During one of the hottest days of this summer, unbelievable things happened; an ice-breaker arrived in Szczecin via Swinoujscie, the Szczecin Bay and the Odra river.
On 16th November 1933, probably no one in the "Stettin Oderwerke" thought that their master-piece, the coal-fired steamship "Stettin" will survive vital until the 21st century. But she did. And became the oldest and the biggest steam ice-breaker in the world.
All this happened thanks to the group of enthusiasts who decided to save this ship of being scrapped in 1981. Until 1981, "Stettin" was operating during winters on the River Elbe, the Kiel Canal, Kiel Bay, and on the Baltic Sea. Nowadays, "Stettin" serves during the summer taking guests on pleasure trips. The rest of the year, she is berthed as a museum ship at the museum port Oevelgönne in Hamburg.
"Stettin" visited Szczecin for the second time and officers from the HQ MNC NE together with Vice-president of Szczecin, Mr. Zbigniew Zalewski and Honorary Consul of Federal Republic of Germany in Szczecin, Mr. Bartolomiej Sochanski were honoured to welcome her in the Port of Szczecin in the afternoon. Together with other guests they took a night cruise on the Odra river, which turned out to be a fantastic travel back through the time.
For more information about the ice-breaker "Stettin" please also look at:
Ice-breaker "Stettin" association website (external link)
