Semkenfahrt

The word Semkenfahrt originated from Semken, the surname of a family who gave the land to build the canal, and Fahrt which means a navigable channel in the nautical sense.

With a barge carrying peat from Worpswede bound for Bremen, a skipper had to use the rivers Hamme, Lesum and Wümme.

The canal, called Alte Semkenfahrt, had to make an arc to pass the hill of Weyerberg, then joining the river Hamme.

But in North Germany the wind comes mostly from the west, so for the most part the skipper could set the sails only on the way back, when the barges were empty.

After the barges left the Neue Semkenfahrt they came into the Torfkanal and then it was only a short way to the destination, the Torfhafen (harbour for peat).

The economic importance of the peat traffic at that time is shown by the length of the quay: 1 km (approximately 0.6 miles).