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 and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg) is one of the 16 states. Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany (after Berlin) with a population nearing 2 million within the city's boundaries and more tha 5 million in the metropolitan area. Hamburg is located on the upper estuary of the Elbe River. The estuary has been improved for the navigation of large vessels and it is marked by more than 70 lighthouses in all: the largest number of lighthouses on any inland waterway in the world. This page lists lighthouses inside the city of Hamburg. Downstream lighthouses on the north bank of the Elbe are are described on the West Holstein page and lights on the south side of the Elbe are described on the Cuxhaven and Stade page. 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). All the lights on this page are in the jurisdiction of WSA Elbe-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. These lights are not included on the U.S. NGA List.
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Hamburg City Lighthouses
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![]() Tinsdal (Wittenbergen) Oberfeuer, Wittenbergen, January 2023 Google Maps photo by Hans-Albert Krüger |
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: Northwest: West Holstein | West: Cuxhaven and Stade
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Posted March 30, 2005. Checked and revised March 29, 2025. Lighthouses: 17; lightships: 2. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.