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J.F. Braeunlich (German Shipping Company)

Stettiner Dampfschiffs-Gesellschaft J.F. Bräunlich

Last modified: 2019-08-09 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: braeunlich | stettiner dampf | swinemuender dampf | griifin | lozenge |
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[Stettiner Dampfschiffs-Gesellschaft J.F. Braeunlich] image by Jorge Candeias, 29 Nov 2004 See also:
Source: here

J.F. Braeunlich

J.F. Braeunlich History

The company before WW2 ran lines as follows (ports in brackets):
Stettin - Swinemünde line there and back again
to the island of Rügen (Göhren-Sellin-Binz-Sassnitz)
to the island of Usedom and (Kamin-Zinnowitz-Heringsdorf-Swinemünde)
to the island of Wollin (Misdroy)
mail steamer line to Trelleborg (Sweden)
steamer to Copenhagen
steamer to the island of Bornholm
East Prussian Naval Service ("Seedienst Ostpreußen") (Zoppot-Pillau-Memel)
Source:here

In 1851, Carl Julius Ferdinand Braeunlich ordered the DIEVENOW from the "Fürchtenicht & Brock" company, the future famous Vulkan Company of Stettin. With the commissioning of the ship in 1852, the Braeunlich shipping company was founded. With two additional ships, the PRINCESS ROYAL VICTORIA and the MISDROY, a regular line was established between Stettin and Swinemünde. Braeunlich operated on the "Stettiner Haff " and ran routes to the islands of Usedom and Wollin. After brief collaboration with Albert Ballin, he expanded further into the Baltic Sea. Braeunlich was involved with a mail ship link to Sweden. In 1896, the "J.F. Braeunlich Shipping Company " was transformed into the "Stettiner Dampfschiffs-Gesellschaft J.F. Bräunlich" (J.F. Braeunlich Stettin Steam Ship Company Ltd.). Two small ships, the HANNI and the WERNER, continued to operate on and around the Oder.
Source: here

The new century brought fine-sounding names and magnificent ships onto the Baltic Sea, such as the ODIN, the HERTHA and many others. But the begin of WW1 brought an abrupt end to pleasure trips on the Baltic Sea and the Braeunlich fleet was drafted into the imperial navy. After the war, the company gradually started up again with the HERTHA and the ODIN. The increasing isolation of East Prussia necessitated a sea link and Braeunlich became involved into the East Prussian Naval Service. After the "golden twenties" came the world economic crisis and, like many others, the pleasure cruise business had its ups and downs Things were to get worse than even in the summer of 1914. In September 1939, virtually all of the company’s ships were commandered by the navy. Only the SWINEMÜNDE and the BERLIN remained. By 1945, the company had lost nearly all of its ships, its headquarters and, as a result of the new European order, its routes as well. After the war, there was another new ship, the MELILLA, in 1952, and the company, now known as the "J.F. Braeunlich Shipping Company K.G.", based itself in Hamburg from 1956. In February 1995, the company’s trade registration at Hamburg district court would be cancelled.
Source: here

After rail connections were established to Trelleborg in 1875 and Sassnitz in 1891, plans were drawn up for a mail steamer line to Scandinavia. The FREIA completed a test voyage for this route on 3 June 1891, and on 29 April 1897 a regular service to Sweden was launched. In addition to the FREIA, the line was run by the Swedish steamers REX (beached off Rügen on 27 January 1900) and SVEA, as well as the German steamers IMPERATOR and HERTHA. The mail steamer agreement of 1907 between Germany and Sweden provided legislation for the commissioning of railway ferries DEUTSCHLAND and PREUSZEN. Braeunlich received state compensation.
Source: here
Jan Mertens, 15 May 2005 and Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 July 2019

J.F. Braeunlich First Flag

[Stettiner Dampfschiffs-Gesellschaft J.F. Braeunlich] image by Jorge Candeias, modified by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 July 2019

The first flag was red with a white lozenge, black letters in the lozenge "J.F.B." and in the two corners of the top.
Source: here
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 July 2019

Stettiner Dampfschiffs-Gesellschaft Flag

The (second) flag was red with a white lozenge, black letters inside the lozenge and in the two corners of the top. The letters in the upper corners are "St." (upper hoist corner) and "D.G." (upper fly corner), they simply complete the "J.F.B." company initials in the lozenge. The company ran 5 vessels in 1933 and transported passengers between Stettin, Danzig and Windau.
Sources: Lloyd 1912 image no. 1333 and Lloyd 1933, p.17, image no. 115
Jorge Candeias, 29 Nov 2004, Jan Mertens, 30 Nov 2004 and Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 July 2019


Swinemünder Dampfschiffahrt AG

Swinemünder Dampfschiffahrt History

Founded in 1890, the shipping company initially operated in competition with Braeunlich. But soon they were working together. Three steamers operated for the "Steamship Company of Swinemünde". It seems its few ships had a penchant for collisions. The BERLIN, bought in 1906, sank following a collision in the "Papen Wasser" and remained out of service until after the Great War. From 1925-29, the new DEUTSCHLAND was the showpiece in the company. But she sank following a collision too, before being raised and sold to Braeunlich, where she continued in service under the name FRIGGA. In 1927 the shipping line merged with the "Braeunlich Shipping Company of Stettin" and was bought by them in 1928, legally disappearing during WW2, probably. The publicity reproduced on the webpage shows that the "Swinemünder" was active in local shipping to and from Stettin plus a number of other Baltic resorts. https://web.archive.org/web/
Source: here and scripophily page
Swinemünde is now Swinoujscie in Poland; its CoA (with a complete, and very maritime, griffin) can be seen.
Jan Mertens, 15 May 2005

Swinemünder Dampfschiffahrt Flag (reported 1905)

[Swindemünder Dampfschiffahrt AG 1905] image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 July 2019

It was a white flag, displaying a white griffin fimbriated red, holding a black anchor by his forepaws, a simplified version of the arms of Stettin, on the blue horizontal edges is a black inscription distributed to the four corners as follows: "Sw" (upper hoist) and "D" (upper fly), on the white stripe are "A" (lower hoist) and "G" (lower fly).
Source: Flaggenbuch 1905, part V, p.15, image no.253
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 July 2019

Swinemünder Dampfschiffahrt Flag (reported 1933)

[Swindemünder Dampfschiffahrt AG 1933] image by Klaus-Michael Schneider,based on an image sent by Jan Mertens, 15 May 2005

The house flag of the "Swinemünder Dampfschiffahrt-Aktien-Gesellschaft" (Steam Navigation Co. Ltd of Swinemünde)is horizontally divided blue (upper stripe) and white, bearing a white disk in the middle showing a red griffin's head, beaked, langued and also crowned yellow; on the blue stripe are black letters "Sw" (upper hoist) and "D" (upper fly), on the white stripe are "A" (lower hoist) and "G" (lower fly).
Sources: here and Lloyd 1933, p.17, image no.117
Jan Mertens, 15 May 2005


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