Water attracts - Ship lifts connect. Large technology fascinates, and ship lifts draw particularly great attention. As monuments of engineering and construction, they represent modern technology, research, and development. However, these lifts are more than machines for raising and lowering ships. Ship lifts are friendly landmarks and historical markers worldwide. After an overview of the history of ship lifting with machines, the author presents the old and new ship lifts in Germany: Kahnhebehaus Halsbrücke near Freiberg (Saxony), the old ship lift Henrichenburg in Waltrop (North Rhine-Westphalia), the old ship lift Niederfinow near Eberswalde (Brandenburg), the folding boat lifts Hausen and Steinbach (Bavaria), the ship lift Rothensee near Magdeburg (Saxony-Anhalt), and the new ship lift Henrichenburg in Waltrop (North Rhine-Westphalia).