Fregatten Jylland

The Jylland was launched in 1860 as a screw frigate, a warship carrying both a full sailing rig and a steam engine driving a propeller, and she fought at the battle of Heligoland in 1864 before serving as a royal yacht and a training ship. She was very nearly broken up several times and was finally restored over decades from the 1980s, and she now sits in a dry dock at Ebeltoft, fully rigged, with about seventy metres of hull, which is generally described as making her the longest wooden ship in the world. Visitors go below through the gun deck, the crew quarters, the galley, the engine room with its restored machinery, and the officers' cabins, with an exhibition building alongside covering the ship and the war she fought in.

History

The Jylland, a screw-propelled steam frigate that was also a full sailing ship, took part in the Battle of Heligoland on 9 May 1864 and was considerably damaged. By 1874 she was a training ship for naval cadets, in the 1890s she was reduced to stationary use, serving as barracks and training ship from 1892 to 1908, and in 1908 she barely escaped scrapping. It was decided to preserve her, and she was towed to Ebeltoft in 1960, but the hulk kept deteriorating until she was placed in dry dock in 1984. Restoration was a huge task, with more than 60% of the timber replaced along with the rigging, armament and engines, and when it was completed in 1994 she went on permanent display in her dry dock; she is the last surviving screw frigate (Wikipedia, HDMS Jylland).

Highlights

• A fully rigged screw frigate - sail and steam in one 1860 warship.
• The gun deck - cannon and crew quarters below.
• The restored engine room - the steam machinery that drove the propeller.
• Officers' cabins - the after end of the ship as it was fitted.

When to go

April to October for full opening; winter hours are reduced and the rigging work happens then. Two to three hours. Danish school holidays bring family programmes and crowds.

Practical notes

Access below decks is by steep ladders and low headroom, which limits it for many visitors. The ship is in a dry dock, not afloat. Ticket prices are high. Winter opening is short. Some of the vessel is a reconstruction rather than original fabric.

Nearby

Ebeltoft old town is a short walk; the Glass Museum is nearby.

Key facts