The history of ship building
The easiest way to transport large quantities of goods is by sea. Way back in the Stone Age, mankind has built boats to transport goods that neither he nor his domestic animals could carry. From that day to this, Danish shipping companies are world leaders.
Until the railways came in the middle of the 1800's, shipping traffic reigned supreme and it was said that water joined while land divided. Even today you can still find "men of the sea" who, with help from one or two crewmembers or their wives', sail the inner Danish coastal waters.
The first description of a ship is Noah's Ark and the first drawings of ships were found in tombs in the Egyptian Pyramids.
In Denmark dugout boats have been found from the Stone Age and drawings of ships have been found in the town of Helleristninger in Bohuslen, which today is in Sweden.
The first actual boat was found in Nydam bog and Hjortespring in Southern Jutland, and then as we move into the Viking period, things go quickly. The first shipyard was seen by Fribroedre River at Falster and the first drawings of shipbuilding appear on the Bayeux tapestry.
Besides ships from Roskilde Fjord, lots of other Viking ships were discovered, such as Ladby in Fuenen and the Norwegian Viking ships from Oseberg, Gokstad and Tune. The list is long and is continually expanding as new finds are discovered. Recently a ship has been discovered at Aggersund in Denmark.
Around the year 1200, merchant ships from Aggersund, Sebbersund, Skagen and Kollerup, together with our own ships from Elling, sailed around "ummeland", which was a sea trading route used by the Dutch and English merchants. "Ummeland" was the sea route around northern Jutland, past Skagen and down to the Baltic Sea, which these merchants used to take part in the Baltic trade and this had a huge importance for Frederikshavn and was the reason why Harald Valdemar Buhl placed his shipyard in Frederikshavn.
The ship builders' task is to build ships that can float at sea, be seaworthy, strong and offer low resistance to propulsion by wind, steam or other forms of power propulsion. Ships should weigh as little as possible, be easy to manoeuvre and be adapted to the special use we intend to use them for.
The first ships were built at places, which had a natural harbour, like the mouth of the River Elling or at the River Fribroedre, where archaeologists have found the remains of shipbuilding.
Trade and shipbuilding have presumably gone hand in hand and many of the first coastal trading towns have had one or another form of shipbuilding. Besides this, there have been quite a few small boat builders along the coasts where the local inshore fishing trade had their boats built.
There is no clear evidence where there have been shipyards along the Danish coasts. The larger trading boats that belonged to the old Fladstrand were presumably built at shipyards along the coast of Halland in Sweden. We know a little about that from the old custom records where the masters of ships from Fladstrand had imported ships from the west coast of Sweden.
Besides the state owned shipyard, Orlog shipyard where war ships were built, we know very little where shipbuilding took place before sometime in the 1800's, and industrialisation began to take effect and power changed from sail to steam.
In 1802, the first steam driven ship was launched on the River Clyde and the first steam driven ship reached Copenhagen in 1819. The first iron ship was launched in 1821, but it wasn't until 1839 that the first seaworthy iron ship was commissioned.
This was 3 years after the Swedish inventor, Ericson, invented the screw. In 1875 the first steel ship was launched at sea, which meant an enormous revolution for the shipping trade.
In Denmark, the ship builders in Copenhagen launched the first steam ship in 1830. The ship was called, Frederik the 4th.
In 1854, Burmeister and Wain launched the paddle steamer, Hermod, for the Post and Telegraph company.
When B&W started the production of ships in 1843, they began an important epoch in Denmark's industrialisation. Shipbuilding gradually became one of the largest import sources of foreign exchange and as such, an important corner stone in the development of Denmark towards a more modern industrialised country.
After B&W, another 25 years passed before another shipyard saw the light of day. This was the shipyard in Frederikshavn followed in 1882 by the Helsingoer shipyard and machine builders company.
In 1912, the chief engineer from Frederikshavn shipyard started a new shipyard at Aalborg and 2 years later Aarhus Floating Dock and Machine Company opened. In 1916 Nakskov shipyard opened and a year later Odense Steel shipyard opened and the last of the large, new business enterprises, Svendborg shipyard opened in 1926.
The easiest way to transport large quantities of goods is by sea. Way back in the Stone Age, mankind has built boats to transport goods that neither he nor his domestic animals could carry. From that day to this, Danish shipping companies are world leaders.
Until the railways came in the middle of the 1800's, shipping traffic reigned supreme and it was said that water joined while land divided. Even today you can still find "men of the sea" who, with help from one or two crewmembers or their wives', sail the inner Danish coastal waters.
The first description of a ship is Noah's Ark and the first drawings of ships were found in tombs in the Egyptian Pyramids.
In Denmark dugout boats have been found from the Stone Age and drawings of ships have been found in the town of Helleristninger in Bohuslen, which today is in Sweden.
The first actual boat was found in Nydam bog and Hjortespring in Southern Jutland, and then as we move into the Viking period, things go quickly. The first shipyard was seen by Fribroedre River at Falster and the first drawings of shipbuilding appear on the Bayeux tapestry.
Besides ships from Roskilde Fjord, lots of other Viking ships were discovered, such as Ladby in Fuenen and the Norwegian Viking ships from Oseberg, Gokstad and Tune. The list is long and is continually expanding as new finds are discovered. Recently a ship has been discovered at Aggersund in Denmark.
Around the year 1200, merchant ships from Aggersund, Sebbersund, Skagen and Kollerup, together with our own ships from Elling, sailed around "ummeland", which was a sea trading route used by the Dutch and English merchants. "Ummeland" was the sea route around northern Jutland, past Skagen and down to the Baltic Sea, which these merchants used to take part in the Baltic trade and this had a huge importance for Frederikshavn and was the reason why Harald Valdemar Buhl placed his shipyard in Frederikshavn.
The ship builders' task is to build ships that can float at sea, be seaworthy, strong and offer low resistance to propulsion by wind, steam or other forms of power propulsion. Ships should weigh as little as possible, be easy to manoeuvre and be adapted to the special use we intend to use them for.
The first ships were built at places, which had a natural harbour, like the mouth of the River Elling or at the River Fribroedre, where archaeologists have found the remains of shipbuilding.
Trade and shipbuilding have presumably gone hand in hand and many of the first coastal trading towns have had one or another form of shipbuilding. Besides this, there have been quite a few small boat builders along the coasts where the local inshore fishing trade had their boats built.
There is no clear evidence where there have been shipyards along the Danish coasts. The larger trading boats that belonged to the old Fladstrand were presumably built at shipyards along the coast of Halland in Sweden. We know a little about that from the old custom records where the masters of ships from Fladstrand had imported ships from the west coast of Sweden.
Besides the state owned shipyard, Orlog shipyard where war ships were built, we know very little where shipbuilding took place before sometime in the 1800's, and industrialisation began to take effect and power changed from sail to steam.
In 1802, the first steam driven ship was launched on the River Clyde and the first steam driven ship reached Copenhagen in 1819. The first iron ship was launched in 1821, but it wasn't until 1839 that the first seaworthy iron ship was commissioned.
This was 3 years after the Swedish inventor, Ericson, invented the screw. In 1875 the first steel ship was launched at sea, which meant an enormous revolution for the shipping trade.
In Denmark, the ship builders in Copenhagen launched the first steam ship in 1830. The ship was called, Frederik the 4th.
In 1854, Burmeister and Wain launched the paddle steamer, Hermod, for the Post and Telegraph company.
When B&W started the production of ships in 1843, they began an important epoch in Denmark's industrialisation. Shipbuilding gradually became one of the largest import sources of foreign exchange and as such, an important corner stone in the development of Denmark towards a more modern industrialised country.
After B&W, another 25 years passed before another shipyard saw the light of day. This was the shipyard in Frederikshavn followed in 1882 by the Helsingoer shipyard and machine builders company.
In 1912, the chief engineer from Frederikshavn shipyard started a new shipyard at Aalborg and 2 years later Aarhus Floating Dock and Machine Company opened. In 1916 Nakskov shipyard opened and a year later Odense Steel shipyard opened and the last of the large, new business enterprises, Svendborg shipyard opened in 1926.
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