Batavia Shipyard
Bataviawerf is a shipyard that offers you a fascinating look on traditional shipbuilding.
Here you can see two reconstructions of 17th century ships in one location: Batavia and De 7 Provincien.
This make the yard unique in its kind.
A visit to this yard was really a great experience for me.
When I went home I even bought a book about it.
It brings your fantasy back in time more than 350 years!
They inform you of all kinds of interesting details of the construction of the two ships and their historical background.
You see the trainees and their masters hard at work; the yard is truly an bustling hyve of activity.
The present Batavia was named after a historic predecessor which was built in 1628 in Amsterdam by order of the VOC, the Dutch United East India Company.
The Dutch United East Indies Company (VOC) was founded in 1602, a number of merchants of the provinces of Holland and Zeeland decided to cooperate closely in Eastern Asia where they formerly competed against one another.
The newly formed company was named the "Verenigde Oost Indische Compagnie" (VOC).
The new company developed rapidly and prospered. Profits were enormous.
Every year the VOC sent about thirty ships to trade in the East Indies. Many of these ships were built on VOC owned shipyards.
On her maiden voyage the Batavia was wrecked on a reef off the Australian west coast.
The “7 Provincien” ( 7 provinces, since the Dutch Republic in the 17th century consisted of seven rather independent lands) was originally built in 1664-`65 for the admiralty of the Meuse (De Maas) in Rotterdam.
The ship participated in all major naval combat between 1666 and 1692.
From 1666 tot 1674 the ship was the flagship of the Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, one of the most famous sea officers the Dutch Republic had ever seen.
In 1694 the 7 Provinciën was decommissioned and sold to be broken up.
In 1995 a reconstruction of this most famous ship started on the Batavia Yard in Lelystad.
The ship is being built by a group of young people, within a training programme and will probably be finished around 2015.
Near the shipyard is also a museum called: “Nieuwland”.
Nieuwland deals with the story of the largest land reclamation project ever.
The museum futures displays about the prehistory of Flevoland, the battle against the water and the future of the Ijsselmeer area.
With the Batavia shipyard nearby a visit to Nieuwland makes your day compleet.
It was a great experience for me to see and to walk on and inside the Batavia and the 7 Provincien.
The people on the yard were very friendly and helpful.
When you have the possibility you have to see Batavia Shipyard, also for kids it`s really great!
The day on Batavia was my favorite day of 2008 so far!
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