Kuna (icebreaker)

Last updated
MV Kuna w Gryfinie.jpg
Kuna in Gryfino
History
Flag of Poland.svgPoland
NameKuna
Namesake Marten
OwnerPrzystań Gorzów
Port of registry Gorzów Wielkopolski
BuilderDanziger Schiffswerft & Kesselschmiede Feliks Devrient & Co
Launched1884
Identification Call sign SR 2685
General characteristics
TypeRiver icebreaker
Tonnage75 tons
Length30.6 m
Beam4.75 m
Height2.62 m
Draft1.90 m
Installed powerSW 680 Diesel Engine (165 HP)
PropulsionOriginal piece of the propeller shaft and one propeller
Speed11 knots
Capacity60 passengers

Kuna is the oldest in service river icebreaker in the world, built in 1884 in Danzig. The ship which is sailing on the Oder changed flag five times. Today, it sails as a museum and training ship, [1] [2] intended for historical and cultural education in the field of the history of waterways, inland navigation, water construction and ecology, as well as the culture and history of the region in which it has been revitalized.

Contents

History

Kuna, the fourth in a series of steam icebreakers, was built at the Danziger Schiffswerft & Kesselschmiede Feliks Devrient & Co. in 1884. [1] [2] Initially, the ship was named Ferse (the German name for the Wierzyca flowing into the Vistula – all four ships were named after rivers in the lower Vistula basin). [1] In 1940, Ferse was renamed Marder (marten in German) and, in 1947, retained that meaning in Polish as Kuna. [1] Throughout its service (except for the two-year period after the end of World War II), Kuna did not change its area of operation. [1]

Until 1920, the ship sailed for the Königlich Preussische Weichsel-Strombauverwaltung (Royal Prussian Vistula River Works Administration). [1] After the creation of the Free City of Danzig, it was handed over to the Port and Waterways Council together with the entire icebreaker fleet and sailed under the Danzig flag. [3] During World War II, the ship sailed under the flag of the Third Reich and belonged to the Main Waterways Authority. [3] In March 1945, Kuna participated in the evacuation of the population of Gdańsk; it sailed to Kiel and Hamburg, where it was taken over by the British occupation authorities after the end of the war. Under the British flag, it served in Hamburg as an icebreaker and port tugboat until 1947, when it was handed over to the Polish Maritime Mission. [3] After returning to Gdańsk, Kuna initially belonged to the Maritime Office in Gdynia, which then handed it over to the State Water Authority in Tczew, managing inland waterways. After the renovation at the shipyard in Pleniewo, Kuna returned, under the Polish flag, to service in the lower reaches of the Vistula River. [3]

In 1965, the ship was withdrawn from service, and in the following year reduced to an empty hull to be scrapped. [3] In 1978 the hull was towed to Gorzów Wielkopolski and used as a mooring pontoon. [3] In 1981 it sank in the shipyard basin and remained at the bottom for almost 20 years. [2]

Museum ship

From 2001 to 2004, the locally-established Stowarzyszenie Wodniaków Gorzowskich Kuna ("Kuna Association of Gorzow Watermen") restored the vessel to its original appearance, collected documentation, and secured the necessary permits to allow a return to active service as a museum ship, providing educational trips. [2] [3]

In 2014 Kuna was transferred to its current owner, Przystań Gorzów ("Port Gorzów") which continues its intended programme of educational and recreational cruises on the Warta River. [1] [4]

Voyages

The Kuna sails as a museum and training ship. [5] The cruises are educational and recreational in nature, constituting one of Gorzów's summer attractions. [6] However, it happens that due to the low level of the Warta River, the cruises are sometimes suspended. It is possible to visit the Kuna docked at the Gorzów river port on a daily basis. There is a guide on the ship giving tours both on deck and underneath. [7]

Three Bridges voyage

This voyage starts at the eastern boulevard (next to the observation deck) and proceeds in the direction of Wieprzyce to the bridge on the Gorzów bypass. It lasts about two hours. [8]

Santok voyage

This voyage starts at the eastern boulevard. It consists of touring the Warta River valley, a visit at the Gorzów port, and a cruise to the nearby Santok.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elbląg</span> City in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland

Elbląg is a city in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, located in the eastern edge of the Żuławy region with 127,390 inhabitants, as of December 2021. It is the capital of Elbląg County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lubusz Voivodeship</span> Voivodeship of Poland

Lubusz Voivodeship is a voivodeship (province) in western Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tczew</span> Place in Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland

Tczew is a city on the Vistula River in Eastern Pomerania, Kociewie, northern Poland with 59,111 inhabitants. The city is known for its Old Town and the Vistula Bridge, or Bridge of Tczew, which played a key role in the Invasion of Poland during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gorzów Wielkopolski</span> Place in Lubusz Voivodeship, Poland

Gorzów Wielkopolski, often abbreviated to Gorzów Wlkp. or simply Gorzów, is a city in western Poland, on the Warta river. It is the second largest city in the Lubusz Voivodeship with 120,087 inhabitants and one of its two capitals with a seat of a voivode, with the other being Zielona Góra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noteć</span> River in Poland

The Noteć is a river in central Poland with a length of 391 km (243 mi) and a basin area of 17,302 km2 (6,680 sq mi). It is the largest tributary of the Warta river and lies completely within Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Gdańsk</span>

Gdańsk is one of the oldest cities in Poland. Founded by the Polish ruler Mieszko I in the 10th century, the city was for a long time part of Piast state either directly or as a fief. In 1308 the city became part of the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights until 1454. Thereafter it became part of Poland again, although with increasing autonomy. A vital naval city for Polish grain trade, it attracted people from all over the European continent. The city was taken over by Prussia during the Second Partition of Poland in 1793 and subsequently lost its importance as a trading port. Briefly becoming a free city during Napoleonic Wars, it was again Prussian after Napoleon's defeat, and later became part of the newly created German Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warta Poznań</span> Multi-sport club in Poland

Warta Poznań is a multi-sports club based in Poznań, Poland. The name means the Guard in Polish and also the name of the river Warta on which Poznań is located. As of the 2024–25 season, they compete in the second division, after being relegated from the 2023–24 Ekstraklasa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polskie Radio</span> Polish public broadcasting organization

The Polish Radio is a national public-service radio broadcasting organization of Poland, founded in 1925. It is owned by the State Treasury of Poland. On 27 December 2023, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, due to the President's veto on the financing of the company, placed it in liquidation.

SS <i>Stettin</i> (1933)

Stettin is a steam icebreaker built by the shipyard Stettiner Oderwerke in 1933. She was ordered by the Chamber of Commerce of Stettin. The economy of the city of Stettin strongly depended on the free access of ships to and from the Baltic Sea. Therefore, icebreakers were used to keep the shipping channels free from ice during the winter.

SS <i>American Victory</i> Victory ship of WWII

SS American Victory is a Victory ship which saw service during the final months of World War II in the Pacific Theater of Operations, the Korean War from 1951–1954, and the Vietnam War from 1966–1969. Built in June 1945, she carried ammunition and other cargo from Los Angeles to Southeast Asia, then ferried cargo, equipment and troops back to the U.S. after the war ended. She survived two typhoons and one hurricane.

SMS <i>Schlesien</i> Battleship of the German Imperial Navy

SMS Schlesien was one of five Deutschland-class pre-dreadnought battleships built for the German Kaiserliche Marine between 1904 and 1906. Named after the German province of Silesia, Schlesien was laid down at the Schichau-Werke shipyard in Danzig on 19 November 1904, launched on 28 May 1906, and commissioned on 5 May 1908. She was armed with a battery of four 28 cm (11 in) guns and had a top speed of 18 knots. The ships of her class were already outdated by the time they entered service, as they were inferior in size, armor, firepower, and speed to the revolutionary new British battleship HMS Dreadnought.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strzelce Krajeńskie</span> Place in Lubusz Voivodeship, Poland

Strzelce Krajeńskie is a town in western Poland, in the Lubusz Voivodeship. It is the capital of the Strzelce-Drezdenko County. The town's population is 9,950 (2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bydgoszcz Canal</span> Waterway between Bydgoszcz and Nakło in Poland

Bydgoszcz Canal is a 24.7 km long canal, between the cities of Bydgoszcz and Nakło in Poland, connecting the Vistula river with the river Oder, through the Brda and the Noteć rivers. The level difference along the canal is regulated by 6 locks. The canal was built in 1772–1775, on the order of Frederick II, king of Prussia.

SS <i>Olza</i>

SS Olza was the first dry cargo freighter built in Poland after the country regained independence in 1918, and the only large commercial ship built before World War II. Owned by the Żegluga Polska company, she was named after the Olza River which flows through Cieszyn Silesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oder</span> River in Central Europe

The Oder is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows 742 kilometres (461 mi) through western Poland, later forming 187 kilometres (116 mi) of the border between Poland and Germany as part of the Oder–Neisse line. The river ultimately flows into the Szczecin Lagoon north of Szczecin and then into three branches that empty into the Bay of Pomerania of the Baltic Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vistula</span> Major river in Central Europe

The Vistula is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at 1,047 kilometres in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers 193,960 km2 (74,890 sq mi), of which 168,868 km2 (65,200 sq mi) is in Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater Poland</span> Historical region of west-central Poland

Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska, is a Polish historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vistula Spit canal</span> Canal in Poland

The Vistula Spit canal, officially known as the Nowy Świat ship canal, is a canal across the Polish section of the Vistula Spit that creates a second connection between the Vistula Lagoon and Gulf of Gdańsk. It allows ships to enter the Vistula Lagoon and the port of Elbląg without having to rely on the Russian Strait of Baltiysk, saving a 100-kilometre (62 mi) journey and avoiding Russian waters. Its construction started in February 2019. It is 1,536 m (5,039 ft) in length and allows ships of draft up to 4 m (13 ft), length up to 100 m (330 ft), and beam up to 20 m (66 ft) to pass through.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Żegluga Bydgoska</span> Inland Shipping Company, 1891, Bydgoszcz, Poland

Żegluga Bydgoska is an inland navigation company based in Bydgoszcz. Its first existence dates back to 1869, when a shipping firm was established in then Bromberg. Since August 12, 2009, it has been integrated into Wrocław's group "OT Logistics S.A.".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Noteć Canals</span> Waterway, canals, 1882, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland

The Upper Noteć Canals are an aggregate of inland water channels in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. They stem from the upper part of the Noteć river, north of Gopło lake, and mouth at their northern point into the Bydgoszcz Canal, west of the city territory. These canals have been put into operation between the 1770s and the 1880s and are still partly navigable today.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Rejsy Edukacyjno-Szkoliowe Lodołamaszczem Kuna (tr. Educational and training cruises on icebreaker Kuna)". Port Gorzów (in Polish). Gorzów: Stowarzyszenie Wodniaków Przystań. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Najpiękniejszy lodołamacz na świecie jest w Gorzowie. Obchodzi ważną rocznicę! (tr. The most beautiful icebreaker in the world is in Gorzów. Celebrating an important anniversary!)". Nam Gorzów Wielkopolski Naszemiasto (in Polish). Polska Press. 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ligocki, Kazumierz. "Kuna". Multimedia Encyclopedia of Gorzów Wielkopolski (in Polish). Wojewódzka i Miejska Biblioteka Publiczna. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  4. "Kapitan Jerzy Hopfer zszedł z Kuny (tr. Captain Jerzy Hopfer left Kuna)". Nam Gorzów Wielkopolski Naszemiasto (in Polish). Polska Press. 28 November 2014. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  5. "Kuna | Port Gorzów". Archived from the original on 2014-10-22.
  6. "Kuna - statek rzeczny - Multimedialna Encyklopedia Gorzowa".
  7. "Radio Gorzów 95,6 fm » Odwołane rejsy Kuną". Archived from the original on 2015-04-28.
  8. "Aktualności | Port Gorzów". Archived from the original on 2014-10-23.