The Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland in German) occupies a central location in northern Europe with two coastlines, one facing northwest on the North Sea and the other facing northeast on the Baltic Sea. The country's history is long and complex. The large number of historically independent German regions came together in 1871 to form the German Empire. The Empire became a republic after World War I (1914-18). After World War II (1939-45) Germany was divided into two countries, the German Federal Republic in the west, usually called West Germany, and the Communist-led German Democratic Republic in the east, usually called East Germany. After the Communist government collapsed the Federal Republic reunified the nation in October 1990. The Federal Republic is a federation of sixteen states (Länder) and the states are divided into districts (Kreise). The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (Freie Hansestadt Bremen), one of the 16 states, includes the cities of Bremerhaven and Bremen but not the territory between them; the Cuxhaven District of the state of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) surrounds Bremerhaven to the north, east, and south. The state's name refers to the Hanseatic League, which dominated trade in northern Europe from roughly the 13th through the 17th centuries. This page describes lighthouses of the Bremerhaven area and the Außenweser, the long approach to the Weser through the dangerous shoals of the North Sea. Navigation on the Weser continues upstream from Bremerhaven to Bremen. The Bremen and the Weser page describes the lights of the Weser above Bremerhaven. Interest in lighthouses is strong in Germany and most of the towers are in good condition. A federal law provides blanket protection to historic lighthouses. There is concern, however, that many of the lights may be deactivated in the coming years as navigators depend less and less on them. In German, a lighthouse is a Leuchtturm ("light tower"), plural Leuchttürme. The front light of a range is the Unterfeuer and the rear light is the Oberfeuer. There are many modern range lighthouses and most of these towers are crowned by a topmark: a large, distinctive structure that serves to mark the range clearly in the daytime. Some topmarks are conical, others are funnel-shaped, and some consist of one or more gallery-like rings around the tower. In German Insel is an island, Riff is a reef, Kap is a cape, Bucht is a bay, Fluss is a river, Mündung is a river mouth or estuary, and Hafen is a harbor. The word Straße ("street") is also used for a waterway or strait. Lighthouses in Germany are operated by the regional harbor authority, called the WSA (Wasserstraßen- und Schiffahrtsamt). This page includes lights maintained by WSA Weser-Jade-Nordsee. The WSA's are linked to and regulated by a federal agency, the Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes (WSV). ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. DE numbers are the German light list (Leuchtfeuerverzeichnis) numbers as noted on Erich Hartmann's website. Admiralty numbers are from volume B of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from NGA Publication 114. |
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Hansestadt Bremen: Bremerhaven City Lighthouses
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Außenweser Offshore Lighthouses
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Cuxhaven and Stade | South: Bremen and the Weser | West: East Frisia
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted February 26, 2005. Checked and revised March 12, 2025. Lighthouses: 34; lightships: 2. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.