Lightvessel No. XVII Gedser Rev ( Danish: Fyrskib XVII Gedser Rev) is a decommissioned

lightvessel A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. It is used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, the ...

built in 1895, now serving 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 ...

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; ), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a coastal city in northeastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 63,953 on 1 January 2025, making it the 23rd most populated municipality in Denmark. Helsin ...

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 ...

, having formerly been stationed in the Nyhavn Canal 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 ...

. It is owned by the

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

and takes its name after Gedser Rev south of

Falster Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.

where it was stationed most of its working life.

History

Denmark's first

was built at Jacob Holm's shipyard at

Christianshavn Christianshavn () is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of the city centre by the Inner Harbour, ...

in 1829. Built at N.F. Hansen's shipyard in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

in 1895, the Gedser Rev was number seventeen in the line of Danish lightvessels. It was first stationed at Lappegrund in shallow waters at the entrance to the

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; ; ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Denmark–Sweden border, Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width var ...

. It was powered by two

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

s which were replaced by a 16- hp kerosene engine in 1918. In 1921, a new three-cylinder Voelund 135-hp propulsion engine was installed and the ship was moved to a position at Gedser Rev, south of

Falster Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.

, itself the southernmost point of Denmark. In 1940, when Denmark was occupied by

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 ...

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 ...

, the German occupying forces confiscated the ship and placed it near

Kalundborg Kalundborg () is a Danish city with a population of 16,659 (1 January 2025),Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

and after the building of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

in 1961, many East Germans chose to escape by water, heading North to Denmark. Although most failed and many died in the attempt, at least 50 were rescued by the Gedser Rev. As the southernmost limit of Danish territory and as an obviously recognisable target, many aimed for the lightship. One notable escapee was Manfred Burmeister in 1969, who escaped by aid of a petrol-driven submersible scooter.See Aqua scooter for a similar escape in 1967, by Bernd Boettger. Image:Fyrskib XVII, 1896.jpg, Lightvessel No. XVII at Lappegrund in 1896 Image:Fyrskib XVII Gedser Rev, c. 1948.jpg, Lightvessel No. XVII at Gedser Rev in c. 1948

Museum ship

Lightvessel No. XVII was decommissioned in 1972 and put up for sale at the lightship warehouse at Holmen in Copenhagen. A donation from the A. P. Møller Foundation enabled the

to purchase it. The A. P. Møller Foundation also sponsored the ship's restoration which was carried out at Hvide Sande Shipyard from January 2001 until November 2003. The lightvessel's regular home for several years has been the Nyhavn Canal in

where was open to the public Saturdays from 11 am to 3 pm from June through August. It was maintained by a group of volunteers. On 9 May 2018 it was towed from Nyhavn to dock 2 in

harbor, to be exhibited there for five years.

Coin

On 27 May 2009 Bank of Denmark issued a new 20 krone coin with lightvessel XVII, as depicted by the artist Karin Lorentzen, on its reverse.

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gedser Rev Ships in the National Museum of Denmark Museum ships in Copenhagen Lightships 1895 establishments in Denmark 1972 disestablishments in Denmark 1895 ships

History

Museum ship

Coin

See also

Notes

External links