Eke

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The Eke  - also known as the Bremer Eke - was the name for a frequently used inland ship made of oak ( Low German Eke ), which was used on the Weser , especially on the Upper and Middle Weser , especially in the 14th and 15th centuries .

Construction and cargo

The elongated cargo ship had a flat bottom without a keel with longitudinal ribs . So Eken could be used in shallow water. They often had a flat roof to protect the goods and crew from rain. The barges have been with long poles punted or by human or draft animals towed .

On the descent (i.e. down the Weser), among other things stones were transported - above all the Obernkirchen sandstone , iron ore, lumber, grain and, on the ascent into the interior, fish, butter, cheese, tallow, cloth, cattle, peat, etc. People also took part the eke.

The Eke in the chronicle

The Bremen chronicles and documents as well as the Kundige Rulle of 1450 and 1489, which also identifies the Ekemann as a ship's master, reported about Eken . The Bremen city law , which was codified for the first time in 1303 , contained detailed building and size regulations for Eken in two size classes: The smaller Eke initially had a length of 4 to 5 meters, a floor width around 1.50 meters (2 cubits) and a side wall height of a maximum of 1  Feet (0.29 meters) above the waterline. The large Eke was initially 10 to 12 meters long, 3 to 4 meters wide (around 5 cubits) and had 2 plank walkways above the waterline . Later the eken became significantly longer.

Eken built in Bremen were not allowed to be sold to strangers according to the Kundige Rolle . Foreign Eken that did not correspond to the Bremen measurements were not allowed to be introduced.

Also in the Bremen customs roll from the late 14th century there were regulations for the duty to be paid, which was set to "veer penninghe" and for dugouts to two pfennigs. According to the Kundigen Rolle , the customs office was on the Weser Bridge in Bremen near the ferry gate.

A council ordinance of 1399 stipulated that the Eken were only allowed to occupy their berths in the bellows for longer than three days and nights in justified exceptional cases.

Also in armed conflicts, for example, Eken were used in 1358/59 in the siege against the county of Hoya in the Hoya feud . Later the Eken were replaced by the larger Weser barges with mast and sails.

Find an Eke

In April 1963 a wooden boat was found in the port expansion in Bremen am Groden near Seehausen . It was a small eke that was only about 9 meters long and 1.40 to 1.50 meters wide and consisted of 5 cm thick board wall planks that were connected to one another by frames . Two hollowed-out tree trunks served as floor planks. Since the boat had no oarlocks , it can be assumed that it was pounded. This Eke is exhibited in the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven .

Other names

There were also the designations such as for such or similar cargo ships

  • Boarding for a flat-bottomed light vehicle
  • Bukke or Bock ship for flat-bottomed barges oak that was wide around 27 meters long and about 3.80 meters and
  • Bulle (von Bohlen), for somewhat smaller, up to 30 meters long and about 3 meters wide, similar cargo ships that were mostly attached to a block ship .

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