Mariann

What ghostly sight greets the eye as the tide recedes from the shores of Braderup Bay? The skeletal remains of the Mariann, a once-proud three-masted schooner, emerge from the mudflats. The Mariann, you see, was no ordinary ship. She was a vessel of dreams, carrying within her timbers the hopes of recreating the charm of a beloved tea room called “Witthüs”, nestled in the village of Wenningstedt. The owners, facing the loss of their lease, had embarked on a quest to find the perfect ship to house their new venture. Their search led them to a weathered three-masted schooner languishing in a Swedish shipyard. In 1959, after much deliberation and negotiation, the Mariann was purchased and set sail for Munkmarsch on the island of Sylt. The journey was fraught with delays, battling storms that raged across the Swedish coast. Finally, under the watchful eyes of seasoned Swedish sailors, and fueled by copious amounts of Swedish punch, the Mariann, towed by two fishing cutters, embarked on her journey across the Kattegat and Skagerrak towards Sylt. Even this leg was not without its perils, with a storm forcing a stop in Skagen, Denmark. The arrival of the Mariann in Skagen became a minor spectacle. Newspapers heralded the tale of the Germans purchasing one of the last old sailing ships, and the Mariann’s story captivated the Danish public. But fate, it seemed, had other plans for the Mariann. Despite reaching Munkmarsch and being moved to her designated berth, the final permit for her operation as a restaurant was denied. Then, on a stormy February night in 1962, the Mariann, as if rebelling against her ill fortune, broke free from her moorings. She found her final resting place here in Braderup Bay, her dreams of becoming a tea room dashed upon the unforgiving shores. Even the few remaining structures, the bulwark and the wheelhouse, succumbed to an act of arson, erasing the last vestiges of the Mariann’s former glory.