Museum tall ship: "Gorch Fock I" was rescued twice
Rescued twice: What sounds like a miracle is the true story of the first "Gorch Fock". She is named after Johann Kienau, the North German local poet who wrote about seafaring under this pseudonym in Low German. He died young during the First World War when his ship was sunk in the Battle of the Skagerrak in 1916.
Hitler's ambassador abroad
The white barque was lucky with her civilian naming, because after her launch in the year of Hitler's "seizure of power", the following ships of her class were named after NSDAP "heroes". After all, sail training ships served as excellent ideological ambassadors in peacetime and promoted the reconstruction of the German navy.
The war hardly spared the first "Gorch Fock": from 1939, she was mainly used 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 were rare, and on 1 October 1944 the barque was transferred to Stralsund harbour. With the advance of the Red Army, she was decommissioned on 27 April 1945 and on 1 May 1945, when Soviet tanks fired on the ship, she sank by blowing herself up.
Gorch Fock" becomes "Towarischtsch"
After salvage, the ship was not demolished; instead, it was repaired and from then on served its original purpose under the name "Towarischtsch" - but now under the sign of the hammer and sickle. In 1957, the barque embarked on a voyage around the world. This happened in the same year that the West German navy put the sixth ship of this class, a new "Gorch Fock", into service, not realising that its predecessor would one day get her name back.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the training ship became the property of the Ukrainian merchant navy. Due to the high operating costs, however, it was eventually decommissioned. The last voyage from the Black Sea to the North Sea to Newcastle upon Tyne took place in 1995. There, private sponsors tried to finance a repair, but the project failed.
Return to the old home.
In an increasingly dilapidated condition, the "Gorch Fock I" was transferred to Wilhelmshaven to serve as the flagship of Expo 2000. The Tall-Ship Friends association then took over the ship with the intention of saving it and using it as a museum ship in Stralsund, its last home port under the German flag. The Most recent refurbishment was completed in 2024.
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
