CUXHAVEN or KUXHAVEN, a seaport town of Ger many, the foreport of Hamburg, situated on the west side of the Elbe, 71 m. by rail N.W. of Hamburg. Pop. 22,234. The town dates only from 1873, having been formed by uniting the villages of Ritzebuttel and Cuxhaven, which had belonged to Hamburg since 1394. The harbour is good and secure. A new harbour was made in 1891-1896, and it is now the seat of the German-American traffic. There is a fishing fleet, for which a new harbour was opened in 1892, and some ship-building is carried on. The town is a pleasure resort for Hamburg.