Elbe is the name of a coal-fired steam icebreaker and auxiliary tug made of steel. The ship is a technical monument with approval as a passenger ship . The Elbe is located in Hamburg. Since 2006, trips have been made during the summer months. Destinations are u. a. Blankenese, a trip around Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg, Lauenburg and Lübeck.
The Elbe is the only surviving steam-powered river icebreaker in Germany. As the last of a total of eight ships built for the icebreaker service on the Upper Elbe on behalf of the Prussian Elbe River Administration between 1888 and 1911, the Elbe was in service until 1972. The hull of the river icebreaker was designed in such a way that the ships could push themselves onto the ice and break it under their own weight. The mission began as far downstream as possible from Hamburg. Work was carried out against the current so that the loosened ice floes could drain away. Since the 1950s, more powerful motor ships have gradually replaced the old steam icebreakers.
The 100-year-old steam icebreaker represents a classic type of ship for the Upper Elbe region and has a true-to-original coal-fired boiler and a historic double expansion steam engine . The ship is 31 meters long and 7.45 meters wide and has a folding chimney.
The ship remained operational as a steamer until 1976 and was handed over to the Technikmuseum Berlin via a private individual in 1982 . In 1987, in exchange for other exhibits, the ship, which was meanwhile in great need of renovation, ended up in Enkhuizen on the IJsselmeer in the Netherlands. From there, the current owner Matthias Kruse brought it back to the Elbe ten years later and had the ship ready to sail in Hamburg. Since 2006 the Förderverein Dampfeisbrecher Elbe e. V. as a non-profit association with voluntary helpers to maintain the ship in good working order and also provides the driving staff. The icebreaker is approved as a passenger ship for up to 150 people and is located in the Hansahafen at position 53 ° 31 ′ 32.2 ″ N , 10 ° 0 ′ 5 ″ E Coordinates: 53 ° 31 ′ 32.2 ″ N , 10 ° 0 ′ 5 " O53.5256114 10.0014014 .
literature
Prager, Ostersehlte: Steam icebreaker Stettin - its predecessor and successor. 1986; ISBN 3-925769-00-5
