Moldauhafen is a lot in the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

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 ...

that

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

acquired on a 99-year lease in 1929 pursuant to the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

. In 1993, the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

succeeded to the rights of Czechoslovakia. The lease will expire in 2028. The lot (the name of which is German for "Vltava port") gives the Czech Republic access to the sea via the

Vltava Vltava ( , ; german: Moldau ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, running southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice and Prague, and finally merging with the Labe at ...

and

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Re ...

rivers. Previously, a similar arrangement existed for the port of Stettin, now Szczecin,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. The lot is one of three over which the Czech Republic has rights. The other two are Saalehafen and Peutehafen. Saalehafen comes under the Versailles Treaty, but then-Czechoslovakia purchased Peutehafen in 1929. Both Moldauhafen and Saalehafen are part of the Hamburg free port, and sit on the embankment of Dresdner Ufer and Hallesches Ufer. The area comprises about . The leased premises constitute a duty-free zone that were called the Czecho-Slovak rental zone for inland navigation in the free port of Hamburg. Peutehafen comprises an area of about . It lies on the narrow peninsula between the Peutekanal and the Peutehafen dock, and is just outside the Hamburg free port.

Recent developments

In 2004, the city of Hamburg expressed interest in acquiring the two leased areas, as its proposed plan for hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics would have blocked access to Moldauhafen. The city also desired to develop the two areas. The city offered the Czech Republic a new site in exchange, with the inducement of a better location. For its part, the Czech Republic wished to continue to use its ports in Hamburg even after the expiration of the 99-year leases.

History

The 1919

stated in articles 363 and 364: ;Article 363 ;Article 364 The deal thus allowed the landlocked country

free port Free economic zones (FEZ), free economic territories (FETs) or free zones (FZ) are a class of special economic zone (SEZ) designated by the trade and commerce administrations of various countries. The term is used to designate areas in which co ...

s where goods transported over the

and the

or the Oder, respectively, could be transferred to seagoing ships in Hamburg or Stettin without the interference of a third state. Even though Germany had already declared in advance that it would follow the decisions of the Commission, the lease was formalised in an agreement between

and

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, signed in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

on 16 February 1929. With the abandonment of the Treaty of Versailles after World War II, the lease now has the character of a private contract between the city of Hamburg as property owner and the Czech Republic.

References

External links

* {{coord, 53, 31, 44, N, 10, 0, 54, E, display=title Economy of Czechoslovakia Geographic history of Czechoslovakia Economy of the Czech Republic Economy of Hamburg Geography of Hamburg 1929 in Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia–Germany relations