Klas Horn (ex-Posadnik) was the flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 and an escort ship for the Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n Czar's yacht. Posadnik was built in Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

 in 1892 for the Montenegrin

Montenegro

Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

 king Nicholas I

Nicholas I of Montenegro

Nikola I Mirkov Petrović-Njegoš was the only king of Montenegro, reigning as king from 1910 to 1918 and as prince from 1860 to 1910. He was also a poet, notably penning "Onamo, 'namo!", a popular song from Montenegro.-Early life:Nikola was born in the village of Njeguši, the ancient home of the...

. The ship was purchased by the Russian Czar after Nicholas' money ran out. After the Russian revolution, the ship was taken over by the Finnish Navy

Finnish Navy

The Finnish Navy is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscripts are trained each year. Finnish Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "FNS" simply short for "Finnish Navy Ship"...

 and renamed Klas Horn, after a 16th century admiral. She initially served as a minelayer

Minelayer

Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...

, but was rebuilt into a gunboat in the 1920s. Klas Horn ended her Finnish navy service in the 1930s and served as a mothership for sea surveying.

The Klas Horn was a strange mix of a civilian and warship. The front end looked like a warship, but since she also had been the escort ship for the czar, her superstructures were low and gracious.

The Finns mounted a large 102 mm gun on her, but it proved too big for the ship. During sea travel, the gun had to be tied so it would not make the ship unstable. The old ship's sea going qualities were also bad.

Klas Horn returned to the Finnish Navy in 1941 and served until 1957. Thereafter she was rebuilt into a floating hotel and restaurant. She suffered a fire in 1963 and was scrapped the following year.

See also

• The sister ship Matti Kurki
  Finnish gunboat Matti Kurki
  Matti Kurki was an escort ship for the Russian Imperial Yacht. Voivoda was built in Prussia in 1892 for the Montenegrin king Nicholas I. The ship was purchased by the Russian Czar after Nicholas' money ran out. After the Russian revolution, the ship was taken over by the Finnish Navy and renamed...