THE SHIPYARD OF THE SCHNELLDAMPFERS

It was in the year 1851 two men from Hamburg came to Stettin to found a shipyard and a machine-workshop. These two men were  Franz F.D. Fruchtenicht and Franz W. Brock. As most of the German mercant ships were based at the OstSee haven, the choiche for Stettin to found the shipyard was evident. To be more correct it was not even Stettin where the shipyard  of the company Fruchtenicht & Brock was founded, but the small city of Bredow, connected to Stettin by just a small narrow road.

The iron paddle steamer "Die Dievenow"ready for launch at the slipway of the shipyard

When Stettin expanded , the distance between Stettin and Bredow  became less and  at the turn of the century Bredow became a district of Stettin. The Fruchtenicht & Brock Shipyard, as she was first called,  became Germany's first steel ship only shipyard. The first ship to be built at the Fruchtenicht & Brock Shipyard was the 35 meter long iron paddle steamer  "Die Dievenow", which was commisioned by the Stettiner shipping company J.F. Braeunlich.

A local publication wrote: On the site of the shipyard only an old house was found which was fitted out as a forge and a locksmith workshop. This house at the same time was used for processing  angle iron and sheetmetal. A simple board shed, located at the site was used for the assembly. A slipway was built for the construction of the ships, but the construction of it was not of high quality.