W świecie dawnych żaglowców

The permanent exhibition at the Naval Museum in Gdynia takes visitors back to a time when it is said that wheels were made of wood and people were made of iron.

On display are models showing the evolution of sailing ship construction, from the late Middle Ages to the declining period of the Age of Sail – the second half of the 19th century. The day of November 28, 1627, holds a special place in Polish maritime tradition. It was then that a naval battle took place in the Gdansk roadstead, which went down in history as the Battle of Oliwa. The exhibition features striking models of the basic ships of the Polish squadron.

The collection of models From Cog to Galleon presents the main types of sailing ships characteristic of northern Europe – from the cog or holk, which dominated in the Middle Ages, to the great carrack Piotr of Gdansk, whose crew in a naval clash captured and donated to the Gdansk church the famous painting The Last Judgment by Hans Memling. An ornament of the collection is a model of a representative yacht/galery probably made in the early 18th century for King Augustus II the Strong.

Its valuable additions are paintings by the outstanding Polish marine artist Marian Mokwa. The artist devoted a significant part of his oeuvre to Polish superiority at sea. The paintings, depicting scenes from the period of the Battle of Oliwa, are a fragment of the collection of the Apotheosis of Maritime Poland series, which was restored after the war and destroyed by the occupiers in 1939. The collection of models of famous sailing ships recorded in the maritime history of the world includes: Christopher Columbus's Santa Maria, the flagship British liner Victory from the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, the British ship of the line Sovereign of the Seas from the 17th century or a model of a classic clipper ship.

Enriching the exhibition of ancient sailing ships are original pieces of armament and ordnance of those who fought on board the ships. Helmets, with a unique capalino from the 16th century, specimens of white weapons, firearms, ship's bullets. Also, navigational instruments used in ancient sailing. A real rarity among our collections is the original of the so-called Lubinus map - a cartographic picture of West Pomerania, from the time when sailing ships of most of the types presented at the exhibition reigned on the seas. A short walk through the museum's world of old sailing ships will give you an insight into the specifics of service on ships and vessels that often decided the fate of states and nations.