Thanks, Iceflower
Yes, the frigate Jylland (Jutland) is absolutely worth a visit for those interested in maritime history.
Danish steam frigate Jylland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
She is a hybrid, in the sense she is propelled by steam (screw) as well as sails.
We often forget in our fast developing world, how fast things changed in the second half of the 1800's. The transition from purely sail powered capital warships to purely steam powered took less than 30 years. - A fantastic technological leap!
Technologically speaking the Danish navy has always been among the leaders. This frigate is no exception.
To even call her a frigate is somewhat misleading. The best modern comparison would be battlecruiser. I.e. a heavily armed fast ship.
She was inspired by the technological revolution started by USA in the napoleonic wars, with very large, fast and heavily armed frigates. (In modern terms we would call them cruisers) who were more than a match for even the larger ships of the line which were the standard of that time.
Well, in Jyllands case they simply fitted her with a steam engine. But as steam engines were notoriously prone to breaking down and because they run on coal, which take up storage space, sails were maintained as the primary mode of sailing. - And because many sailors and captains were reluctant to have an ugly smokestack protruding from the middle of their beautiful ship. So the steam engine was primarily used when getting in and out of harbours. Then the smoke stack was lowered so that Jylland could look like a decent ship.
Jylland was the flagship of the Danish navy and as the king is the commander in chief, specific quarters were fitted for the use of the king and his closest family. The problem was that Jylland as a warship was inadequate for the purpose of a royal yacht, so a paddlesteamer, the first Dannebrog, was build for that purpose.
Back to Jylland. She was a said before a hybrid and that is also reflected in her armament, which is a mixture of heavy muzzle loaders and hyper modern rifled breech loaders (from Armstrong). Another novelty was the dispension of the quarter deck. Instead officers stood on a bridge spanning across the deck. From here they had a very clear, albeit exposed, view. Hence the term "bridge".
Jylland saw action once in the Second Schleswigan War in 1864, where she encountered and checked a combined Austrian and Preussian flotilla. Thus preventing enemy ships from entering Danish waters and influence the war on land.
Life onboard wasn't that much different from other Danish warships of the era. She was usually refitted in early spring and sailed throughout the summer months until late autumn, where she returned to the yard.
There were goats, pigs and chicken onboard, usually around the stove on the gun deck.
The sailors working in the rigging, were professionel, agile young men and as far as possible they stayed up there. Even sleeping in their hammocks suspended from the yardarms if the weather was just reasonably good. - No need to go down on the deck only to get up there again, is there? And the NCO's were down on the deck as well, another good reason to stay aloft.
If they had to, ahem, "wash their hands", they simply walked out to the end of the yardarm and did their business there.
Eveybody else, except the captain and the officers used the head at bow of the ship. The head consited of two seats with three holes. Ordinary sailors to the left of the bowspit and NCO's and boys to the right. That was to protect the boys from listening to the lewd remarks from the sailors.
Alas, Jylland soon became old fashioned and she was replaced by modern steel ships, driven only be steam. One of them, Rolf Krake, a battleship/artillery cruiser had the first large electrical plant in Denmark. - Cutting edge technology.
Jylland was decommissioned, her rigging was removed and the most modern artillery pieces were also removed. Her deck was covered by a plank roof and she was used for all sorts of purposes. Reduced to a mere hulk.
She suffered that indignity for almost a hundred years, until in the late 1960's it was decided to restore her to former glory. A she was in pretty poor condition that took a lot of work and Prince Henrik took a keen interest in that.
Now she is almost fully restored, fulfillling many a wet dream for the carpenters working on her. A part of her rigging still need some work.
So should you ever come to eastern Jutland, drop by the frigate Jylland and enjoy her. Also because an old lightship is moored next to her. And the town of Ebeltoft, where she is moored is also worth a visit. You would litterally be stepping back 150 years. - Except for the lack of horsedung on the cobbled stones and the hefty prices!
As such ship and town match in time.
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