Wasserstandsanzeiger Bremerhaven

The water-level indicator in Bremerhaven stands at the southern end of the Weser dike in the Mitte district. Its 32-metre steel lattice tower once guided ships by showing Weser water levels above chart datum. The tower’s red cones and balls, and later red and white lights, told crews how much water lay beneath their keels. The system began in 1903 with hand-cranked signals and switched to electric motors in later years. A signalman in the nearby gauge house watched the Alte Vorhafen gauge and raised or lowered the shapes each morning and evening. When water reached certain heights he alerted the fire brigade to close or open tide gates into the Geeste. After 70 years of service the tower fell silent in 1973. Today the restored mast still rises above the dike, its signals now decorative rather than vital. A small information board explains how the old gear worked. Nearby, the restored gauge house from 1929 sits beside the silted entrance to the old harbour, its mooring lines still guiding the ghosts of sailing ships.