The Bremen Cog
The Bremen Cog is considered the world’s best-preserved merchant ship of the Middle Ages.
By a happy coincidence, the wreck was found in 1962 during dredging work in the Weser.
After a restoration and conservation – which took 40 years – the 600-year-old ship has been on display at the German Maritime Museum since 2017.
The "Kiel" cog
The “Kiel” cog is a faithful replica.
This project is documented in the book “Die Kieler Hansekogge” by Uwe Baykowski. The replica itself is located in Kiel’s museum harbour, is completely seaworthy and can be booked for charter trips.
It is very unlikely that cogs will ever be built in Kiel itself in the Middle Ages – even though Kiel is a member of the Hanseatic League (Hill, 2019). But it was quite possible for cogs from Lübeck to call at the port of Kiel.
At the latest in the period from 1416 to 1426 – Kiel is considered a pirate’s nest and safe haven for the Victual Brothers, who go on a pirate voyage on behalf of the Holstein counts – cogs are regularly moored in the port of Kiel (Hill, 2019).
The dissertation
In 2023, Amandine Colson wrote her dissertation on the preservation and conservation of Bremen’s cog.
This can be downloaded free of charge as a PDF from the website of the University of Bamberg. The print edition costs 29,- €.