The history of the Duisburg harbour begins with the industrialisation of the Ruhr and the conversion to steam navigation. Both of these determined traffic in bulk goods on the Rhine and the Ruhr from the 1840s onwards. The construction of extensive harbour installations was carried on systematically. Today 'Duisport' is the largest inland harbour in Europe and a distribution centre for international goods traffic.

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In Roman times the Rhine flowed near to what is today the Old Market Place, under which there was most probably a ford across the river. A Roman military encampment on the left bank of the Rhine guarded the Rhine crossing, the mouth of the Ruhr and important traffic connections into Germany. Towards the end of the 1st century A.D., the Rhine cut across the broad bend of the Rhine at what later became Essenberg, but continued to flow past Duisburg.

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Duisburg is the site of the first inland free port in Germany. By its establishment the city emphasises its importance in the area of goods logistics. The free port offers an ideal connection between the traffic carriers of water, rail and road.

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