''Quentin Durward'' was a paddle-wheel steamer, built in the United Kingdom in 1823. The ship was bought in 1827 by a Danish businessman and was employed on a route between

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

and ports in

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

and

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

, with the name ''Dania''. She later served on the route between

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

and

Kalundborg Kalundborg () is a Danish city with a population of 16,211 (1 January 2022),The town of

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

in Scotland had proud traditions for shipbuilding. One of the oldest yards was that of Sime & Rankine, who in July 1823 delivered the paddle-steamer ''Quentin Durward'' to R. Ogilvie and G. Crichton of Leith. The name was taken from the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

of a historical novel by Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...

, published in 1823. The ship's first recorded voyage with passengers - in August 1823 - was the long journey North and West from Leith via

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

, the

Caledonian Canal The Caledonian Canal connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William in Scotland. The canal was constructed in the early nineteenth century by Scottish engineer Thomas Telford. Route The canal r ...

, Fort William, Tobermory,

Staffa Staffa ( gd, Stafa, , from the Old Norse for stave or pillar island) is an island of the Inner Hebrides in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Vikings gave it this name as its columnar basalt reminded them of their houses, which were built from ver ...

Giant's Causeway The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (5 km) northeast of ...

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

Campbeltown Campbeltown (; gd, Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing ...

and

Kyles of Bute The Kyles of Bute ( gd, Na Caoil Bhòdach) form a narrow sea channel that separates the northern end of the Isle of Bute from the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, on the Scottish mainland. The surrounding hillsides are roughly wooded, and ove ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. On arrival the steamship was put up for sale. Apparently no sale took place, and in September 1823 the ''Quentin Durward'' made another long journey with passengers, this time from

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

via

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. At the end of the trip, the ship was immediately employed on a route between Brighton and

Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newha ...

in France. In April 1824 the ''Quentin Durward'' was chartered by the ''Leith & Dundee Steam Packet Co'' in Leith, and it commenced sailing on the route between Leith and

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

the same month. In April 1826 the paddle-wheeler was back in the Channel, now employed on a route between Newhaven and

Grangemouth Grangemouth ( sco, Grangemooth; gd, Inbhir Ghrainnse, ) is a town in the Falkirk council area, Scotland. Historically part of the county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk ...

. That turned out to be a short engagement, because the following month the ship was bought by ''The Brighton & Dieppe Steam Packet Co.'' in Brighton and once again sailed between Brighton and Dieppe. In June 1827 the paddle-wheeler was bought by (lieutenant commander) Laurits Christensen and her name was changed to ''Dania''. In spite of his naval rank, Christensen—his first name also spelled Lauritz—had not done active service since 1814, and his status as a reservist had enabled him to do business in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around t ...

from 1816 until 1826. The seller on the deed was the trader

Richard Thornton Richard Thornton (20 September 1776 – 20 June 1865) was an English millionaire. He died in Merton, Surrey and is buried at West Norwood Cemetery in London. On his death, Richard Thornton left an estate of £2,800,000, which is the largest fort ...

Ribe Stiftstidende - Advertisement for Dania - 1827-07-03

Under Danish colours

On 8 June 1827 Christensen put an advert in to announce that he had bought the steamship, which featured "30 ready made beds" and new copper sheeting. He went on to announce that the vessel would do two round trips per week, one between

and

, and the other alternating on the routes Copenhagen-

Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...

and Copenhagen-

Fredericia Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vejle. It was founded in 16 ...

. The ''Dania'' left London with Laurits Christensen as master on 17 June and arrived at

Frederikshavn Frederikshavn () is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland, on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to "Frederik's harbor". It was originally named Fladstrand. The town h ...

on the 21st. Christensen had been posted to the town—while it was still known as Fladstrand—during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, and now he found the time to visit the place again and make his new steamship available for visits by local citizens. ''Danias first scheduled tour with passengers in Denmark came on Sunday 24 June 1827, between in Copenhagen and the excursion site Bellevue on the Sound—in competition with the ''

Caledonia Caledonia (; ) was the Latin name used by the Roman Empire to refer to the part of Great Britain () that lies north of the River Forth, which includes most of the land area of Scotland. Today, it is used as a romantic or poetic name for all ...

—''and the first trip across the

Kattegat The Kattegat (; sv, Kattegatt ) is a sea area bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish Straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Skåne in Sweden ...

went to Aalborg on 30 June. On arrival at Aalborg, Christensen arranged an extra trip on the

Limfjorden The Limfjord ( common Danish: ''Limfjorden'' , in north Jutlandish dialect: ''Æ Limfjord'') is a shallow part of the sea, located in Denmark where it has been regarded as a fjord ever since Viking times. However, it now has inlets both from ...

, giving the local citizens a chance to assess the ship. An ambitious advertising campaign was set up, comprising papers in Copenhagen as well as in numerous towns in Jutland. The advertisements laid out the sailing plan, with the ship going to Aarhus every Wednesday morning and heading back on Thursday evening, while the alternating trips to Aalborg and Fredericia would leave on Saturday and start the return trip on Monday evening. On the journey to Aalborg there was a stop at Hals, while the Fredericia route would anchor at

Bogense Bogense () is a town in central Denmark, located on Funen in Nordfyn municipality, Region of Southern Denmark. The town has a population of 4,059 (1 January 2022). With its half-timbered houses, narrow streets and large marina, it is a popular t ...

. All trips included a stop at

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northern ...

. The trip to Aalborg was the most expensive, costing between 10 rigsbankdaler (Rbd.) on first class and 3 Rbd. for a place on the deck. Room on the deck was intended exclusively for "soldiers, sailors, peasants and servants". Time at sea was planned at 18 hours, "except for stormy weather". In the preceding years, the Royal Danish Postal Service had worked against the new faster passenger routes, out of fear that the travellers and employees would smuggle letters along, thereby undermining the business. But now the heads of the postal service decided that members of the public could mark their letters as intended for transportation to Jutland by steamship and this was made public in on 16 July 1827. Illustrations of the ''Dania'' with a flag sporting the monogram of the Danish king, was a result of this arrangement, signifying a ship on official postal duty. A few weeks later Christensen had to face the fact that his ambitious itinerary, with two return trips every week, was not sustainable in the long run. On the trip to and from Aalborg on 11 to 14 August, the ''Dania'' suffered so much in the storm that the journey to Aarhus on the 15th had to be cancelled "as both the machinery and the crew needed at couple of days' rest to get back in full shape". Based on that experience, Christensen soon cancelled all further trips to Aalborg, and from September ''Dania'' would only sail once a week, alternating between Aarhus and Fredericia. The route to Fredericia was enhanced with one more stop—besides Helsingør and Bogense—at

Strib :''Strib is also the nickname of the Minneapolis Star Tribune'' Strib is a town in Region of Southern Denmark, Denmark, with a population of 4,872 (1 January 2022).Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

. ''Dania'' had new owners on 28 January 1828 when it was taken over by a partnership led by the merchant Mathias Wilhelm Sass, who bought a third of the ship and became the shipping manager. The itinerary comprising alternate trips to Aarhus and Fredericia was continued, and the first journey in 1828 left Copenhagen for Aarhus on 5 May. From 1829 a new schedule was introduced, meaning that ''Dania'' called in at Aarhus every week and then continued to Strib and Fredericia. Same way back. In 1834 the machinery was refurbished at , and ''Dania'' was ready for the summer season by June 1834. That year saw a new schedule, with the ship only making the return trip to Aarhus each week. In 1836 the manager M. W. Sass applied for an exclusive contract to take freight and passengers between Aarhus in Jutland and

Kalundborg Kalundborg () is a Danish city with a population of 16,211 (1 January 2022),1823 ships Dania, 1823 Quentin Durward, 1823 Quentin Durward, 1823