Museumsschiff Albatros - Naturkundemuseum in Damp

The Albatros steamed across the Flensburger Förde and supplied the villages along the coast for almost six decades. It was built as a passenger and cargo steamer at the Meyer Werft in Papenburg. After a rapid conversion it was used for the lucrative livestock transport, too. At the end of World War II the Albatross was employed for the transport of refugees in the large-scale operation “Rettung über See” (rescue by the sea). In post-war time the transport with the Förde steamer flourished again, but in 1969 the fire under the boiler went out forever. When the newly-built holiday centre Damp 2000 in the Eckernförder Bucht was looking for a maritime object for its harbour, the oldtimer from Flensburg was chosen. On September 14th 1971 the Salondampfer Alexandra towed the Albatros to Damp, where the steamer found its final resting place in the sand. In 1983 the exhibition “Rettung über See“ (rescue by the sea) was opened. In 1999 the museum had to close because the number of visitors had been decreasing. Now it is planned to scrap the Albatros in the near future.
The ‘Förderverein des Flensburger Schifffahrtsmuseums’ aims to rescue this maritime jewel as a whole or in parts and to get it back to its home port. But this summer the Albratros is still on shore of the Baltic seaside resort. On this occasion the once so splendid Förde steamer is revived once more with an exhibition. The shipping era on the Flensburger Förde and thereby also that of the Albatros is presented with display sheets, models, exhibits and with the ship itself, of course.