The ''Germania'' was a German

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

built in

Geestemünde Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...

, in 1869.

Career

Fitted with an auxiliary

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

,Polarforschungsschiff "GERMANIA" (1869-1891)
/ref> it was especially built as the main

research ship A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

of the Second German North Polar Expedition of 1869–1870 that explored northeastern

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

. The captain of the ship was

Carl Koldewey Carl Christian Koldewey (26 October 1837 – 17 May 1908) was a German Arctic explorer. He led both German North Polar Expeditions. Life and career Koldewey was the son of merchant Johann Christian Koldewey and his wife Wilhelmine Meyer. Koldewey ...

, leader of the expedition.Arctic Profiles - The 1869 / 70 German North Polar Expedition
/ref>

Emperor Wilhelm I William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the f ...

was present at the ship launching ceremony on 16 April 1869. The smaller schooner, ''Hansa''—not fitted with an auxiliary engine—was the convoy and supply ship of the ''Germania'' during the expedition. During the

wintering Winter is the coldest season of the year in Polar regions of Earth, polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring (season), spring. The tilt of Axial tilt#Earth, Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a Hemi ...

period, ''Hansa'' was crushed by

pack ice Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "fasten ...

and sank. However, ''Germania'' managed to force its way through the ice, returning to Bremerhaven on 11 September 1870.Venzke, Jörg-Friedhelm (1990) The 1869/70 German North Polar Expedition. The Arctic 43(1): 83-85.
/ref> ''Germania'' took part in a further two Arctic expeditions, being refitted as a

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

in 1884. This former research ship ended its career after it ran aground during a hurricane on 2 October 1891.

References

External links

* {{coord missing, Newfoundland and Labrador 1869 ships Research vessels of Germany Ships built in Bremen (state) Steamships of Germany Shipwrecks of the Newfoundland and Labrador coast