Centre for classic yachting: Kiel rejects planned "museum education and crafts location"
Lasse Johannsen
· 20.12.2022
In 2015, the same committee of the Schleswig-Holstein state capital "Kiel Sailing City" also unanimously decided to develop a "museum education and craft centre" on the vacant site of the British Yacht Club. The reasons for the application referred to a concept from the non-profit organisation Freundeskreis Klassische Yachten (FKY), whose 1,700 members are committed to the preservation of classic yachting throughout Germany.
In the planned centre, its various facets, from the traditional craft of boat building to nautical practice and cultural and historical heritage, were to be presented to a wide audience. As sailing is an important chapter in Kiel's city history, the council members welcomed the project:
The 'Centre for Classical Yachting', an initiative of the 'Circle of Friends of Classical Yachts e. V.', could make a significant contribution to raising the profile of the state capital of Kiel as the world capital of sailing. The utilisation ideas have been incorporated into the attached structure and utilisation concept ..."
That was no coincidence. Volunteers at the FKY had been working on the concept for the project for some time at this point: In cooperation with other applicants, a transparent shipyard with a training workshop was to be created, among other things, in which youth projects were also planned. In addition, a "time house" - a living museum in which the public would be introduced to the maritime cultural heritage of the sailing capital, which once became world-famous as the "Mecca of sailors", in changing exhibitions and activities. The German Sailing Museum Association would have taken care of the exhibits, archive and library. Finally, an event area was planned, which would have included the summer use of the then empty boat hall for cultural events.
Classics for the public
The association hoped that the planned centre, which would also include a jetty that would be used as a harbour for classic yachts in the summer, would interest the public in the themed worlds of yachting history.
Finally, an essential core of the project was the inclusion of the Pries neighbourhood, on whose grounds the site originally set up for the air force with water berths, boat hall, canteen and slip is located. To achieve this, partnerships had already been established with schools and social organisations.
Trusting in the political will expressed by the city, the volunteers in the circle of friends began to develop the centre for classic yachting with great commitment. Their concept was given the name "Open Harbour", which was intended to express the desire to be open to a wide audience.
But the company dragged its feet. Political leaders changed. The purchase of the site from the Bundesanstalt für Immobilienaufgaben by the City of Kiel did not take place until the end of 2020, after which the award procedure required by administrative law began. It began with an ideas competition, which included many of the ideas developed by FKY.
The search for a tenant to establish a "museum-like educational and craft centre" was subject to all kinds of conditions. Terms such as traditional boatbuilding, sailing and maritime heritage appeared in the brief - and the new applications that have now been submitted - as well as the requirement for sustainability in the realisation.
Surprising change of course by the city of Kiel
The public was therefore very surprised when, at the end of September 2022, the award committee decided in favour of a concept submitted by the operator of a yacht service. The reasoning was essentially based on the fact that the non-profit association "Freundeskreis Klassische Yachten" had not included the requested demolition of the old canteen building and the office building in favour of a new building in its concept.
According to the FKY, however, this was not an end in itself according to the tender, but should have served the construction of a riverside promenade, which would have been realised in the FKY's plans through a front building. On the contrary, according to the representatives of the Freundeskreis, their concept of preserving the existing structure while at the same time realising a riverside promenade took account of the required sustainability. Above all, however, they criticised the fact that there had been no competition between the concepts in terms of content.
There was no comparison of the content of the four concepts submitted to the city administration"
Those responsible at FKY then submitted a procedural complaint in which they also addressed the concept of the preferred candidate, among other things:
"Finally, we see from the results report that the Open City Bay concept has not yet presented any concrete cultural and operator concepts, no concrete cooperation concept and no sponsorship concept at all, although this is mandatory information. According to our calculations, the new building can only be realised through purely commercial use. By favouring such a concept, the state capital of Kiel would be deviating from its own application requirements.- Social coexistence and ecological sustainability- in order to enable a commercial investor to refinance these new buildings."
Disappointment also in the local advisory council
There was also great disappointment in the district of Pries about the award committee's proposal. The local advisory council lobbied the city in favour of the circle of friends, but was rejected, as was the procedural complaint.
In the non-public part of the meeting on 15 December, the council meeting unanimously followed the proposal of the award committee and awarded the contract to the operator of the yacht service with repair yard, yacht trade and winter storage. His concept also takes into account the museum and cultural utilisation components required in the tender. However, there is still some homework to be done before these can be realised.
The award committee has given the tradesman six months to secure funding and concretise his cultural projects. Whether this will be enough time remains to be seen. If he fails, the future of the site will once again be completely open. The volunteers of the Freundeskreis have made it clear that they are no longer interested in further cooperation with the city of Kiel after years of work for the planned centre and its rejection. Their statement on the council's decision ends with the sentence:
"What a pity. The 'Open Harbour' concept would have fitted in well with the old sailing city."
