Is this a real ship? "Kiel restaurant"

[Shamrock]

This picture from 1895 bears the note "Kiel restaurant" - to me it looks like a real ship (except for the entrances)......... or is it a fakebuílt restaurant posing as a ship?

 

At the same time the next picture was taken "Inauguration of the Kiel channel"

[trippwj]

Very interesting picture!  Based on the date you provided, I would suspect it was an older ship of the Line converted to a restaurant.  Based on the role of Kiel as the home for the German navy Baltic Fleet, it seems plausible.  Will do some digging - assume this is from the City of Kiel, Germany (not Kiel, Wisconsin)?

[Shamrock]

:)I think your assumption might be correct

Shamrock

[amateur]

The German Kriegsmarine was well into the steam era by 1850. I guess this is a fake ship, to remember the glorious past of the Kreigsmarine. 

One of our German members can perhaps shedd some light in this.

(thr rigging looks quite convincing, btw...)

 

Jan

[amateur]

I can paste the link (using IE 11....), but I found a german site telling that there were massive festivities for the opening of the Kaiser Wilhelm Kanal in 1895 (make a search for einweihung Kaiser Wilhelm Kanal, and quite a lot of german history sites popup)

 There was a park laid ouot for the festivities, and in the middle of that park, a mock up of a former German frigate (Niobe) was build as 'Festsaal'

 

Jan

[amateur]

 

http://www.holtenau-info.de/history/eroeffnungsfeier-1895.htm

 

So in fact, it is nothing more than a (quite pompous) restaurant.

(but hey, its German )

 

Jan

Edited January 10, 2014 by amateur

[trippwj]

There you have it!  Certainly a loose interpretation of Frigate!  3 decks of guns - I counted over 50 cannons on the starboard side in the first picture you posted.

[Shamrock]

Thank you for "die Erklärung" - pity it is long gone - would have been nice to see it when passing through Kiel.

Shamrock

[wefalck]

This was indeed a rather pompous mock-up that stood in Kiel for a while. I can't put my hands on more detailed information at the moment. The closest the Prussian / Imperial German Navy ever came to a a three-deck ship of line was the old HMS RENOWN, that was purchased in 1870 for use a stationary artillery training ship. SMS NIOBE was a much sleeker affair.

 

In fact the Prussian Navy, when set up seriously in the late 1840s almost immediately passed into the steam-age and rifled breech-loading guns.The only old-style sailing warship was SMS GEFION that was captured (after having surrendered to a make-shift coastal battery at Eckernförde) from the Danes in 1849.

 

wefalck

[dafi]

With about 28 gun ports just one side on the lower deck ...

 

... would have been a 180 to 190 Gun-Ship :-)

 

XXXDAn

Edited January 13, 2014 by dafi

[DSiemens]

That is pretty cool.  I know I would have tried it out if I was there.  I wonder if the food was good.      

[amateur]

Bratwurst und Sauerkraut

Oder

Currywurst mit Bier

 

Jan

[wefalck]

Well, the 'Currywurst' was not 'invented' until after the WWII in Berlin … and normally we don't eat Bratwurst with Sauerkraut, but rather 'Eisbein' (i.e. salted porc knuckle) or fresh liver and blood sausage. The beer, however, was available everywhere at all times for probably a 1000 years or so

 

wefalck

[amateur]

schon jut......

Weiss ich doch

 

Jan