SOUTH EAST PASSAGE
Application in the South Baltic Programme 2014-2020
INTRODUCTION
The maritime heritage on the seafloor off Kalmar and Blekinge regions in SouthEastern Sweden is unequalled in the world. A unique combination of geography,
climate and a long period of seafaring has left behind a multitude of shipwrecks,
with a history spanning over at least a thousand years. Advances in technology
have made this heritage more ”visible” in the last decades and there is now a
proactive interest from the heritage protection side to make this treasure
available also for the general public. Not only is it important that the public is
aware of the existence of these spectacular ”frozen moments” from our history;
they are also an interesting way of highlighting maritime history via schools and
museums as well as a possible source of revenue for the tourism industry.
1. The Technological Revolution
Exploration of the seafloor became possible after WWII thanks to the invention of scuba
diving equipment. Since the first spectacular expeditions headed by Jacques Cousteau in
the 1950s, diving has become safer, more widespread and much more advanced.
Maritime archaeologists trained in so-called ”technical diving” (mixed gas diving) can
today dive below one hundred metres to study wrecks, even in the cold waters of the
Baltic Sea.
But over the last couple of decades, the key development has been within ship-based
technology, which today makes it possible to map and inspect the seafloor in minute
detail. Most of the wrecks discovered in recent years have been found as a side effect to
projects such as laying cables and pipelines on the seafloor, but as this advanced
technology has become cheaper, there are also amateurs with modern equipment, who
are specifically interested in finding historical wrecks.
Two of the most spectacular discoveries in recent years in the Baltic Sea are the result of
such private search ventures. In 2011, one group of divers discovered the wreck of Mars,
the largest warship built in the 16th century; another group found Svärdet, also a large
historical warship, from the 17th century. Both these shipwrecks are in the waters of the
South East Passage projects.
During 2012-2015, these ships have been documented and researched in a joint
exploration by scientists, divers and survey ships with modern high-tech equipment.
These investigations herald a new era both within science and in terms of making the
maritime heritage available for the public (see more below).
In 2016 there is a plan to continue the exploration of these historical wrecks with an
international expedition including mini-submarines that will allow also non-diving
archaeologists to take a close look at this extraordinary heritage on the bottom of the
sea. So far, there has been very little public funding for these operations. Most of the
work has been financed by private sponsors and pro bono work by divers interested in
historical wrecks. Mars has also been documented with HD video cameras and a film
about the wreck will be released on several European TV Channels in 2015.
The flip side of the technological advances is that the pressure on the seafloor is
increasing and will probably increase even more with time. Besides cables and pipelines,
there is now also a demand for wind-farms at sea and there is a continuous search for
raw materials and energy resources in the seabed. These activities are sometimes a
direct threat to the maritime heritage and this increases the urgency to document and
protect the human artifices left behind by previous generations. These activities may
cause much more damage to the maritime heritage in the long run, than a few
deplorable examples of souvenir-hunting divers, which often attract more attention
from the authorities.
2. International developments
The technological advances in seafloor mapping have led to an increased awareness of
the amount of human artefacts left on the bottom. These objects are not just of historical
significance; some of them can also be hazardous to shipping or for the environment.
Historical, wooden wrecks rarely contain anything really dangerous, but from the age of
metal ships with steam or diesel engines, almost every wreck contains something that
will adversely affect aquatic life. It is therefore of great importance that all countries
have programmes to learn more about what is left by our ancestors on the seafloor.
USA
The first country to create a maritime heritage reserve was the USA. In 1973, the wreck
site of the Monitor (a famous ship from the American civil war) was declared a federal
reserve, which also includes a museum and a research facility in Newport News,
Virginia. Today there are 14 federal maritime reserves in the USA, two of which are
specially dedicated to the maritime heritage. The second was inaugurated in the late
1990s in Thunder Bay, Michigan, on Lake Huron. The other 12 federal reserves are
mainly dedicated to maritime biology, but they also protect human artefacts within the
boundaries of the reserves.
The Thunder Bay reserve exists in a climate similar to Scandinavia and the water in Lake
Huron has the same quality for preserving old wrecks as the Baltic Sea. This reserve has
been very successful in involving the local communities on the US side of the lake to the
benefit of schools, increased tourism and attracting international activities to an area
clearly off the main roads in the US. Maritime heritage has given the small city of Alpena
a new identity and there is great interest among the neighbouring communities to see
the reserve enlarged.
One important observation from the Thunder Bay reserve is that the protection of old
wrecks has become more effective through active cooperation between the management
of the reserve and dive charter companies active in the tourism industry. The reserve
provides buoys and other infrastructure to facilitate for divers; the divers protect the
wrecks, since they are the prime source of income.
Europe
The leading country in Europe when it comes to protection of the maritime heritage is
Great Britain. There are a great number of maritime museums and academic institutions
involved in historical research on shipwrecks. A lot of attention is paid to the maritime
history of the two world wars. The waters around the British Isles are littered with ships
from these two wars. Some of them are both of historical importance and at the same
time constitute a considerable danger, because they contain ammunition. Nonetheless
there is considerable tourism, particularly to the Scapa Flow naval base in Scotland,
which saw action in both wars.
Netherlands was the leading sea power in Europe for more than a hundred years
beginning in the late 16th century, when it also dominated trade in the Baltic Sea. There
is a huge interest in this part of Dutch history and the Netherlands Heritage Board has a
special section dedicated only to maritime history. Almost all shipwrecks from this era
have disappeared, because of the shipworm, which destroys dead wood in warm, salty
water. The Dutch know their naval history mainly from paintings and models. There is a
growing interest, therefore, on the Dutch side, in the maritime heritage of the Baltic Sea.
The reason is that there are a great number of Dutch ships, or ships built in Holland,
among the shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea.
Britain and the Netherlands both have shores on the North Sea. This brings them
together in one respect, which is the research about “Dogger Land”, the lost civilization
that has recently been discovered on what is now called the Dogger Banks. This
relatively shallow part of the North Sea was above water during the last glaciation, and it
has been established that humans lived there for a considerable period of time. This is of
interest also to the countries around the Baltic Sea, since there is plenty of evidence
about a similar civilisation on the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Some research into this part
of our common history has been carried out off the south-eastern shores of Sweden.
The situation in the Mediterranean and around the Iberian peninsula is very different.
There is very little left in terms of shipwrecks, but there are still great treasures to be
found in terms of valuable objects, on sites where ships have foundered. There is an
ongoing battle between the heritage authorities in all Mediterranean countries and
looters and fortune hunters, who search for antique artefacts to sell for profit. National
policies in most Mediterranean countries are therefore more geared on prohibition and
restriction, than on making these wreck sites open to the public.
3. Sweden: A Change of Attitude
Sweden played an important role in the development of maritime archaeology in the
first decades after WWII. The discovery and salvage of the Vasa ship in 1961 opened up
a completely new way of displaying maritime history. It also became clear that even
quite primitive methods of searching for wrecks could turn up amazing discoveries, such
as the Kronan wreck off Öland, which was discovered in 1980. The success of the Vasa
museum and the amazing excavation of Kronan (the most extensive maritime
archaeological project ever) also highlight the unique qualities of the Baltic Sea to
preserve wrecks. But these two major discoveries have also saturated the demand for
new artefacts to be salvaged. Sweden’s Maritime Museums, which has responsibility
nationally for maritime heritage, is now extremely restrictive with salvaging and
conservation of new objects.
Partly for this reason, but also because of the availability of new technologies, the
discoveries of Mars and Svärdet herald a new era of making the maritime heritage
accessible to the public. This involves a shift from salvaging objects and putting them on
display (like the Vasa and Kronan museums) to modern visualizations of the wrecks
through computer graphics, photogrammetry and 3D-printing of objects. This “nonintrusive maritime archaeology” makes the wreck visible, at the same time as it is left in
situ.
Parallel to this technological development, there has been a policy change in the
Swedish Heritage Board in favour of making historical wrecks open to the public also
under water. In 2014, the first “Maritime Archaeological Dive Park” was inaugurated in
the Dalarö archipelago, south of Stockholm. Dalarö was for centuries the entry port to
Stockholm and also the chief port for the Swedish navy. Seven wrecks have been
marked with buoys for diving, three of which are open only for groups with government
certified dive guides. The other four are completely open to the public, either
individually or in charter groups.
For “democratic reasons” the dive park is also charged with making the wrecks available
for non-divers. The new policy includes the possibility for tourists to look at the wrecks
with the help of robots with video cameras, so-called ROVs. There are also charter boats
that visit the wreck sites with guides and show filmed under water sequences of the
wrecks, together with other filmed material that puts the wreck in an historical context.
This new attitude towards the maritime heritage is to a large degree also applicable
within the South East Passage project.
4. The South East Passage Project
The South East Passage project is a logical step in the process of making maritime
history and the historical heritage on land and seafloor available to the public. The
project is based on cooperation with other countries around the Baltic Sea to commonly
promote the destination. The object is to unite the interests of preservation, science,
tourism and raising public awareness of our common maritime heritage.
The main purpose of this project is to expose the extensive material regarding maritime
heritage we have locally on the different sites on a common display. At the same time
enhanced the local awareness of locations on land and water with maritime connections.
Around the Baltic Sea there is a wide range of museum, institutions and local and other
organisations with the own expertise and focus. The aim is to gather some of the unique
actors around South Baltic and joint promote the area as a tourist destination via a
common touring exhibition.
5. Project structure
Project layout
LST LP
(Lead Part)
Background
Historical view of the
importance of south Baltic
<100,000 shipwrecks
The marine history is
hidden in the Baltic.
The marine history on
land is disappearing.
Difficult to communicate
the marine cultural
heritage.
Reports from LST, KLM...
Research from Mars
Partners,
SE Borgholm kommun
SE Västerviks museum
SE Sjöfararkusten
SE Kalmar Länsstyrelse
SE Blekinge Länsstyrelse
SE Oskarshamn kommun
DE Rostock Museum
DE Rostock Nat arkeology
PL
DK
LT
Finance
responibility
Associated Organisations
Vasa museum
Fyr till Fyr
Hulterstad
Böda hamns
intresseförening
Södertörns högskola
Linnéuniversitetet
Output
Portable exhibition for all
partners to use.
Local signs for awareness
Research results
Story telling, guide program
Meeting points for
networking
Digital information
Brochures
Dive objects
6. Background research
One of the projects milestones is to compile different public version from known
historical data and complement when needed to ensure a solid story to convey. The
background histories need to have several topics to reflect the different angles of
cultural heritage in the Baltic. The themes for the different historical stories can consists
of following headlines examples below,
Shipbuilding, shipyards, craftsmanship
Shipwrecks, dive, explore, archaeology
Naval battles, tactics, strategies
War, how was the Baltic effected by the war,
Trade, how was the trade, what was traded
Markets, Baltic as a market,
Unions, How was the different unions, changes, players
Life on board the ship, How did they live,
Life on land to support the ship, How was life affected by supporting a ship nation
The main structure of the different stories in the exhibition is to find a small number of
interesting objects or places and build up a story around them. As an example we have
chosen the top five “big five” naval ships that sank in the Swedish region of the Baltic Sea
between 1495 to 1676. The shipwrecks are very interesting and represent different
stages of the Swedish history that was important both nationally and internationally.
The proposed shipwrecks to be included in the “big five” are the following
Gribshunden
Mars
Vasa
Kronan
Svärdet
1495
1564
1628
1676
1676
Work has already been initiated on local and regional level. In Blekinge the first object
have been salvaged from Gribshunden and it was the spectacular figurehead of the ship.
The shipwreck is located on shallow water and close to shore, which makes it relative
simple to work with. A science cluster is expected to grow around the Västervik
Museum, which is now the host of an exhibition featuring the Mars project and some
objects from the same period, also connected with the Kalmar region. Planning around
activates on Svärdet is on going and is expected to be initiated during the next years. The
regional museum in Kalmar, which hosts the Kronan exhibition, is planning to expand its
section on the maritime history. The city of Oskarshamn is planning to include the wreck
of a medieval “kogg” (the oldest salvaged trading ship in Sweden) as part of a plan to
rebuild its commercial harbour. The two municipalities on Öland are planning various
activities to increase public awareness of their important maritime history.
Other partners can choose other points of interest to promote that are more interesting
from a local perspective.
7. Touring Exhibition
To joint promote the marine history in the Baltic Sea area to a broader audience as a
common destination a touring exhibition will be used. The exhibition content will be
built up in segments with each partner’s special area as different keys. The target is to
find wide range of partners that can contribute with key information in the sections
below. Some partners can be represented in several sections depending of the area
where the partner has their expertise.
Example on what a portable exhibition can consist of to attract a broad audience. It is
important that the story that we convey is built on research and historical facts.
8. Local infrastructure
The aim is also to increase the general local awareness of the common maritime heritage
that we have as a boarder countries around the Baltic Sea. One way to increase the
natural connection between visitors in the area and the maritime history of the Baltic
Sea can be done by local road signs. If two or more attraction areas are combined at the
same time it can give the visitor a broader knowledge about the maritime history of the
area. One example can be to combine the “Fyr till Fyr” bicycle project that stretch along
the coast of Öland and the Sydostpassagen project. Road sign can be put at intersection
along the bicycle road to point out historical places on land or at the Baltic Sea. By doing
small local activities like this at each partner site we can strengthen awareness of the
maritime heritage of the Baltic Sea.
9. Finance model
Draft to a finance model.
To balance the financial input to the expected output from the project the following cost
share model is proposed. The project budget in the application is set to recommended
1milj EUR. The co-founding is between 15-25% depending of the nationality.
Lead Partner och Partners
total input over tree years
Länstyrelsen Kalmar Län
Länstyrelsen Blekinge Län
Kalmar länsmuseum
Blekinge länsmuseum
Rostock museum
Oskarshamn kommun
Borgholms kommun
Västerviks museum
Mönsterås kommun
PL?
DE?
DK?
Total
60000 EUR
60000 EUR
30000 EUR
30000 EUR
30000 EUR
20000 EUR
20000 EUR
?
EUR
?
EUR
220000 EUR
Contact;
Henrik Linnarsson
Näringslivsutvecklare
Tel direkt: 0485-887 03, servicecenter: 0485- 880 00
Postadress: Box 52, 387 21 Borgholm
Besöksadress: Östra Kyrkogatan 10, Borgholm
henrik.linnarsson@borgholm.se
Associated partner
Financing from local nonprofitable organizations is
mainly converted in to working
time.