The Niederhafen is a part of the Port of Hamburg on the northern bank of the Elbe, which has grown from the beginning of the 18th century as a harbor extension in front of the inner wall protecting Baumwall into the Norderelbe. He was Hamburg's first Elbe port and is now used as a marina and investor for harbor cruise ships. It lies between the quay walls of the Vorsetzen and the Sandtorhöft of the large Grasbrooks, today's HafenCity and extends in the west over the Überseebrücke up to the St. Pauli Landungsbrücken. Together with the inland port, he was until the construction of Sandtorhafen 1861 the most important cargo handling center.
The first facilities were the wharves on the Vorsetzen, as these were no longer sufficient after a few years, 1767 a row of Duckdalben was rammed into the Elbe as anchorage in the stream, where the large sailors could set. The transhipment took place by water, the goods were transhipped to smaller ships, Ewer and Schuten and transported over the numerous fleets and waterways to the stores and markets of the city. Due to the confusing shipping traffic in this part of the port, the low port also got the name Rummelhafen. 1795 was followed by a second row of dolphins, which reached to Jonas, the bastion John of the former city wall.
In its heyday the Niederhafen was subdivided into several parts of the harbor: the log cabin harbor, directly on the Vorsetzen before the Baumwall, named after a building at the harbor entrance, the Georgiushafen on the Kehrwieder, named after the bastion Georgius of the Hamburger Wallanlagen, which was set before the Kehrwieder, the Interior and the outer Brandenburg Harbor and the Inner and Outer Hullhafen. In the west, the interior and the exterior joined Jonashafen.
On the site of the former log cabin harbor is today the City-Sportboothafen. The investors in the eastern part of the Überseebrücke are still called Brandenburger Hafen.