Bremerhaven Maritime Museum

It’s been a few years since we managed a holiday overseas (if you discount Orkney). We ended up organising a more traditional family seaside holiday on the Butjadingen peninsula next to the North Sea. It’s actually quite a relaxing way to spend a week but aside from swimming in the water amongst the beasties and trying to fathom weird Friesian accents (a seemingly bizarre cross between German and Geordie) I did take a chance to see the famed Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum – the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven.

The German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven - The Rau IX is one of the ships that can be visited.

The museum itself is fascinating with various exibits including the remains of the Bremen Cog, a trading vessel dating back to 1380 which was discovred in the Weser in the 1960s. However the museum covers all ages of shipping from the ancient to the modern with both commercial and military vessels included. Some of the exibits are fully restored vessels which are located in the docks outside and are mostly accessible without a care for health and safety (as I discovered when frequently bashing my head on things).

The Bremen Cog from 1380 - discovered in 1962.

A one-man mini-submarine. Having had a look inside, this is not one for the claustrophobic.

This replica of a paddle steamer is inside the main museum building.

Additionally, there is a fully restored World War II U-boat, the Wilhelm Bauer (or U-2540 as it was originally designated). It has a rather colourful history as it was barely used during the war and was scuttled in May 1945. It was eventually raised and refitted for use by the German Federal Navy in the 1960s before being turned into a museum ship in the 1980s. The design of ship was influential as they were the first submarines designed to operate primarily underwater rather than for brief periods to escape detection. The design was used by the Royal Navy for all their post-war diesel-electric subs up until the Falklands conflict (although it was the nuclear powered ones that were the mainstay by then.) Having had a good crawl around inside I can only say that life beneath the ocean waves must have been hellish.

Wilhelm Bauer / U2540

The U-Boot commanders leather jacket - great if you want to cosplay as Jürgen Prochnow or the 9th Doctor. I suppose it depends on one's cultural references.

The dining area on the U-Boot. This was actually far more cramped than it looks in the picture.

This exhibit is actually a restaurant. It's also much more spacious than the U-Boot.