130 years of the ‘Rickmer Rickmers’: The eventful history of Hamburg’s green windjammer

It is now 130 years since a steel full-rigged ship was launched at the shipyard of the Bremerhaven-based shipping company Rickmer Clasen Rickmers. Named after the shipowner’s grandson, Rickmer Rickmers, the ship was intended for the world’s major cargo routes – to Hong Kong, on the saltpetre trade to Chile, and round Cape Horn.

What began as a proud merchant sailing ship went on to lead an eventful life over the course of 130 years as a military transport vessel, a training ship and, finally, a museum ship. Today, the green three-masted ship lies moored at the St Pauli Landungsbrücken as a Hamburg landmark – and stands as a living monument to a bygone era of seafaring.

From the Weser to the Elbe

This is thanks to a few enthusiasts from the Elbe. They were convinced that a city which describes itself as the ‘Gateway to the World’ – a city which has achieved fame and wealth through trade on all the seas since the days of the Hanseatic League – must also have a floating monument.

They founded the Windjammer Association for Hamburg and set about looking for a suitable ship. A few years later, they found what they were looking for – even though their object of desire had, during its long and eventful history, only sailed for a Hamburg shipping company for four years. It had originally been built and sailed under the flag of the Rickmers shipping company. And that company, of all places, hailed from Hamburg’s great rival on the River Weser: Bremerhaven.

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The early years of the “Rickmer Rickmers”

Originally a full-rigged ship with square sails on all masts, the “Rickmer Rickmers” lost its crossmast as early as 1904 during a hurricane in the Indian Ocean; for financial reasons, it was promptly re-rigged as a barque in Cape Town and fitted with a mizzenmast at the stern instead.

The Hamburg-based shipping company Krabbenhöft acquired the ship in 1912 and renamed it “Max”. For the next two years, it was used to transport coal from Wales to Chile and saltpetre from Chile to Europe. At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the ship anchored off the neutral Azores. Two years later, however, it was confiscated by the Portuguese armed forces and used to transport war materiel to Great Britain.

“Sagres”: as a training ship for Portugal

Following a refit in 1924, the barque served as a training ship for the Portuguese Navy under the name “Sagres”, fitted with two auxiliary diesel engines from 1930 onwards. The sails now bore the Cross of the Order of Christ, typical of Portuguese sailing ships. In 1958, she won the Tall Ships’ Race from Brest to Las Palmas on Gran Canaria. With the commissioning of the next “Sagres” in 1962 – a sister ship to the “Gorch Fock”, originally built in 1938 for the German Kriegsmarine – her active service finally came to an end. It was subsequently used as a storage vessel, moored permanently at a naval pier near Lisbon.

A windjammer for Hamburg

After that, the windjammer fell into disrepair until a Hamburg-based club took notice of it in 1978 and finally brought it to the River Elbe in 1983 – not for free, but in exchange for another vessel, a schooner yacht, which, whilst considerably smaller, was seaworthy. It had previously been purchased with the help of numerous donors and also still sails under the Portuguese flag. The “Rickmer Rickmers”, restored to its historic appearance from around 1910, has ever since been an eye-catcher and a magnet for visitors at Hamburg’s Landungsbrücken, with its bowsprit pointing out to sea.

Technical specifications of the “Rickmer Rickmers” (1896)

• Bark (from 1904), cargo sailing ship
• Shipyard: Rickmers Werft, Geestemünde
• Fuselage material: steel
• Length (overall): 97.0 m
• Height (main mast): 54.0 m
• Sail area: 2,600 m²
• Speed (under sail): 14 knots
• Berth: Landungsbrücken, Hamburg

Information for visitors

The 800 square metres of the exhibition deck are divided into four sections: the ship’s construction, cargo shipping under sail, its use as a training ship, and its current use as a museum ship. The crew and officers’ quarters offer an insight into the sometimes harsh life of a seafarer. The gallery beneath the River Elbe hosts changing art exhibitions, whilst the on-board restaurant serves classic Hanseatic dishes. Special activities include an escape room, a karaoke bar and climbing the shrouds to a height of 35 metres.

Opening hours: Every day from 10 am to 6 pm. Prices: Between 4 and 7 euros, family ticket: 18 euros, group tours on request: 75 euros plus admission. Tel: 040/3195959. Website: rickmer-rickmers.de

Travelling by boat: Hamburg’s floating landmark is ten minutes from the City Sports Harbour which seats 120 guests. Tel: 040/364297