exploring Bremen & its surrounding areas
You are here: worth seeing in the surroundings
Brake & the river island Harriersand (2/2)
View of the Old Telegraph
The starting point of this tour is the city jetty. Here, part of the "Shipping Museum of the Oldenburg Ports" is located, which was inaugurated in 1960. This section of the museum, which displays historical artifacts from shipping under the Oldenburg flag, is housed in a 1846-built square brick building with turrets that once served as part of an optical telegraph line between Bremen and Bremerhaven. In front of the side of the building facing the Weser River, a monument commemorates the victims of the two world wars.
The second part of the Shipping Museum is located in the nearby pedestrian street of the town and has been housed since 1985 in the originally 1808-built "Haus Borgstede und Becker," erected by merchants.
Town Hall from 1862
Turning into Dr.-Fritz-Carstens-Weg opposite the Old Town Hall, built in 1862 (where the city administration was seated from 1881 to 1909), you reach the rear area of the Shipping Museum. The redesign of the outdoor area was funded with EU funds.
The Shipping Museum from behind
Those who continue following the traces of the duckdalben arrive once again at the city quay and "Heukaje" with a view of Harriersand at the 16th and final station.
Notable Friedrichskirche in Hammelwarden
Harriersand
While there is a small beach section on the Brake Weser shore, for example near the church in Hammelwarden, those who want a more beautiful and wider sandy beach can cross from the jetty by foot or bicycle from mid-April to late October with a small passenger ferry to Harriersand on the opposite bank.
Passenger ferry "Guntsiet" before departure
Harriersand is one of Europe's longest river islands at around 11 kilometers. The six-square-kilometer island in its current form is actually an artificially created island, as seven smaller islands were merged into one during corrections and deepening of the Weser between 1924 and 1932. While this partially agriculturally used islet once belonged to the district town of Brake, it is now part of Schwanewede on the eastern bank of the Weser. This makes sense because the island can be reached much more easily via a 70-meter-long bridge in the southeast from the town of Rade. By car, you can best reach here from Bremen via the A27 toward Bremerhaven and the exit at Schwanewede. The structure spans over a small, siltation-threatened tributary of the Weser that actually makes Harriersand an island. Incidentally, it is part of the 487-hectare nature reserve "Right Tributary of the Weser," established in 1985 and extending from here to the sailing harbor Sandstedt north of Harriersand on the eastern bank. From here, the only road leads past fields, meadows, and the few houses of the island toward the north, also passing by the dock of the passenger ferry.
Not worth seeing but important: the sanitary building of the campsite, behind weekend houses
The area around the docking point belongs to the association "Inselfreunde Harriersand e.V." In addition to a few weekend houses, a campsite right next to the beach, and a playground, there is also the restaurant "Strandhalle," which offers itself as a destination during an excursion across the island. Directly opposite on the other bank lies Brake's outer harbor, where you can watch the loading or unloading of grain and general cargo during a break at the Weser shore. Those disturbed by the sight of industrial facilities simply look in the opposite, much greener direction - the area has abundant tree cover.
Quiet beach section along the tide-dependent Weser
A bit quieter it is at another beach section a bit upstream toward Bremen. On warm days, numerous excursionists gather here for swimming and picnicking on the beach. However, those arriving by car should know that parking options are limited and that parking along the narrow road's edge is not unproblematic, as this path serves not only recreational visitors, cyclists, and the few residents of the island as a connection but also as an economic route for farmers with their wide and heavy work equipment.
A bit of south sea feeling on Harriersand
After pollution of the Weser with toxic substances has decreased over the past decades, the water now has a quality that allows swimming without concern. However, caution is advised because the last weir of the Weser lies in Bremen, making the river tide-dependent here and creating particularly dangerous currents further in the river's center, especially at low tide.
Action: a large "Pott" (a big ship) passes by and then there are waves
You should therefore not leave the shore area too far when swimming. Children especially have great fun when one of the numerous ships passes by and creates waves on the shore. At the latest by 8 PM, however, the swimming fun ends because then the boat to Brake departs for the last time.
Near the campsite atl low tide, old shore reinforcements are exposed
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Map
Further information
Brake – The Best Piece of Weser e.V.
Information pavilion at the jetty
26919 Brake
Phone: +49 4401 / 19433
Fax: +49 4401 / 936005
Email: info@brake-touristinfo.de
www.brake-touristinfo.de
Harriersand campsite
Phone: +49 4296 / 1393
Email: info@zeltplatz-harriersand.de
www.zeltplatz-harriersand.de
Ferry schedule: www.brake.de
Bike routes:
www.weser-radweg.de
www.deutsche-sielroute.de
www.region-unterweser.de
Cuxhaven - a day trip
Many people from Bremen consider the seaside resorts of Cuxhaven to be "their home beach." The coastal city at the mouth of the Elbe is easily accessible from Bremen by car via the A27, which passes by Bremen and Bremerhaven before ending in Cuxhaven. By train, the journey takes a bit longer with a transfer in Bremerhaven. However, even in the off-season, Cuxhaven with its seaside resorts is a great destination for an outing - for example, by bicycle.
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Bremerhaven in general
Bremerhaven was only founded in 1827. To secure its status as a port city amid the threat of the Weser - Bremen's lifeline - silting up, Bremen purchased 342 acres of land at the mouth of the Weser from the Kingdom of Hanover for 74,000 talers under then-mayor Johann Smidt. About 60 kilometers downstream from Bremen, this became the site of the first urgently needed seaport built by Bremen, known as the Alter Hafen (Old Harbor), completed by 1830.
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Heligoland - a day trip
Germany's only supposed high-seas island is a destination for thousands of visitors each year, most of whom are day-trippers during the warmer months. And yes, admittedly, Heligoland isn't immediately in Bremen's surrounding area. However, it can be reached as a day trip from Bremerhaven and Cuxhaven - which is why we decided to visit.
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Cycling in Bremen & Surroundings
Bremen is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in Europe. This is due, on the one hand, to the generally pleasant cycling conditions in the North German Plain, which has no significant inclines or slopes, and on the other hand, to the promotion of cycling by municipal policies, partly to reduce inner-city car traffic and the associated cross-border air pollution from fine dust and nitrogen oxides.
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Vegesack
The most interesting area extends around the ferry terminal. From the seats of the nearby cafés and restaurants, you can almost watch the ferry operations. In front of the square stand the enormous lower jaws of a blue whale. Measuring 7.1 meters long, up to 1 meter wide, and weighing 1.2 tons, these bones belonged to a 26-meter-long animal that the port town received as a gift in 1961.
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Water-based activities in Bremen
Given that Bremen is a city on a major river with numerous lakes, it makes sense to extend sports or other personal water-related activities from land to water. The most family-friendly activity on the wet element is certainly taking a rowboat ride along the canals of Bürgerpark.
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Weser cruise from Bremen to Bremerhaven
Of course, you can take a car for a visit to Bremerhaven from Bremen or board the regional train at the main station. However, with suitable weather and enough time, it is more interesting to cover the route on the Weser by ship. The shipping company "Hal över" operates the connection from May to September. The ship departs from the Martinianleger near the city center along the Schlachte. Those who wish can even take their bicycle with them; additionally, you can pre-book a breakfast onboard.
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DGzRS - The Maritime Rescuers
Anyone in distress at sea today has far better chances of receiving help, even out on the open water, thanks to modern technology and professionals who take care of it. Along Germany’s North and Baltic Sea coasts, these are primarily the approximately 1,000 full-time and volunteer men and women of the DGzRS (German Maritime Search and Rescue Service), also known as "The Maritime Rescuers." In 2020 alone, they conducted 1,720 operations and rescued 357 people. Since its founding, the organization has helped 86,000 individuals.
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