Risen from the dead: What sounds like a miracle is true when you talk about the first "Gorch Fock". She takes her name from Johann Kienau, the Low German poet who wrote passionately about seafaring under this pseudonym and died young in the Battle of the Skagerrak during the First World War.
"Gorch Fock" in Hitler's navy
The white barque was still lucky with this civilian name, because after her launch in the year of the "seizure of power", the next three units of her class were all named after "heroes" of the NSDAP - after all, sail training ships made splendid ideological ambassadors in peacetime and at the same time provided new blood for the rapid expansion of Hitler's navy.
However, like many of the young men who were trained on her, the first "Gorch Fock" almost didn't survive the war: from 1939, she served mainly as a stationary accommodation ship and occasionally as a training ship. In 1942 she was berthed in Swinemünde, in 1944 in Kiel and later off Rügen. Training voyages in the Baltic Sea only took place occasionally. On 1 October 1944, the barque was brought to the port of Stralsund and finally decommissioned on 27 April with the advance of the Red Army in 1945. On 1 May, after Soviet tanks were already in sight, the Gorch Fock was blown up and sank in the Strelasund, leaving her masts visible.
Around the world with a hammer and sickle
After being raised, however, she was not demolished but repaired so that she could once again serve her original purpose as the "Towarischtsch", albeit under a hammer and sickle. In 1957, she travelled the world - in the same year that a new, second "Gorch Fock" was put into service for the German Navy as the "belated" sixth ship of the class, with no idea that her predecessor would one day get her name back.
After the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, the training ship came into the possession of the Ukrainian merchant navy. When operation became too expensive, the ship was decommissioned. The last voyage from the Black Sea to the North Sea to Newcastle upon Tyne took place in 1995, where private sponsors planned a repair, but this failed for cost reasons.
Another rescue from the cutting torch
In increasing disrepair, she was transferred to Wilhelmshaven to serve as the flagship of Expo 2000. The Tall-Ship Friends association then took over the "Gorch Fock I" with the plan to save her and turn her into a museum ship in Stralsund, her last home port under the German flag. The Last refurbishment took place in 2024.
The site on the Strelasund has another advantage: it is far enough away from Kiel, where the other "Gorch Fock" is based. So there is no chance of confusion...
Technical data of the "Gorch Fock I" (1933)
- Barque, sail training ship
- Shipyard: Blohm+Voss, Hamburg
- Hull material: steel
- Length (overall): 82.1 m
- Height (main mast): 39.3 m
- Sail area: 1,800 m2
- Speed (sail): 12 kn
- Berth: City harbour, Stralsund
Information for visitors
Since its return from the shipyard in May 2024, the Bark directly in Stralsund's city harbour. Due to renovations, only the outside areas can currently be visited. Information boards on deck tell the story of the tall ship. Pictured knots invite you to practise knots. The second renovation phase is due to be completed in 2026. Interior tours will then also be possible again. The Tall-Ship Friends association is working on recommissioning the ship under the German flag. A sailing licence has been promised, but will require an investment of around six million euros.
Opening hours: 01.04.-30.11. daily 10-17 hrs, 01.12.-31.03.: Sat. + Sun. 11-16 hrs.
Prices: Adults: 4 euros, children and students: 2.50 euros, families: 10 euros, children under six free, discount for groups.
Travelling by boat: Citymarina StralsundTel.: 03831/444978
