Köhlbrand is an

anabranch An anabranch is a section of a river or stream that diverts from the main channel or stem of the watercourse and rejoins the main stem downstream. Local anabranches can be the result of small islands in the watercourse. In larger anabranches, th ...

of the

Unterelbe The Unterelbe or, in English usually the Lower Elbe, refers to the lower reaches of the river Elbe in Germany influenced by the tides. It starts at kilometre 586, at the sluice of Geesthacht, where the Elbe forms the border between Lower Sa ...

river in the

Port of Hamburg The Port of Hamburg (german: Hamburger Hafen, ) is a seaport on the river Elbe in Hamburg, Germany, from its mouth on the North Sea. Known as Germany's "Gateway to the World" (''Tor zur Welt''), it is the country's largest seaport by volume ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It has a width of approximately .

History

Lovis Corinth * Blick auf den Köhlbrand * Hamburger Kunsthalle

The branch emerged during floods in the 14th and 15th centuries, which separated the former Elbe island of ''Gorieswerder''. The Köhlbrand is bridged by the

Köhlbrand Bridge The Köhlbrand Bridge (german: Köhlbrandbrücke) is a cable-stayed bridge in Hamburg, Germany,Stahl, F. L., & Gagnon, C. P. (1996)Cable Corrosion in Bridges and Other Structures: Causes and SolutionsASCE Publications. . Retrieved on 16 March 20 ...

, both probably named after

charcoal burner A charcoal burner is someone whose occupation is to manufacture charcoal. Traditionally this is achieved by carbonising wood in a charcoal pile or kiln. Charcoal burning is one of the oldest human crafts. The knowledge gained from this industr ...

s (''Köhler''), whose fires (''Brand'') could be seen along the river banks and who sold coal to the boatmen. Until the 19th century dockyards were located at the banks of Köhlbrand. According to the third Köhlbrand treaty signed in 1908, the anabranch was relocated around to the west and deepened by to . Its former pathway is marked by the harbour basin of

Kohlenschiffhafen Kohlenschiffhafen (''Coal ship harbour'') is a harbour basin of the port of Hamburg, Germany, connected with the Norderelbe anabranch of River Elbe. It is located between the promontories of Köhlbrandhöft to the west and Tollerort to the east ...

, which is almost completely filled up with sand today.Hamburg Lexikon, ed. by Franklin Kopitzsch and Daniel Tilgner, Hamburg 2005, p.277f. Nowadays, the complete

Süderelbe The Süderelbe () (Southern Elbe) is the biggest anabranch of the Unterelbe river in the area which is now the Port of Hamburg, Germany. Its natural flow path was redirected through the Köhlbrand. See also *List of bridges in Hamburg *List ...

waterflow is redirected through the Köhlbrand, which is a main access to the

Container Terminal Altenwerder The HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA) in Hamburg, Germany currently is one of the most modern container terminals in the world, located in the Altenwerder quarter. It is owned by the Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) (74.9%) and H ...

References

External links

Image gallery
Rivers of Hamburg Federal waterways in Germany 0Kohlbrand Rivers of Germany {{Germany-river-stub