Preservings $20 No. 25, December, 2005 - Plett Foundation

to engage in the profitable trade of shipbuilding
under foreign contracts.
Danzig’s location was clearly advantageous
for shipbuilding because of its proximity to
large quantities of necessary supplies such as
shipbuilding wood, tar, pitch, hemp and flax, in
quantities sufficient to permit Danzig merchants
to export such goods, as evidenced by the cargo
of the “Peter of Danzig,” which included masts
and shipbuilding lumber. Building ships under
foreign contract was a profitable undertaking for
Danzig and was pursued vigorously even though
the Hanseatic League forbade shipbuilding for
customers outside of the Hansa.
Until the introduction of the new caravel
shipbuilding design in 1462, as exemplified in
the “Peter of Danzig,” the main construction
style of larger ships built in Danzig was that of
the single-masted hulk, with capacities of up to
100 tons in customary clinker-built style; with
occasional hulks of up to 200 tons in capacity.
In addition, several types of smaller vessels
were also built. Shipbuilders of Danzig early
recognized the advantages of construction design
employed in the large caravel. The master
shipbuilder Hans Pale and his people would have
most carefully studied the innovative construction
techniques embodied in these new caravels.
At that time, master shipbuilder Peter Engelke
was assigned to the “Peter of Danzig” during
its journey to the west, as mentioned by Bernt
Pawest, to carry out extensive repairs in Sluis
(sic) and to purchase necessary shipbuilding
materials (wood).
So it came about that in the 1470s large
caravels were built in Danzig, for ship owners in
Danzig as well as under contract with foreigners.
The large ship mentioned in history for the
year 1473, with a keel length of 51 ell (107 feet),
built for a Lombarden, was probably a threemasted
hulk. For the year 1475 two caravels are
mentioned. The ship mentioned for 1488 was a
caravel with dimensions almost identical to those
of the “Peter of Danzig,” apparently a copy of
the original.
Lastadei.
In good times there might be a dozen or more
ships standing under construction at one time
in the Danzig shipbuilding yards in the space
stretching along the banks of the Mottlau from
the double suburbian canal in the city’s suburbs,
currently part of the “Winterplatz,” and beyond
the “Aschbrücke,” which then did not exist.
This distance of some 400 metres, with a width
of approximately 70 metres, was covered by
shipbuilding yards along the waterfront, adjoining
the plank yard and the “Markenfeld,” and
ending with the “Kahnfeld” at the “Aschbrücke.”
That half of the of yards lying farthest from the
waterfront was stacked with lumber, stored there
for years until needed for shipbuilding.
The name “Lastadei” probably comes from
the words “Ballast” and “Last” (load), but at that
time simply designated a shipbuilding yard. In
the vicinity of those yards lay other workplaces
related to shipping and shipbuilding. The Ankerschmiedegass
and the Röpergasse of today testify
to former activities there in the skilled trades of
forging anchors and making ropes.
Near the shipbuilding yards were repair and
overhaul workplaces on the “Bragebank,” stretching
from the waterfront street “Brabank” into the
“Schuitensteg.” The name “Brabank” stems from
the word “Bragen” which indicates caulking or
sealing of ships, for which ships would be laid
on their sides on mostly wooden platforms. Such
workplaces covered areas of some 200 metres in
length and 50 metres in depth. To prop up ships
during this process, ferryboats were fastened to
their sides. Smaller vessels would be drawn onto
land via skid roads.
For the installation of masts, ships were
moved from the shipbuilding yards to the
“Great Crane” at the portal known as the Krantor
(Crane gate). This crane served its purpose
well with its ability to reach to a height of 34
metres, the hook being 29 metres above waterline.
This famous crane served not only seagoing
ships but also Vistula river boats which, after
unloading cargoes of grain in Danzig, prepared
for the return journey back up the Vistula river
by resetting mast and sails, which they had
taken down for the downstream run so that the
sails could be used as protective coverings for
cargoes of grain.
Aside from shipbuilding yards within the
city of Danzig, history of that time mentions two
other shipyards in the Vistula region. In 1486
such a yard existed on the Vistula river above
Marienburg near the old castle of Zantir, and in
1488 another between Kielau and the village of
Gdingen in Danzig Bay.
The influence of Dutch architecture is clearly evident in many of the buildings in Danzig. In the background is
the famous Marienkirche. (Lech Krzytanowski, Das Schoene Alte Danzig, photo 78)
Preservings No. 25, December 2005 - 57