Training sailboat
Duchesse Anne

Come aboard the largest sailboat in France!

An emblematic ship of the Dunkirk area and a remarkable maritime heritage on a European scale, Duchesse Anne is one of the jewels in the museum’s crown!

At 92 metres long, the three-masted schooner is as impressive for her size as she is for her elegance. Once used to train sailors, she is now a living testimony to the history of navigation and maritime traditions in the 20th century.

Launched in 1901 under the name Grossherzogin Elisabeth, this square-rigged three-master was a training ship built to train officers and sailors for the German merchant navy.

For 30 years, she sailed the Baltic Sea or cruised off the coasts of Africa and South America with 130 to 200 cadets on board, supervised by a crew of 15 to 20 officers, non-commissioned officers, masters and seamen.

Listed as a historical monument since 1982, the sailing ship allows you to discover the living conditions of the crew, from the cadets’ steerage to the commander’s luxurious quarters. You can also access the ship’s holds and discover how this masterpiece of naval engineering was designed.

From 4 to 24 August, embark on a unique experience aboard the sail training ship Duchesse Anne, which is exceptionally open to the public before restoration work resumes on 25 August!

A little history…

Built in 1901 at the Bremerhaven shipyard in Germany, this training ship was specifically designed to meet the needs of the German merchant navy at the time, which was looking to recruit qualified and competent sailors. Handed over to the French Navy in 1946 as war damage, she was renamed Duchesse Anne, in reference to the Duchess Anne of Brittany, Queen of France from 1491.

In 1981, the municipality of Dunkirk acquired the ship to perpetuate the memory of a time when the town was a port of arrival and departure for tall ships.

In March 1982, the association ‘Les Amis de la Duchesse Anne’ (Friends of the Duchesse Anne) was formed under the chairmanship of Benoît Venturini.

On 22 August 1998, restored in keeping with tradition, she reached her final destination, opposite the Musée Portuaire de Dunkerque. The work was not finished, however, and it was not until the ship’s centenary in 2001, after 19 years of work, that the sailing ship Duchesse Anne was finally opened to the public.