FREE PORT OF BREMEN
THE FREE PORT OF BREMEN, GERMANY
[From Leslie E. Reed, American Consul, Bremen, Germany]
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Brief history of the port—One of the most vital questions for the
free State and city of Bremen, which, with its 340,000 inhabitants, is
one of the smallest States in Germany, has always been the main-
‘enance of its connection with the sea and its harbor facilities.
Since the seventeenth century the places for loading and discharg-
ing of vessels were frequently changed, as, owing to the ever-increasing
draft of vessels, the Weser River did not permit the larger draft
vessels to go up as far as the city of Bremen. It was owing to this
situation that the harbor of Vegesack, about 17 kilometers (about 10
miles) below Bremen, came into existence in the seventeenth century.
Soon, however, the draft of fully loaded vessels was such that the ves-
sels were not even able to come up as far as Vegesack, but were forced
to stop at Elsfleth or Brake, where they had to anchor in the open
tiver, near the shore, and start discharging cargo into smaller vessels,
which brought the cargo up to the city of Bremen. This was not the
only inconvenience resulting in a loss of time and causing unnecessary
expenses. Hvery vessel had to pay extra taxes to the Grand Duke of
Oldenburg for permission to discharge cargo at these places. In
the end these amounted to a very large sum, which had to be borne
by the owner, merchant, and the consumer. As all this did great
lamage to the Bremen trade, the various States on the Weser River
ame to an agreement in 1823 to the effect that all charges and extra
taxes were abolished and that, furthermore, the three interested
States—the free State and city of Bremen, the Kingdom of Hanover,
and the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg—should keep the channel of the
tiver in a navigable condition. In the years following, however, the
channel left much to be desired, and the larger vessels were still not
able to reach the city of Bremen. This was the cause of Bremen
looking for a suitable harbor further down the river. In 1827 it
acquired from the Kingdom of Hanover a territory near the city of
Geestemunde and called it Bremerhaven, which, however, owing to
the ever-increasing traffic, proved too small and had to be enlarged
by further acquisitions in the years following.
In 1875 a project was started which had as its aim to straighten
Bnd deepen the Weser River from Bremen as far as the sea. The
plans were finished in 1881 by Oberbaudirektor Franzius, of Bremen.
But the German Government, as well as Oldenburg and Hanover, then
refused any financial assistance. The project would not have been
Carried out but for the fact that Bremen in 1884 declared its willingness
t0 enter the German Customs Union, after Hamburg in 1881 and Lue-
beck in 1868 had declared the same intention. The free State of
Bremen started the project on its own account, as the harbor was one
of the most vital questions. The definite date for the inclusion in the
