A vessel that is not a vessel
Until the 1970s, the bucket chain steam dredger ‘Minden’ maintained the shipping channel of the Weser River between Stolzenau and Hameln. Steam propulsion proved to be particularly advantageous for the hard slate of the Weser riverbed. If the buckets got stuck, the machine would stop; a reverse motion would not damage it. With a renewed burst of power, the chunk would then break loose. The dredged material fell into chutes or onto a conveyor belt and from there into a barge lying alongside.
Over the years, a dredger whose chimney smoked, whose exhaust pipe steamed, and whose bucket chain clattered and scraped was no longer economically or ecologically up-to-date. In the long run, it could no longer keep up with modern equipment. In 1979, it was the end.
Since 1982, exactly one hundred years after it was built in Mainz, the ‘Minden’ has been a museum ship in Duisburg. Strictly speaking, the steam dredger is not actually a ship, as it has no propulsion of its own and was towed over longer distances. At the site of operation, it moved back and forth using winches on laid-out chains. It is therefore considered a floating device.
The bucket chain steam dredger Minden celebrated its 130th birthday in 2012.
Upon request, groups can also visit the museum ships in winter.
