Wolfsburg (Germany Lower Saxony)

Wolfsburg is an Aller River/Weser River cruise port and city in Germany's Lower Saxony state (Niedersachsen's Urban district). By population (around 125,000) the city is ranked state's 5th largest - after Hannover, Braunschweig, Oldenburg, and Osnabruck. The city is on Aller River (the largest tributary of Weser River) and also on Mittellandkanal (Midland Canal) - major inland waterway in central Germany, running east-west, completed in 1938 and with length 326 km (202 mi). Wolfsburg is approx 75 km (47 mi) east of Hanover (state's capital) and approx 230 km (143 mi) west of Berlin (Germany's capital).

Wolfsburg is best-known (worldwide famous) for housing VW's (Volkswagen AG's) headquarters and also VW's (and world's) largest car-producing factory. Next to the VW plant is located the Autostadt (open-air museum/visitors center/theme park) exhibiting the company's various models made throughout its long history, also old car models by the VW-owned luxury brands Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Ducati, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT, Skoda, as well as commercial VW vehicles (in a separate pavilion). As theme-park, Autostadt also has a planetarium, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Phaeno Science Center (Germany's largest science-themed museum), water-skiing resort, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg (private art museum).

Officially founded in 1938, Wolfsburg is one of the few large cities in Germany built in the 20th-century's first half. The town (initially named "Stadt des KdF-Wagens bei Fallersleben") was established to house workers producing the model "VW Beetle" (until 1945). By 1972, its population already exceeded 100,000. During WW2 (1939-1945) here were built military cars and airplanes. After the war, the town was renamed Wolfsburg - after the Wolfsburg Castle (lowland and water castle/palace) built here in the 13th-century. Volkswagen's best-selling car - VW Beetle - was manufactured here in the period 1955-1974, though the production continued in Emden until 1978.

As cruise port, Wolfsburg is included in the regular schedules of some of Europe's largest river cruise companies - like CroisiEurope and Phoenix Reisen.

Next tables show some Lauenburg-visiting cruisetours as ports sequences and prices per person (double occupancy rates).

(Phoenix Reisen, ship Saxonia) 9-day itinerary roundtrip from homeport Potsdam

(CroisiEurope, ship Mona Lisa) 11-day itinerary between homeports Berlin and Amsterdam, from ~USD 1800 pp