Kaiserlicher Yacht Club
Encyclopedia
Yacht club
A yacht club is a sports club specifically related to sailing and yachting.-Description:Yacht Clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there are some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations...
located in the harbor city of Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. German Emperor Wilhelm II, his younger brother Prince Heinrich of Prussia
Prince Heinrich of Prussia
Prince Henry of Prussia was a younger brother of German Emperor William II and a Prince of Prussia...
and Alfred Krupp were among its members. This club was famous for the sailing events it organized, including its role in the first Kieler Woche
Kiel Week
Kiel Week is an annual sailing event in Kiel, Germany. It is the largest sailing event in the world, and also one of the largest Volksfest in Europe.- Procedure :...
regattas, an event that still takes place yearly in the Kiel Bay.
History
The origins of this club are in the "Marine-Regatta-VereinMarine-Regatta-Verein
The Marine-Regatta-Verein , "Naval Regatta Union", is a yacht club of the German Navy. Its main branch is located in the harbor city of Kiel, and it has branches in different states of Germany. This club promotes both sailing and powerboating...
" (Regatta Union of the Navy), a club for naval officers of the Kaiserliche Marine
Kaiserliche Marine
The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...
founded in Kiel in 1887. The Marine-Regatta-Verein was specialized in yacht racing
Yacht racing
Yacht racing is the sport of competitive yachting.While sailing groups organize the most active and popular competitive yachting, other boating events are also held world-wide: speed motorboat racing; competitive canoeing, kayaking, and rowing; model yachting; and navigational contests Yacht racing...
and Prince Heinrich of Prussia, a yachting enthusiast, was its patron. In 1891 the club allowed civilians in and Emperor Wilhelm II became its commodore
Commodore (rank)
Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...
, bringing his own yacht Meteor I (the former Thistle
Thistle (yacht)
Thistle was the unsuccessful Scottish challenger of the seventh America's Cup in 1887 against American defender Volunteer.-Design:The cutter Thistle was designed by George Lennox Watson, with interiors by his brother Thomas Lennox Watson, and built at the D&W Henderson shipyard in Partick on the...
) to the club's marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
in Kiel. The same year the club changed its name to "Kaiserlicher Yacht Club".
The club's youth section was founded in 1910. At the time of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the club house was transformed into a Lazaretto
Lazaretto
A lazaretto or lazaret is a quarantine station for maritime travellers. Lazarets can be ships permanently at anchor, isolated islands, or mainland buildings. Until 1908, lazarets were also used for disinfecting postal items, usually by fumigation...
and 455 members of the Kaiserlicher Yacht Club died in the war. After these difficult years the club almost went bankrupt and it barely managed to survive.
The Kaiserlicher Yacht Club retained its name even after the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
that brought the German monarchy to an end. William II remained as honorary commodore of the club, while he lived in exile in Doorn
Doorn
Doorn is a town in the municipality of Utrechtse Heuvelrug in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. On 1 January 2008 the town had 10,052 inhabitants.-History:...
, the Netherlands.
During Nazi rule
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
the Kaiserlicher Yacht Club, like all German sports organizations, was manipulated by the Nazi Sports Office. Even though it took part in the organization of the sailing events of Hitler's 1936 Summer Olympics
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
in the Bay of Kiel
Bay of Kiel
The Bay of Kiel is a bay in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany and the islands of Denmark. It is connected with the Bay of Mecklenburg in the east, the Little Belt in the northwest, and the Great Belt in the North....
, the Kaiserlicher Yacht Club gradually lost its freedom.
In 1937 the Kaiserlicher Yacht Club was forcibly merged with other yacht clubs and the commodore's title was withdrawn from exiled and ailing former Emperor William. A new massive entity, the "Yacht-Club von Deutschland
Yacht-Club von Deutschland
The Yacht-Club von Deutschland , "Yacht Club of Germany", was a yacht club platform established in 1937 during Nazi rule in Germany.-History:The Sports Office of the Reich was founded in July 1934...
" (YCvD), "Yacht Club of Germany", was formed to "instill unity among German youth" by introducing Nazi-ideology in the way the club was ruled. The club's name "Kaiserlicher Yacht Club", deemed by the Nazis not to be in tune with "the spirit of the times", passed into oblivion.
A contemporary avatar of this club was founded under the name Yacht Club of Kiel in 1948. The "Marine-Regatta-Verein" was refounded in 1972 as a separate club.