The ''Dar Pomorza'' ( en, Gift of

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

) is a Polish full-rigged sailing

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

built in 1909 which is preserved in

Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...

as a

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

. She has served as a

sail A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails ma ...

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

in Germany, France, and Poland. ''Dar Pomorza'' won the Cutty Sark Trophy in 1980.

History

The ship was built in 1909 by

Blohm & Voss Blohm+Voss (B+V), also written historically as Blohm & Voss, Blohm und Voß etc., is a German shipbuilding and engineering company. Founded in Hamburg in 1877 to specialise in steel-hulled ships, its most famous product was the World War II battl ...

and dedicated in 1910 by ''Deutscher Schulschiff-Verein'' as the German training ship ''Prinzess Eitel Friedrich'', named for

Duchess Sophia Charlotte of Oldenburg Duchess Sophia Charlotte of Oldenburg (german: Sophie Charlotte; 2 February 1879 – 29 March 1964) was a member of the House of Holstein-Gottorp. She was the only surviving child of Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg by his first ...

, wife of

Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia Prince Wilhelm Eitel Friedrich Christian Karl of Prussia (7 July 1883 – 8 December 1942) was the second son of Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany by his first wife, Princess Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. He was born ...

. Her yard no. was 202, her hull was launched on 12 October 1909. In 1920, following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the ship was taken as war-reparations by Great Britain, then brought to France, where she was assigned to the seamen's school at

St-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. ...

under the name ''Colbert''. The ship was in 1927 given to Baron de Forrest as compensation for the loss of a sailing yacht. Due to the high costs of refurbishing the ship, she was sold in 1929. Still bearing the name ''Prinzess Eitel Friedrich'', she was bought by the Polish community of

for £7,000, as the new training ship for the

Polish Naval Academy The Polish Naval Academy (PNA) " Heroes of Westerplatte" is a naval university supervised by the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Poland, with the history, uninterrupted by World War II, dating back to 1922. At present the PNA pro ...

. She was given the name ''"Dar Pomorza"'' (the Gift of Pomerania). In 1930 the ship was repaired and fitted with an auxiliary diesel engine. The experience gained during rebuilding works enabled Danish shipbuilders of Nakskov to build a sail training vessel for their country, the '' Danmark'' (still in service). Worth noting is the fact that the ship made her first voyage under Polish colours named (temporarily) "Pomorze" (Pomerania). According to rumours, the name may have been changed in an effort not to name a training ship after a lost one. The same German-written name bore the German pre-dreadnought battleship ''

Pommern Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

'', lost (with all hands) during the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice ...

in June 1916. The mentioned first voyage was one under tow of two Dutch tugs ("Poolzee" and "Witte Zee") with a party of Polish and Dutch runners aboard, starting on 26 Dec. 1929 from St. Nazaire, and ending on 9 Jan. 1930 at Nakskov, the ship narrowly escaping destruction in a gale off the Brittany coast. That first voyage of the ship under Polish flag became later famous through some accounts, including one written Mr T. Meissner, the ship's first mate. During the following years, rebuilt and converted into training unit fitted i/a with an auxiliary Diesel engine, she was used as a training ship, receiving the nickname "White Frigate". In 1934-1935 she travelled around the world (via

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

). During that famous voyage, she called at many ports as the first ship ever under Polish flag. In 1937 a special voyage took her around the famous

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...

; thus she became the first ship under Polish Colours to round the famous cape. In 1938 she took part at the famous meeting of Baltic sail training ships at

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

, regarded as the predecessor of all the post-war Operation Sail meetings, winning i. a. special respect the skipper of Norwegian sail training vessel ''

Christian Radich ''Christian Radich'' is a Norwegian full-rigged ship, named after a Norwegian shipowner. The vessel was built at Framnæs shipyard in Sandefjord, Norway, and was delivered on 17 June 1937. The owner was The Christian Radich Sail Training Foundat ...

''. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

she was interned in Stockholm. After the war, she was brought to

Communist Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

and used as a training ship again. In 1967 she made a 'second debut', calling at

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

, Canada, during the Expo-Fair and winning general respect for her and her country. In the 1970s she took part in several

Operation Sail Operation Sail refers to a series of sailing events held to celebrate special occasions and features sailing vessels from around the world. Each event is coordinated by Operation Sail, Inc., a non-profit organization established in 1961 by U.S. Pres ...

and

Cutty Sark Tall Ships' Race The Tall Ships Races are races for sail training "tall ships" ( sailing ships). The races are designed to encourage international friendship and training for young people in the art of sailing. The races are held annually in European waters and ...

s, winning her first race in 1972, taking the 3rd place in 1973, the 4th in 1974 and winning the 1st place and Cutty Sark Trophy in 1980. In 1976, during the famous Operation Sail '76 in the US, her retiring skipper Kazimierz Jurkiewicz was officially greeted by Mr Kjell Thorsen, the skipper of the Norwegian "Christian Radich". The "Dar Pomorza" has been one of several Blohm & Voss-built tall ships, most popular in the world. Her importance to the world's maritime heritage is her origin - she is the younger sister of the (still existing) '' Grossherzogin Elisabeth'', the world's first purpose-built sail training ship. As well, she is the first ship ever to carry the Polish Colours around the world in one voyage (1934–35), thus becoming incomparable to any other existing unit of her sort. On 15 September 1981 she undertook her last voyage to the Finnish harbour of

Kotka Kotka (; ; la, Aquilopolis) is a city in the southern part of the Kymenlaakso province on the Gulf of Finland. Kotka is a major port and industrial city and also a diverse school and cultural city, which was formerly part of the old Kymi parish ...

, finishing it 13 days later. On 4 August 1982 she was decommissioned and festively replaced by the ''

Dar Młodzieży ''Dar Młodzieży'' ( pl, Gift of the Youth) is a Polish sail training ship designed by Zygmunt Choreń. A prototype of a class of six, the following five slightly-differing units were built subsequently by the same shipyard for the merchant fleet ...

'' as a training ship.

Museum ship

Since 27 May 1983 she has been a

(next to the '' Błyskawica''). She is part of a collection of National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk. In October 2009 the ''Dar Pomorza'' celebrated her 100th "birthday". The celebration included her second christening by Mrs Barbara Szczurek, the wife of the Mayor of Gdynia. Her speed under sail averaged 5 knots, with a 17 knots maximum. Her auxiliary engine was one of the type used in German U-Boats, and her horn, installed after the war, was from the German battleship '' Gneisenau'', scuttled on 27/28 March 1945 at one of the entrances to the harbour of Gdynia.

Sister ships

The three sister ships of ''Dar Pomorza'' also survive: *''

Duchesse Anne ''Duchesse Anne'' (formerly called ''Großherzogin Elisabeth'') is the last remaining full-rigged ship under French flag. She was built in 1901 with a steel hull by the yard of Joh. C. Tecklenborg of Bremerhaven-Geestemünde ( Germany) accordin ...

'' (originally ''Großherzogin Elisabeth'') *''

Schulschiff Deutschland ''Schulschiff Deutschland'' ("''School Ship Germany''") is a German full-rigged sail training ship, maintained as a historical monument and museum ship. She was employed as a school ship for the merchant marine beginning in 1927. The ship is moor ...

'' *''

Statsraad Lehmkuhl ''Statsraad Lehmkuhl'' is a three-masted barque rigged sail training vessel owned and operated by the Statsraad Lehmkuhl Foundation. It is based in Bergen, Norway and contracted out for various purposes, including serving as a school ship for the ...

'' (originally ''Großherzog Friedrich August'')

References

External links

Polish Maritime Museum: Dar PomorzaPhotos of ''Dar Pormorza''
(

Polish language Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In ad ...

, archived link)

Gallery

File:Dar Pomorza 008.JPG File:Dar Pomorza bez zagli.jpg File:Dar Pomorza, Gdynia.jpg File:Dar Pomorza w dzień.jpg, Day. File:Dar Pomorza nocą.jpg, Night. File:Dar Pomorza przy świcie.jpg File:Schiff Prinzeß Eitel Friedrich 00.jpg, ''Dar Pomorza'' as ''Prinzeß Eitel Friedrich'' (photo from 1915). File:Dar Pomorza silnik glowny.jpg, Main engine. File:Dar Pomorza 001.JPG, Officer quarters onboard the ship. Uniform of

Master mariner A master mariner is a licensed mariner who holds the highest grade of seafarer qualification; namely, an unlimited master's license. Such a license is labelled ''unlimited'' because it has no limits on the tonnage, power, or geographic location o ...

is visible. File:Gdynia dar pomorza.JPG File:Gdynia Dar Pomorza.jpg File:POL.Gdynia.DarPomorza.jpg File:OORP Wicher & Dar Pomorza.jpg, '' Wicher'' and ''Dar Pomorza''. File:1962 Dar Pomorza 03.jpg, ''Dar Pomorza'' in 1962. File:STS Lwow i Dar Pomorza.jpg, ''Dar Pomorza'' and ''

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

.'' File:Prinzess Eitel Friedrich (Dar Pomorza) - SLV H99.220-3796.jpg, ''Prinzeß Eitel Friedrich''. File:OORP Wicher & Wilk & Rys & Zbik -cropped.jpg, ''Wicher'', '' Wilk'', '' Ryś,'' and '' Żbik''. ''Dar Pomorza'' visible in the background. File:Gdynia - Przystań - panoramio.jpg, ''Dar Pomorza'' with '' Błyskawica'' visible. {{Museum ships in Poland Museum ships in Poland Individual sailing vessels Tall ships of Germany Training ships of Germany Tall ships of Poland Training ships of Poland Gdynia Full-rigged ships 1909 ships Museums in Pomeranian Voivodeship

History

Museum ship

Sister ships

See also

References

External links

Gallery