Duchesse Anne
Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2008 12:22 pm
Launched in 1901, Grossherzogin Elisabeth was the first three-master to go into service with the German Association of Sail Training Ships. Designed to train officers and sailors of the merchant fleet, this square-rigged three-master was fitted out to house 130 to 200 cadets and a crew of 15 to 20 officers, petty officers, masters and sailors. The young cadets went on board for two years and were trained using a mix of practical (navigation, ship handling, seamanship etc.) and theoretical (German, geography etc.) training. In summer Grossherzogin Elisabeth sailed across the Baltic Sea and spent the winter off the coasts of Africa and South America.
From 1932, with the development of steam ships, the three-master ceased sailing. Used as a stationary sail training ship, she remained in the port of Hamburg until 1944.
In 1945 Grossherzogin Elisabeth was, along with six other German ships, given to France as compensation for the losses suffered by its merchant fleet during the war. Handed to the Navy and renamed Duchesse Anne, she was based in Lorient and then in Brest where she was used as a barracks, then as a home for young people before being scheduled for demolition.
In 1981, Dunkirk acquired the ship which became the first in France to be classified a Historic Monument. After large-scale restoration work, she was officially opened to the public in June 2001, on her hundredth birthday.
See http://www.marmucommerce.com/Duchesse_A ... is....html
France SG2149
From 1932, with the development of steam ships, the three-master ceased sailing. Used as a stationary sail training ship, she remained in the port of Hamburg until 1944.
In 1945 Grossherzogin Elisabeth was, along with six other German ships, given to France as compensation for the losses suffered by its merchant fleet during the war. Handed to the Navy and renamed Duchesse Anne, she was based in Lorient and then in Brest where she was used as a barracks, then as a home for young people before being scheduled for demolition.
In 1981, Dunkirk acquired the ship which became the first in France to be classified a Historic Monument. After large-scale restoration work, she was officially opened to the public in June 2001, on her hundredth birthday.
See http://www.marmucommerce.com/Duchesse_A ... is....html
France SG2149