The international history of yachting now also has a stage in Germany. In Flensburg, the "Robbe & Berking Yachting Heritage Centre" opened the first museum dedicated to the sport of sailing and its history.
The very first exhibition in the Heritage Centre clearly underlines the claim of the founder and initiator to create the Mecca of classic yachting in Europe. Entitled "Royal Yachting", it focuses on the passion of European royalty for yachting from the end of the 19th century to the present day and presents spectacular exhibits in the new museum building with its almost 1500 square metres, many of which have never been on public display before - loans from almost all European royal families, many royal yacht clubs, friendly museums and private collectors.
"We are planning three or four exhibitions a year, and I can already promise you that the first one will not be the most spectacular," says Oliver Berking, who wants to show permanent attractions in addition to the changing exhibitions, is planning a hall of fame for the great men and women of yachting history and is running a small museum shop. YACHT photographer Nico Krauss is represented with numerous pictures, which can also be purchased on site. The new "Gallery 4" will also be located in the maritime centre in future. The four North German painters Susanne Westphal, Ines Ramm, Heinke Böhnert and Christine Aulbach will present their work here on a permanent basis.
The eponymous silver manufacturer Robbe & Berking has been committed to the classics for more than 20 years. It began with regattas such as the Sterling Cup and various championships for individual classes, which were organised together with the Flensburg Sailing Club. Early on, company owner Oliver Berking focussed on the elegant yachts in the metre class.
With the founding of the Robbe & Berking Classics shipyard, which, according to Berking, "specialises in the construction and restoration of particularly elegant and exclusively wooden yachts and boats", the enthusiast finally turned his passion into a line of business. With the takeover of Baum & König, an internationally active classic yacht broker, the Flensburg native also entered the brokerage business and publishes "Goose", a magazine four times a year that also features classic yachts.
