Cuxhaven: Museum "Windstärke 10" shows special exhibition on rescue equipment
Tobias Frauen
· 28.03.2023
Today, life jackets and good safety equipment are essential at sea, whether for leisure or commercial shipping. The ancestors of today's high-tech waistcoats can be seen in the "Windstärke 10" museum in Cuxhaven from 2 April. There, the special exhibition "Safety First" is dedicated to the development of life-saving equipment in seafaring.
"In order to provide the best possible protection in the event of an accident, life-saving equipment such as lifeboats and life jackets have been continuously improved and developed, especially since the 19th century," writes the museum about the exhibition. At the end of the century, the See-Berufsgenossenschaft published the first accident prevention regulations. These stipulated, among other things, that life-saving equipment must be both easy to use and reliable. A maxim that nobody would contradict today.
The "Titanic" provided a boost to development
The sinking of the "Titanic" gave a boost to the development of maritime safety: in 1913, one year after the disaster, a conference was convened for the first time to create an international minimum standard for safety on merchant ships. The first Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, or "Solas" or "Ship Safety Treaty" for short, was adopted. The development since then can be seen in the exhibition.
Today, rescue equipment is divided into two groups: collective rescue equipment such as lifeboats or life rafts for rescuing several people at the same time and individual rescue equipment for rescuing individuals. From the life raft to a modern "RescueStar" and various models of a survival suit, there are numerous exhibits on display.
Wreck and Fishing Museum Cuxhaven became "Wind Force 10"
The "Safety First" exhibition opens on 2 April and can be seen daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until 31 October 2023. A visit to the special exhibition is included in the admission price to the "Windstärke 10" museum.
The museum was opened in 2013 and is a merger of the former fishing museum and the Cuxhaven Wreck Museum. It is located in two historic fish packing halls, which have been connected by a design-award-winning entrance building.
- Further information at windstaerke10.net
