If the atmosphere in Flensburg is a bit tense this coming weekend, it’s for good reason: From 10 to 12 July 2026, the 17th Flensburg Steam Festival will transform the harbour into a living time machine – featuring three historic steamships, a race on the fjord and a fireworks display over the water. Admission is free.
From 10 to 12 July 2026, the 17. All-round steam – organised by Historischer Hafen Flensburg gGmbH and Tourismus Agentur Flensburger Förde GmbH on behalf of the Friends of the Alexandra Saloon Steamer. Three large steamships are taking part: the “Alexandra” as the hostess, who Tugboat “Bjørn” as well as the little one Danish postal steamer “Skjelskø"r" – as well as a number of smaller steamboats. On land, locomobiles, steam rollers, a model-making exhibition and a programme of live music lasting several days provide entertainment, with free admission. The festivities kick off on Friday evening with the traditional steamboat race on the fjord; at 11.00 pm, a fireworks display marks the end of the first day of the event.
The grand old lady: ‘Alexandra’ as hostess
She has been part of it from the very beginning – and remains so to this day: the “Alexandra”, launched in Hamburg in 1908, is regarded as the last surviving fjord steamer and has been listed as a sailing technical monument since 1990. In over 100 years, she has never changed her christening name. Since the very first event in 1993, she has taken on the role of host and serves as the unofficial headquarters for all participants – young and old, from Flensburg and Scandinavia.
How it all began: Over 30 years of steam history
The first Flensburg Steam Festival took place from 16 to 18 July 1993 – organised by Captain Wolfgang Weyhausen and Andreas Westphalen, who was later dubbed the ‘Steam Pope’ in Flensburg. Three associations collaborated as organisers: the Förderverein Alexandra e.V., the Verein für Technikgeschichte (Dampfclub) Flensburg e.V. and the Verein der Freunde des Schienenverkehrs Flensburg e.V. What made this inaugural event so special was that Back then, steam was not only found on the water and on land, but also on the railways – at that time, a service track still ran right into the harbour.
That era is long gone. Until 2013, the Angelner Steam Railway featured historic carriages and locomotives – including, at times, the massive BR 01 1100 steam locomotive from 1940, which, with around 2,500 PS and a kerb weight of just under 180 tonnes, once hauled a special train from Hamburg-Altona to the harbour track. The track is no longer fit for service; steam-hauled trains are therefore no longer part of the programme. However, according to the organisers, some participants from the very first event are still taking part today – foremost among them the little Danish Skjelskor.
A star from Denmark: the “Skjelskør III”
Hardly any ship has had a more eventful history than the “Skjelskør III”. The small postal steamer was built in Svendborg in 1915 and, for over 47 years, supplied the Danish islands of Agersø and Omø with post, people, animals and cars – on occasion, the upper deck even carried an entire combine harvester or an aeroplane that had crashed on the island. With a gross tonnage of just 49 – a measure of a ship’s total internal volume – and an engine power of 75 PS, the “Skjelskør” completed an estimated 15,000 voyages. Strict etiquette always applied on board: the islanders from Agersø and Omø would never have sat at the same ‘Back’, that is, the same table.
When new ferry services rendered the little steamer redundant, it was taken out of service on 31 March 1962. The ship was sold to a scrapyard in Odense for 12,000 Danish kroner. At the eleventh hour, a preservation organisation set up specifically for this purpose saved the “Skjelskør III” – for 13,500 kroner, it rescued the ship from certain destruction. Today, the Skjelskør III is Denmark’s last coal-fired passenger ship and the oldest vessel still in service from the former Svendborg shipyard. Its steam engine, built in 1914 by Steen & Kaufmann in Elmshorn, still runs perfectly to this day.
At the Dampf Rundum, the “Skjelskør” has an inglorious but heart-warming tradition: she has never won the race. With her 75 PS, she is reliably the last in the field. However, she travels the furthest to get there – depending on the weather, the little ship takes a respectable 22 to 26 hours to make the journey from her home port of Frederikssund before mooring in Flensburg.
The third member of the trio: the tugboat “Bjørn”
The Danish steam tug “Bjørn” was built in 1908 by the G. Seebeck A.G. shipyard in Geestemünde near Bremerhaven and handed over to the Randers Port Authority in 1909. There, she served as a tug and icebreaker for over seven decades before becoming a heritage vessel in 1981. Today, the “Bjørn” is based in Helsingør and is maintained by the Dansk Veteranskibsklub S/S Bjørn. Measuring 26.2 metres in length, 7.9 metres in width and with a displacement of 135 tonnes, the “Bjørn” is the most compact of the three large vessels – powered by a triple-expansion steam engine producing 450 PS. This means she brings six times the power of the “Skjelskør” to the fjord – turning Friday evening’s race into a genuine three-way contest.
The Steamboat Race: Full steam ahead on the fjord
On Friday evenings, the fjord belongs to the steamboats. At 7.00 pm, the ships set sail from the Nordertorkai and steam out as far as Glücksburg and the Ochseninseln. There, they line up in what is known as a ‘Dwarslinie’ – that is, they position themselves side by side, as if on a starting grid. Then the boilers are fired up once more. Anyone watching from the shore can barely make out the ships themselves in the distance – but they can certainly see the massive plumes of smoke rising from the funnels of the coal-fired steamers. Once the go-ahead is given by radio, the starting signal is fired, and all engines run at full throttle. Traditionally, the “Alexandra”, with its sleek hull, takes the lead – whilst the “Skjelskør” reliably limps back into the harbour in last place. After the race, at 11.00 pm, a fireworks display launched from a pontoon in the inner harbour brings the festive first day to a close.
Right in the thick of it, rather than just watching from the sidelines: out onto the fjord on a steamboat
The ‘Dampf Rundum’ isn’t just something to experience from the shore. On Friday, there will be opportunities to join in the steamboat race on the Skjelskør and the Bjørn. On Saturday and Sunday, sightseeing cruises are on the programme on all three steamboats – although places for the steamboat race on Friday evening are already completely booked out. So if you’d still like to join in, you’d better get a move on: tickets for the boat trips can be booked via the website www.dampfrundum.de can be booked; any remaining tickets will be available at the yellow ticket office on Nordertorkai during the event.
Hands-on technology: The rural programme
For those not out on the water, there is more than enough to discover on land. Locomobiles – mobile steam engines that were once used in fields and on building sites – steam rollers and other historic machines rattle across the cobblestones, proving that they are far from being scrapped. Small model engines hiss along the promenade, enveloping visitors in smoke and fumes. A large model-making exhibition is on display at the Flensburg Maritime Museum. The so-called ‘Steam Mile’ caters to visitors’ culinary needs. Live bands perform daily on the NOSPA stage at Nordertorkai; on Sunday, for example, the Flensburg City Brass Band will be playing. For children, there is a puppet show and clown performances on Saturday and Sunday.
The festival will be officially opened on Friday evening at 6.00 pm by the Lord Mayor, Dr Fabian Geyer. Visitors can view the steamboats from 12.00 pm onwards. The onshore programme is free of charge on all three days.
Ursula Meer
Redakteurin Panorama und Reise
