
• Ships, harbours
• Germany’s largest naval base
• Kaiser-Wilhelm bridge
• Only south-facing beach on the German North Sea coast
• Maritime weddings
• Ferries to Heligoland
• Festivals

Evaluate article

Your evaluation of this article

Our reader's comments

Footer