Understand
Until 1937, Cuxhaven was part of Hamburg; in a reorganization two towns near Hamburg that were part of Prussia were given to Hamburg in exchange for Cuxhaven. With 55000 citizens, Cuxhaven isn't a very large city. It still can boast roughly 3 million booked nights a year, making it one of the largest seaside resorts in Germany.
Tourism is one of the traditional businesses of Cuxhaven. The other two are the fish industry, and the harbour. The city is trying to expand the latter and has invested a lot of money in the modernization and expansion of the port facility. Still, the economic situation isn't all too good and tourism remains the major industry of the city. Many people have left Cuxhaven in the past decades to settle elsewhere. Many of those who remain are retired, contributing to the small, quiet town ambiance.
Near Cuxhaven, between 1945 and 1964 about 500 rockets were launched (http://en.wikipedia.org/w...). The best known rocket launches which took place in the area of Cuxhaven, were the launches of three V2 rockets in the operation Backfire, in order to demonstrate Allied forces the technique of the "wonder weapon" V2 in October 1945. The only thing remembering to rocketry at Cuxhaven is a trough near the way from Arensch to Sahlenburg.
Cuxhaven is a quiet place. If you're looking for action and parties, it's probably not the right destination. If you're looking for a quiet city by the sea, Cuxhaven becomes a much more interesting choice.
