The Breitling Wreck - Warnow River, Rostock

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The Breitling wreck

The idea for this project came as I was geocaching, last autumn, along the right bank of the Warnow River and found the incredible remains of a ship. The momentan was perfect for both a photo session and a bit of water fun. I leave you take your time with the photos along with a small article regarding the ship's history - Enjoy!

"Wreck of a Dutch lightship

For decades, a wreck has lain dormant on the east bank of the Breitling near Rostock, between the chemical port and the Schnatermann. It has been there since July 6, 1967, when the remains of an old lightship were lowered from the lift ship May Day. It came from the Liebesinsel across from the Warnow shipyard, which had to be cleared of scrap on the instructions of the People's Navy. Since the 1950's there has been a scrapping site here, where this lightship landed after 1951. Because hardly anything could be gained from the wreck, the remains survived there with their planking and later came to the Breitling shore. At the end of the war there was an earlier Dutch ship of this type, the "Lichtship No. 5" from 1892, in Warnemünde. Due to the war, their condition deteriorated to such an extent that they were not returned to their home country after the capitulation. There it is still considered lost to this day! The lightship was no longer useful. It was not even included in the wreck lists. In the cold post-war winters, it supplied firewood for the residents of Warnemünde and Rostock. It was literally cannibalized down to the waterline. This is how it presented itself on September 15, 1951 together with a concrete ship type "Wiking" (see: concrete ship Capella) at the old sailing ship "Dalben" in the middle of Rostock's city harbour. When they were removed, the remains were moved to Liebesinsel. Finally we went to the Breitling, where the wreck is still clearly visible at low tide. Source: North German Latest News/Schweriner Volkszeitung from April 25, 2007"