Barque Viking
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''Viking'', (Barken ''Viking'' in Swedish ("the barque ''Viking''")), is a four-masted steel
barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...
, built in 1906 by
Burmeister & Wain Burmeister & Wain was a large established Danish shipyard and leading diesel engine producer headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded by two Danes and an Englishman, its earliest roots stretch back to 1846. Over its 150-year history, it g ...
in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
,
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
. She is reported to be the biggest sailing ship ever built in the
Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...
. In the 21st century her sailing days have drawn to a close, and she is now moored as a floating hotel in
Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
, Sweden.


Ship history

By the turn of the 20th century, ship production had almost completely switched to
steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
s. However, sailing ships were still preferred for crew training. ''Viking'' was originally built as a sail training ship for the rapidly growing Danish merchant fleet. At that time, seaworthiness and cargo capacity were given top priority. The ship was launched on December 1, 1906 and was christened ''Viking'' in the traditional manner by the Crown Princess, later
Queen Alexandrine Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Alexandrine Auguste; 24 December 1879 – 28 December 1952) was Queen of Denmark from 1912 to 1947, as well as Queen of Iceland from 1918 to 1944 as the spouse of King Christian X. Alexandrine was a daughte ...
, of Denmark. In July 1909, Captain Niels Clausen logged the ship's top speed of at the
Roaring Forties The Roaring Forties are strong westerlies, westerly winds that occur in the Southern Hemisphere, generally between the latitudes of 40th parallel south, 40° and 50th parallel south, 50° south. The strong eastward air currents are caused by ...
, i.e.
latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...
40°-50°, with daily distances of 250-275
nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude at t ...
s. She was then on her way home fully loaded with
wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...
from
Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. Port Pirie is the largest city and the main retail centre of the Mid North region of South Australia. The city has an ex ...
on
Spencer Gulf The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost and larger of two large inlets (the other being Gulf St Vincent) on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. It spans from the Cape Catastrophe an ...
in
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
. On 25 February 1917, she was sighted and boarded by the German commerce raider . Unusually, the Germans then allowed her to proceed because being Danish, she was a neutral ship. This was something of a lucky escape, because within weeks Germany would return to unrestricted marine warfare, a policy that would have meant the ship's definite sinking.


For Gustaf Erikson

In 1929, the
Ã…land Ã…land ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...
shipowner
Gustaf Erikson Gustaf Adolf Mauritz Erikson (1872 in Lemland – 1947 in Mariehamn) was a ship-owner from the Åland islands. He was famous for the fleet of windjammers he operated to the end of his life, mainly on the grain trade from Australia to Europe. ...
bought the ship for £6,500, which then sailed under the Finnish flag. She was now part of his Åland fleet of tall ships. Erikson had a worldwide reputation as a great sailor. In 1931, Viking was fitted out for passengers, who could join the voyages for 25 shillings per person per day. After several circumnavigations, ''Viking'' unloaded her cargo of wheat in
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
in the summer of 1939 and then sailed to her home port of
Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; ; ) is the capital of Ã…land, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Ã…land, and 40% of the population of Ã…land live in the city. It is mostly surrounded b ...
, which she entered on July 14. She was then fitted out for her next long voyage, but
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
meant that she remained in port for several years. Viking was towed, along with '' Passat'' and ''
Pommern Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian, Pomeranian and Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodesh ...
'', to Stockholm in July 1944 to be used as a grain
silo A silo () is a structure for storing Bulk material handling, bulk materials. Silos are commonly used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, woodchips, food products and sawdust. Three types of silos are in widespread use toda ...
for the Swedish State Food Commission. In December the following year they were returned to Ã…land. She participated in several of the Great Grain Races from
Port Victoria, South Australia Port Victoria (formerly Wauraltee) is a town on the west coast of Yorke Peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia. Like many other coastal towns on the peninsula, it has a jetty and used to be a thriving port for the export of grain ...
to
Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Falmouth was founded in 1613 by the Killigrew family on a site near the existing Pendennis Castle. It developed as a po ...
. ''Viking'' won the Grain Race of 1948.
David James Dewi, Dai, Dafydd or David James may refer to: Performers *David James (actor, born 1839) (1839–1893), English stage comic and a founder of London's Vaudeville Theatre *David James (actor, born 1967) (born 1967), Australian presenter of ABC's ''P ...
was an apprentice on her voyage around the world in 1937-38, which is described in his biography.Robson, J.,(1998, One Man in his Time. David Robb Muirhead (1921–78) wrote a diary and took photos of his voyage on the Viking as a working passenger in 1948, which records are held in the State Library of South Australia. She was part of Erikson's fleet until 1950. ''Viking'' was about to be scrapped in the late 1940s, but was eventually saved by the Swedish government in 1950 and moored in Gothenburg.


Seamen's school in Gothenburg

A suspension bridge,
Älvsborg Bridge The Älvsborg Bridge () is a suspension bridge over Göta älv in Gothenburg, Sweden, connecting the island of Hisingen with the mainland. It was designed by Sven Olof Asplund, and inaugurated on 8 November 1966 by Swedish communication minister ...
, built in 1966, has effectively locked the ship in, since the masts are taller than the bridge. It is unlikely she ever will sail the open seas again. In January 2021 she was partially demasted to be able to pass under Älvsborg Bridge. Early on January 24, 2021 she was towed to Falkenberg by tug boats Svitzer Thor and Svitzer Bob. There are only ten four-masted barques and one four-masted full-rigged ship (the '' Falls of Clyde'') in existence, and only five of these still sail (''
Sedov Sedov may refer to: * STS Sedov STS ''Sedov'' (), formerly ''Magdalene Vinnen II'' (1921–1936) and ''Kommodore Johnsen'' (–1948), is a four-masted steel barque that for almost 80 years was the largest traditional sailing ship in operation. ...
'', '' Kruzenshtern'', '' Sea Cloud I'', '' Nippon Maru II'', '' Kaiwo Maru II''). A few more are still afloat and berthed in various harbors (''
Peking Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is l ...
'' (
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
), ''
Moshulu ''Moshulu'' is a four-masted steel barque, built as ''Kurt'' by William Hamilton and Company at Port Glasgow in Scotland in 1904. The largest remaining original windjammer, she is currently a floating restaurant docked in Penn's Landing, Ph ...
'' (
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
), '' Passat'' (
Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...
, Germany), ''
Pommern Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian, Pomeranian and Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodesh ...
'' (
Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; ; ) is the capital of Ã…land, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Ã…land, and 40% of the population of Ã…land live in the city. It is mostly surrounded b ...
, Finland), '' Nippon Maru'' (
Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
, Japan), and ''Viking''). ''Viking'' came to
Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
in Sweden permanently in 1950, as a home for various shipping organizations, and later became a school of seamanship. Today it is moored at
Lilla Bommen Lilla Bommen is a part of Gothenburg harbor used for visiting boats and also the name given to the land surrounding the harbor. The eponymous building along with The Gothenburg Opera house and the barque Viking are all located at Lilla Bommen. ...
as hotel "Barken Viking". The owner of the hotel is ESS Hotell AB. Finnish artist Lena Ringbom-Lindén, one of a few females on board a ship at that time, sailed on ''Viking'' on one of its voyages to Australia. She wrote of her experience in two books, ''Flicka på skepp'' ("Girl on Ship") and ''Skeppet och Lena'' ("Lena and The Ship"). Another Finn, Gunnar Eklund, the founder of the
Viking Line Viking Line Abp is a Finland, Finnish shipping company that operates a fleet of ferry, ferries and cruiseferry, cruiseferries between Finland, the Ã…land, Ã…land Islands, Sweden and Estonia. Viking Line shares are quoted on the Helsinki Stock Ex ...
, worked as an apprentice onboard ''Viking''. He earned his master's certificate onboard ''Pamir''.


Cargoes

''Vikings cargos: *
Cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...
– Denmark *
Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
–
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
*
Guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...
–
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
*
Salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
–
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
(
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
) *
Soya bean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source of f ...
s –
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
(
Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...
) *
Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
–
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
*
Timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
–
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
(
Sundsvall Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population. Old town i ...
) *
Wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...
–
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...


See also

*
Grain race Grain Race or The Great Grain Race was the informal name for the annual Iron-hulled sailing ship, windjammer sailing season generally from South Australia's grain ports on Spencer Gulf to Lizard Point, Cornwall on the southwesternmost coast of t ...
*
Moshulu ''Moshulu'' is a four-masted steel barque, built as ''Kurt'' by William Hamilton and Company at Port Glasgow in Scotland in 1904. The largest remaining original windjammer, she is currently a floating restaurant docked in Penn's Landing, Ph ...
*
Pommern Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian, Pomeranian and Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodesh ...
*
Tall ship A tall ship is a large, traditionally-rigging, rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a r ...
*
Windjammer A windjammer is a commercial sailing ship with multiple masts, however rigged. The informal term "windjammer" arose during the transition from the Age of Sail to the Age of Steam during the 19th century. The Oxford English Dictionary records t ...
*
Gustaf Erikson Gustaf Adolf Mauritz Erikson (1872 in Lemland – 1947 in Mariehamn) was a ship-owner from the Åland islands. He was famous for the fleet of windjammers he operated to the end of his life, mainly on the grain trade from Australia to Europe. ...
* Botel


References


Bibliography

* *


External links


Official site of Barken VikingShip's history
{{Oldest surviving ships (pre-1919) Viking, Barque Viking, Barque Viking, Barque Merchant ships of Finland Barques Windjammers Training ships Four-masted ships Ships built by Burmeister & Wain 1906 ships Museums in Gothenburg 1906 in Denmark Economic history of Denmark World War I merchant ships of Denmark World War II merchant ships of Finland Economic history of Finland Tall ships of Sweden National symbols of Sweden History of Scandinavia