'Dar Pomorza' Museum Ship

Al. Jana Pawła II (Nabrzeże Pomorskie), Gdynia (+48) 58 620 23 71 29 Nov 2024

Originally named Prinzess Eitel Friedrich in honour of for Duchess Sophia Charlotte of Oldenburg, wife of Prussia Prince Eitel Friedrich. This three-masted training ship has visited 383 ports and travelled more than 800,000km in her time at sea. Constructed in 1909 in Hamburg to train cadets for the German navy, in 1920 she was taken by the British as part of post-WWI reparations and was later given to the French Naval School in St Nazaire, who named her Colbert. It was then passed on to the French-born Baron Maurice de Forest, whose beloved steam-yacht 'The Honor' had also been confiscated in similar post-war reparations (he had been adopted at a young age into the German aristocracy). He had the idea of turning it into a luxury yacht and then changed his mind to modernise it with an engine! However, de Forest realised his plans were too expensive and he sold it for £7,000 to the Polish Naval Academy in Gdynia. At this point, she was renamed Dar Pomorza (The Gift Of Pomerania), showing how much of a big deal it was purchasing a ship like that at the time.

'Dar Pomorza' Museum Ship- fot: Marek Ciuła

Like previously, the Naval Academy used it as a training ship and Since 1972, she has taken part in numerous sailing competitions, winning the Cutty Sark Trophy in 1980. A year later she was bestowed with the highest Polish State decoration: The Order of Polonia Restituta. In 1982, she was officially aquired as part of the Polish National Maritime museum. Closed in Wintertime.