''Dannebrog'' was a Danish royal side-wheel paddle

steam yacht A steam yacht is a class of luxury or commercial yacht with primary or secondary steam propulsion in addition to the sails usually carried by yachts. Origin of the name The English steamboat entrepreneur George Dodd (1783–1827) used the term ...

, which was built in 1879 and decommissioned in 1931. ''Dannebrog'' was named in honor of the

flag of Denmark The flag of Denmark (, ) is red with a white Nordic cross, which means that the cross extends to the edges of the flag and that the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side. A banner with a white-on-red cross is attested as havin ...

Princess Mary of Teck wedding dress 1893 no2

History

Paddle-wheel steamer "Dannebrog", a type of yacht, launched on 6 October 1879. The yacht was commissioned in the Danish Fleet on 7 June 1880. During the summer months of 1880-1892, the Dannebrog underwent expeditions in Danish waters and visited several foreign ports. There was also a voyage in 1893 to England, due to the marriage of the Duke of York and

Princess Mary of Teck Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; 26 May 186724 March 1953) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 6 May 1910 until 20 January 1936 as the wife of King-Emp ...

. The cruiser "Valkyrien" escorted the yacht during this voyage. There was a voyage to

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

in 1902 due to the Crown Prince Christian and Princess Alexandrina receiving the Marselisborg Castle () as a present. The construction of Marselisborg castle in Aarhus was completed in 1902 and the castle was a gift from Danish people to them. ''Dannebrog'' brought the Danish prince

Carl Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

and his family from Denmark to Norway to assume the

Norwegian throne The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingdom ...

, departing Denmark on 23 November 1905. His coronation as king

Haakon VII Haakon VII (; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was King of Norway from 18 November 1905 until his death in 1957. The future Haakon VII was born in Copenhagen as Prince Carl of Denmark. He was the second son of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess ...

was carried out in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

in June 1906. From December 1906 - 1907, the yacht had an overhaul, where its length was increased to 72 meters and a newly designed main engine with bigger dimensions was installed. Simultaneously, tonnage was increased to 1,100 tonnes. Two funnels were installed on the yacht. During the summer months of 1909, the yacht had an expedition in Danish waters, and from 11–23 July, a voyage to Russia, escorted by the cruiser Gejser, was held. From 14–17 May 1912, the yacht was escorted by coastal defense ship called "Olfert Fischer" during the voyage to

Travemünde Travemünde () is a borough of Lübeck, Germany, located at the mouth of the river Trave in Bay of Lübeck, Lübeck Bay. It began life as a fortress built by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, in the 12th century to guard the mouth of the Trave, an ...

to move the coffin of the King Frederik VIII, who died in

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 ...

on 14 May 1912. Then, the yacht had a voyage ''back'' to

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 ...

. During the summer months of 1913, the yacht travelled Danish waters and visited

Landskrona Landskrona is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona to the island of Ven, an ...

(Sweden) and

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

(Germany). In 1914, the Dannebrog made trips to

Sheerness Sheerness () is a port town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 13,249, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby ...

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

, and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, and then expeditions in the Danish waters. The yacht idled during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

from 1914-1918, and underwent another expedition in Danish waters during the summer months of 1919. There was a voyage to South Jutland on 10 July 1920, for the occasion of the reunification. 19 August 1929 she was in a collision with Japanese cargo ship at

Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the Øresund strait. The Øres ...

. The yacht was scrapped in 1934.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dannebrog (1879) 1879 ships Ships built in Copenhagen Auxiliary ships of the Royal Danish Navy Royal and presidential yachts Steamships of Denmark Individual yachts Steam yachts Paddle steamers Monarchy of Denmark