What Stadt Wilhelmshaven does

Stadt Wilhelmshaven is a municipal government (Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts) in Lower Saxony, Germany, founded in 1869, serving approximately 78,423 residents across a 107 km² area. The city delivers the full spectrum of public administration services — registry office functions, vehicle registration, social services, education, urban planning, public safety, and cultural programming — through a central Rathaus and multiple municipal offices, supplemented by digital channels including Online-Terminvergabe (appointment booking), i-Kfz (online vehicle registration), and E-Rechnung/X-Rechnung (electronic invoicing via the Niedersachsen ZeRN network). Its customer base spans residents, local businesses, tourists/day visitors, and students/families, with dedicated services for each segment.

The city operates a portfolio of wholly-owned municipal enterprises (Eigenbetriebe) and GmbH subsidiaries covering real estate (GGS), healthcare (Reinhard-Nieter-Krankenhaus), technical operations (TBW), utilities (Stadtwerke), public transport, waste management (AWG), tourism (Wilhelmshaven Touristik & Freizeit GmbH), and innovation (Jade InnovationsZentrum). Its core technology stack consists of WebEdition CMS for the public website, with integrations for Google Analytics, Google Maps, REGISonline, komsis.de, Reservix, bookingkit, and NAVO. Cultural and tourism products include the Havenspuren® VR-Tour (launched 2022), historical walking tours, the NordseePassage shopping center (28,000 sqm, 600 parking spaces, 40,000 daily visitors), the Nautimo leisure pool, the Rosarium (5,000+ roses, 500+ varieties), and the JadeWeserPort-InfoCenter.

Revenue is generated primarily through municipal taxes (Grundsteuer, Gewerbesteuer, Hundesteuer, Zweitwohnungssteuer), administrative fees, usage charges for public facilities, and subsidiary operating revenues. The city is led by Oberbürgermeister Carsten Feist and is governed by German public law, with no private equity or external investor ownership structure. Strategic assets include JadeWeserPort — Germany's only container deep-water port, operational since 2012 — and a 12 million EUR Stadtpark restoration project funded through the Land Niedersachsen 'Lebendige Zentren' program.

Name

Stadt Wilhelmshaven

Legal name

Stadt Wilhelmshaven

Website

https://wilhelmshaven.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1869

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Stadt Wilhelmshaven is a municipal government in Lower Saxony, Germany, serving ~78,423 residents with public administration, digital citizen services, and a portfolio of municipal subsidiaries covering utilities, healthcare, transport, tourism, and innovation, anchored by Germany's only container deep-water port (JadeWeserPort).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Wilhelmshaven

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Municipal Tax Revenue: The city generates revenue primarily through municipal taxes including property tax (Grundsteuer), trade tax (Gewerbesteuer), dog tax (Hundesteuer), and second home tax (Zweitwohnungssteuer). Additional revenue comes from fees for administrative services, utility charges, and municipal enterprise operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Stadt Wilhelmshaven is the municipal government of the City of Wilhelmshaven, a North Sea coastal city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It delivers public administration services to approximately 78,423 residents including citizen registration, vehicle registration, social services, education, urban planning, public safety, and tax collection. Beyond core administration, it operates tourism attractions (Havensspuren® VR-Tour, historical walking tours, JadeWeserPort-InfoCenter, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Brücke, Rosarium, Nautimo leisure pool), economic development programs for local businesses, and infrastructure including Germany's only container deep-water port (JadeWeserPort).

Product overview

Stadt Wilhelmshaven operates a comprehensive digital citizen services platform alongside physical cultural and recreational facilities. The digital services include Online-Terminvergabe for scheduling appointments, i-Kfz for online vehicle registration, and E-Rechnung/X-Rechnung for electronic invoicing. The city's cultural portfolio includes VR-based tourism experiences (Havenspuren® VR-Tour), costumed historical walking tours, and multiple visitor attractions including the JadeWeserPort-InfoCenter, Nautimo leisure pool, Rosarium botanical garden, and the historic Kaiser-Wilhelm-Brücke. These digital and physical offerings are designed to serve citizens, tourists, and businesses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Online-Terminvergabe (Online Appointment Booking) Online appointment booking system allowing citizens to schedule appointments for Bürgeramt (citizen office), Kfz-Zulassung (vehicle registration), and Führerscheinstelle (driver's license office) services digitally.
• i-Kfz (Online Vehicle Registration) Online vehicle registration and deregistration service enabling citizens to register or unregister vehicles digitally without visiting the office in person.
• E-Rechnung / X-Rechnung (Electronic Invoicing) Electronic invoicing system accepting structured electronic invoices via the Zentraler eRechnungseingang Niedersachsen (ZeRN) network with multiple Leitweg-IDs for the city and its municipal utilities.
• Havenspuren® VR-Tour Virtual Reality city tour experience using VR glasses to explore historical Wilhelmshaven scenes from around 1903 and post-WWII periods. Approximately 90-120 minutes, covers multiple historic locations in the city center.
• 1913 – Begegnungen in Wilhelmshaven Scenic guided walking tours with costumed guides depicting historical characters from 1913. Two tour variants: one focusing on social life (Herta and Luise) and one on urban development (Otto and Jan). Minimum 7, maximum 20 participants.
• Spaziergang durch die Kaiserzeit Historical city walking tour discovering traces of the Imperial era in Wilhelmshaven, lasting approximately 1.5 hours.
• Nautimo Leisure Pool and Sauna Leisure pool and sauna complex featuring a 25m pool, diving pool with modern diving facilities, experience pool with current channel and massage jets, and a large sauna landscape.
• JadeWeserPort-InfoCenter Visitor and information center at Germany's only container deep-water port. Offers interactive exhibits, harbor bus tours, presentations, and group guided tours. Features a shipping simulator and virtual port area. Operated as a joint project of the State of Lower Saxony, the City of Wilhelmshaven, and the districts of Friesland, Wittmund, and Wesermarsch.
• Rosarium (Rose Garden) Rose garden with over 5,000 roses from more than 500 varieties, located in the Stadtpark. Maintained by the Rosarium e.V. association since 2003. Open May through October.
• Baumpatenschaften (Tree Sponsorship) Tree sponsorship program allowing citizens to symbolically sponsor young trees for 300 EUR, supporting urban greening and climate. Sponsors receive a certificate and plaque on the tree.
• Rathaus Tower Tours (Turmfahrten) Panoramic city views from the Rathaus tower at approximately 49m height. The Rathaus was designed by architect Prof. Fritz Höger and inaugurated October 11, 1929.

Quantifiable outcome

• 12 million EUR investment in Stadtpark restoration over 10 years through government-funded urban development program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Land Niedersachsen (State of Lower Saxony)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe JadeWeserPort-InfoCenter is a joint project (Gemeinschaftsprojekt) of the State of Lower Saxony, the City of Wilhelmshaven, and the neighboring districts of Friesland, Wittmund, and Wesermarsch. The state also co-funds the Stadtpark restoration project through the 'Lebendige Zentren' urban development program with 12 million EUR.
• Landkreise Friesland, Wittmund, und Wesermarsch (Districts of Friesland, Wittmund, and Wesermarsch)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe JadeWeserPort-InfoCenter is a collaborative project involving the City of Wilhelmshaven and the neighboring rural districts, representing regional economic development cooperation for the JadeBay region.
• Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Umwelt, Energie, Bauen und Klimaschutz (Lower Saxony Ministry for Environment, Energy, Building and Climate Protection)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe ministry funds the Stadtpark restoration through the 'Lebendige Zentren' (Living Centers) urban development program, providing major funding for the 12 million EUR 10-year renovation project.
• Landesbühne Nord (Nordic State Theater)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Landesbühne Nord theater company collaborates with the city on historical walking tours '1913 – Begegnungen in Wilhelmshaven', providing artistic direction and actors for costumed historical tours.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Stadt Bremen: Hanoverian port city with dual-center Bremerhaven port structure and municipal holdings in logistics, tourism, and utilities. Comparable as a North Sea German port-city government with tourism attractions, digital citizen services, and municipal enterprises (Stadtwerke, airport, port operating companies).
• Stadt Hamburg: Germany's largest port city and Hanseatic municipal government. Comparable as a city-state administering a major North Sea container port, tourism attractions, and a broad portfolio of municipal subsidiaries (utilities, transport, real estate). Far larger scale, but operates the same constitutional form (Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts) with overlapping port-tourism-citizen-services mandates.

Direct peers

• Stadt Kiel: State capital of Schleswig-Holstein with ferry/cruise port, urban waterfront tourism, municipal utilities (Stadtwerke Kiel), and digital citizen services. Comparable as a coastal German municipal government balancing maritime industry with cultural/tourism offerings.
• Stadt Emden: Smaller East Frisian North Sea port city in Lower Saxony with auto-import terminal, shipyard history, and municipal tourism offerings. Closely comparable in scale (≈50k residents), port-tourism profile, and Lower Saxony institutional setting.
• Stadt Rostock: Baltic port city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern operating a major ferry/cruise terminal, seaside tourism (Warnemünde), and a similar portfolio of municipal subsidiaries including Stadtwerke. Comparable in coastal-tourism-and-port orientation and in operating a municipal enterprise structure of similar breadth.
• Stadt Oldenburg: Lower Saxony university city (~170k residents) and JadeBay region partner. Comparable as a nearby municipal government in the same federal state, with shared regional economic-development cooperation, municipal utilities, and digital citizen services platform.
• Stadt Cuxhaven: Coastal Lower Saxony city with ferry/cruise port, tourism (climate, beaches, shipping), and similar population tier (~48k). Directly comparable as a North Sea coastal municipal government with maritime tourism identity.
• Stadt Bremerhaven: Smaller North Sea port city within the Bremen state structure operating a major container and cruise terminal, fishing/logistics economy, tourism attractions (German Maritime Museum, Klimahaus), and the same set of municipal services. Closest direct comparable in scale, port-tourism mix, and demographic profile.

Regional players

• Stadt Lübeck: Han Baltic Hanseatic city in Schleswig-Holstein with UNESCO heritage tourism, port operations, and municipal holdings (Stadtwerke, KWL). Comparable as a German port city with tourism-led economy, though positioned on the Baltic rather than North Sea.

Others

• Tourismus & Freizeit GmbH comparable municipal tourism entities (e.g., Hamburg Tourismus GmbH, BMT Bremen): Municipal tourism marketing and attraction operating companies comparable to Wilhelmshaven Touristik & Freizeit GmbH. Same line of business (tourism marketing, attraction ticketing, tour operations) executed through a city-owned GmbH structure. Hamburg Tourismus used as a representative example.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Wilhelmshaven.de
• Instagraminstagram.com/wilhelmshaven.de
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stadt-wilhelmshaven

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stadt Wilhelmshaven