Seebeckwerft A.G. was a German

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

company, located in

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 ...

at the mouth of the river

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Bre ...

. Founded in 1876, it became later one of the leading shipbuilding companies in the region.

History

Seebeckwerft was founded in 1876 in Bremerhaven by ''Georg Seebeck'' (1845 – 1928), a young coppersmith, born in

Brake A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Background ...

at the Lower-Weser river. In 1876 Georg Seebeck founded a small metal-processing workshop in Geestemünde, a part of the city of Bremerhaven. In 1879 the first ship was constructed, a small steamer. In 1928 the Seebeckwerft became a member of the

Deschimag Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau Aktiengesellschaft (abbreviated Deschimag) was a cooperation of eight German shipyards in the period 1926 to 1945. The leading company was the shipyard AG Weser in Bremen. History The Deschimag was founded in 19 ...

, a cooperation of several German shipyards under the leadership of the Bremen-shipyard

A.G. Weser Aktien-Gesellschaft „Weser" (abbreviated A.G. „Weser”) was one of the major Germany, German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1872 it was finally closed in 1983. All together, A.G. „Weser" built abo ...

. After WW II the Deschimag was dissolved and Seebeckwerft became subsidiary of A.G. Weser, now named A.G. Weser Seebeckwerft. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Seebeckwerft built 16

Type IX The Type IX U-boat was designed by Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' in 1935 and 1936 as a large ocean-going submarine for sustained operations far from the home support facilities. Type IX boats were briefly used for patrols off the eastern Un ...

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s for the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

. In 1988 the company merged with

Schichau Unterweser Schichau Seebeckwerft (often abbreviated SSW) was a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Bremerhaven. The name comes from the 1988 merger of Schichau with Seebeckwerft. History The original company Schichau was founded in 1837 by Fe ...

to become

Schichau Seebeckwerft Schichau Seebeckwerft (often abbreviated SSW) was a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Bremerhaven. The name comes from the 1988 merger of Schichau with Seebeckwerft. History The original company Schichau was founded in 1837 by Fer ...

Ships built by Seebeckwerft (selection)

Naval ships

Submarines (U-boats)

* 16 x Type IX submarines (1939 - 1944)

Civilian Ships

Ferries

Four ferries were designed and built by the yard in the 1980s for

TT-Line TT-Line GmbH is a shipping company based in Lübeck, Germany, which has been providing ferry service between Travemünde in Schleswig-Holstein and Trelleborg in southern Sweden since 1962. Since 1992, it has also operated a service from Rostock ...

. * MS ''Olau Hollandia'' (1981) * MS ''Olau Britannia'' (1982) * MS ''Peter Pan'' (1986) * MS ''Nils Holgersson'' (1987) The design of ''Koningin Beatrix'' (1986) was also by A.G. Weser Seebeckwerft, but she was constructed at

Van der Giessen de Noord Van der Giessen de Noord () was a shipyard, shipbuilding company that mainly built ferry, ferries, located in Krimpen aan den IJssel, a town in the western Netherlands. The yard was especially suited to the construction of large Ship, vessels ...

. Her design is similar to that of ''Peter Pan'' (1986) and ''Nils Holgersson'' (1987). Two further vessels were built based on this design at what was by now the merged Schichau Seebeckwerft, '' Olau Hollandia'' (1989) and '' Olau Britannia'' (1990).

External links

Some history of ''Seebeckwerft''

References

Herbert Schwarzwälder Herbert Schwarzwälder (14 October 1919 – 11 September 2011) was a German historian. With his decades of work and his extensive publications, he has had a major influence on the research and communication of the . Life Schwarzwälder was born ...

: ''

Das Große Bremen-Lexikon ''Das Große Bremen-Lexikon'' is an 18th-century encyclopaedia by the Freie Hansestadt Bremen, written by Herbert Schwarzwälder about * the region, as Territory of Bremen, as Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (Bremen Archbishopric), as Bremen-Verd ...

'', 2002, * Kuckuk, Roder, Scharf; ''SPANTEN UND SEKTIONEN, Werften und Schiffbau in Bremen und der Unterweserregion im 20. Jhdt.'', Bremen-Steintor 1986, Shipbuilding companies of Germany Companies established in 1876 Defunct companies of Germany Companies based in Bremerhaven Manufacturing companies based in Bremen (state) 1876 establishments in Germany {{Germany-company-stub