The Marine-Regatta-Verein (MRV), "Naval Regatta Union", is a

yacht club A yacht club is a boat club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mar ...

of the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...

. Its main branch is located in the harbor city of

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

, and it has branches in different states of

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 ...

. This club promotes both

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

and

powerboat A motorboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine; faster examples may be called "speedboats". Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the inter ...

ing. Many of its members also are engaged in

yacht racing Yacht racing is a Sailing (sport), sailing sport involving sailing yachts and larger sailboats, as distinguished from dinghy racing, which involves open boats. It is composed of multiple yachts, in direct competition, racing around a course mark ...

and yacht cruising around the world. Although it began as a yacht club for navy officers, it presently opens its doors to everyone with an interest in sailing and in the historical memory of both the German Navy and the merchant navy.

History

This club was founded in February 1887 in Kiel by Vice Admiral von Blanc and Navy Engineer Busley along with other 112 officers of the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for ...

. It was established as the "Marine-Regatta-Verein" (Regatta Union of the Navy), an association exclusively for military personnel in order "to foster the joy of sailing".

Prince Heinrich of Prussia A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in some ...

, a yachting enthusiast, was the patron of the club. The newly-born club organized its first successful regatta already in the same year in June. In 1891 the 500 naval officers that ran the club elected

Emperor Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty's ...

as their

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

. The club's name was altered to "

Kaiserlicher Yacht Club Kaiserlicher Yacht-Club, "Imperial Yacht Club", was one of the forerunners of the Kiel Yacht Club. Known also as "Küz" from its acronym KYC, it was a prestigious yacht club located in the harbor city of Kiel, Germany. German Emperor Wilhelm II, G ...

" (Imperial Yacht Club). The new statutes allowed civilian members in, so the nature and the purpose of the club changed radically. In August 1928, most of the active naval officers left the Kaiserlicher Yachtclub and revived the Marine-Regatta-Verein, as an organization attached to the German navy, which became the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

during

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

times. The Marine-Regatta-Verein took part in the organization of regattas in the

Bay of Kiel The Bay of Kiel or Kiel Bay (, ; ) is a bay in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany and the islands of Denmark. It is connected with the Bay of Mecklenburg in the east, the Little Belt in the northwest, ...

, like the

Kiel Week The Kiel Week () or Kiel Regatta is an annual sailing event in Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is considered to be one of the largest sailing events globally, and also the largest summer festivals in Northern Europe, ...

and the sailing events of

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

. As a result the club went through a period of expansion, reaching a record number of 3,600 member, becoming the largest sailing club in Europe. In 1945, at the end of

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 Marine-Regatta-Verein was disbanded by the allied forces in Kiel. In May 1972 the Marine-Regatta-Verein was refounded in an effort led by Friedrich Rohlfing, who would become its president. The revived club was officially registered under the name ''Marine-Regatta-Verein im Deutschen Marinebund e.V. (MRV im DMB e.V.)''. It is under the ''Verein Deutscher Marinebund'' (German Navy Association) and it has its seat in Kiel.Marine-Regatta-Verein - History
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Notes and references

* Description of the Visit of a British squadron to kiel regatta in 1914, just before World War I.

External links

Marine-Regatta-Verein Essen e. V.Marine-Regatta-Verein PeenemündeMarine-Regatta-Verein Starnberger See e.V.Marine-Regatta-Verein im DMB e.V.
{{Authority control German Navy Imperial German Navy Naval history of Germany 1887 establishments in Germany Yacht clubs in Germany Sports organizations established in 1887