![](https://moin-assets.b-cdn.net/img/storage/images/motive/133485/Oevelgoenne_25.jpg?fit=crop-50-50-1&w=1000&h=600&q=90&fm=webp)
Övelgönne Elbstrand
Övelgönne - 22605 HamburgThe citizens of Hamburg enjoy the summer and the sunshine on the sandy beach of the river Elbe at the old captains’ village, Övelgönne. Front gardens of all sizes stretch down to the riverbanks.
Bubendeyweg 33, Seemannshöft
21129 Hamburg
At Seemannshöft we can see the vessel traffic service centre (the modern, low rise building) of the Hamburg Port Authority, as well as the historic Lotsenhaus (lit: pilot house). The open tidal harbour of Hamburg is covered by high-power radar stations and an Automatic Identification System for the identification of sea vessels, of which all the information is gathered at the vessel traffic service centre. The Hamburg Port Authority can thus impart information on particular traffic routes and mooring berths back to the ships, piloting them from the vessel traffic service centre. As a traffic control centre, it grants incoming ships entry to the harbour and issues them with mooring berths. Then the harbour pilots take over and accompany the ships to and from their assigned spots. The red-brick building is the operational building of c 75 harbour pilots. They and c 25 modern assistant tugboats with a bollard pull of up to 80 tons ensure the safe manoeuvring of the ocean giants along the quays and into navigable water on the Elbe.
The citizens of Hamburg enjoy the summer and the sunshine on the sandy beach of the river Elbe at the old captains’ village, Övelgönne. Front gardens of all sizes stretch down to the riverbanks.
The „Museumshafen Oevelgoenne (museum harbour of Oevelgoenne) was founded by a private association in 1977 at the fairy pier of Neumuehlen. It offers a mix of historic professional sailing ships. For example an old fire ship, which was in service between 1888 and 1977, an icebreaker, a swimming crane, the old harbour police boat and a harbour fairy. All of them are still roadworthy. At the pier there is also the rebuilding of a historic shelter like it was used around 1900 at all piers in the harbour. Today it is used by the association.
Architectural contrasts along the edge of the harbour: The so-called pearl necklace offers an interesting succession of renovated and new buildings along a ca. 6-kilometer stretch of shoreline.
In Finkenwerder Vorhafen lies the METHA treatment plant wharfage, belonging to the Hamburg Port Authority. METHA is the first major sediment-processing plant in the world to mechanically process dredged harbour sediments. It separates and drains polluted silt from sand. The sand can be used as building material while the silt is processed and either used as packing material or deposited environmentally safely. Large scale tests have been conducted in view of recycling as a building material or a natural resource substitute in the production of building materials. Conduit pipes and suction devices transport the dredged material via the wharfage to the processing plant.