Sailor, gunship of war, Moscow (“Moscow") sank off the coast of Latvia on October 7, 1758. This is a story about the wrecks that sank near Latvia. Burinieks is one of the significant sunken shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea, the important metal parts of which were brought out in 1936.
- Sailer, gunship Moscow
- Ship type sailing ship
- Location - Near Ziemupe, 120 meters away, 3-5 meters deep
- The period 1750-1758
Table of Contents
Gunship Moscow description
The ship was built in Arkhangelsk in 1750 as one of 59 3rd class ships of the Slava Rossii line. The ship was armed with 66 guns on three gun decks and measured approximately 47 x 12.5 meters. "Moscow" took part in the Seven Years' War and returned to Kronstadt in the fall of 1758 from repairs. During the storm on October 7, the damaged ship completely lost control and got stuck in Ziemupė on the west coast of Kurzeme. As the storm blew down the ship's masts, all the lifeboats were destroyed, and the crew tried to reach the shore by all available means. The last sailors were brought ashore on October 10, and the next day a storm tore the ship in half. About 100 sailors died of cold and hunger, a memorial has been erected.
The wreck of the sunken ship "Moscow" was studied for historical interest
- "Moskva" was the first ship in Latvian waters that was studied for historical interest - in 1913-1914, a diving expedition took place and some artifacts (including 5 cannons) were recovered from the wreck in shallow waters.
- In 1936, a second diving operation took place at the wreck site and 25 more cannons were raised, their further fate is unknown.
- In 2010, a search expedition was organized by the Russian community of Liepāja. They have found the wreck, but there have been discussions about it, because there are several wrecks in Ziemupe and no coordinates, evidence or report has been sent to the National Cultural Heritage Administration. The ship was found 300-400 meters from the shore, at a depth of 6-8 meters.
- The most recent finds of 2017 on the beach of Voldemara Rein, Ziemupes - the deck beam of a sailing ship excavated at the mouth of the river. The construction of this ship has yet to be researched to determine whether it is from the warship MOSKVA, which died in 1758 and sank in the Baltic Sea near Ziemupe in a strong storm.
Grape shot with a wooden core from the wreck of Moscow. Cannons, anchors and cannonballs raised from 1936. One of the Moscow guns. in 1936 from the water (Photos)
According to the information provided by Voldemārs Rein, during the survey of the coast of the Baltic Sea, a tradition has developed - in the places where a tragedy occurred at sea - to plant a tree not characteristic of Latvian nature - a walnut - on the dunes, which would attract attention and remind experts of the ship disaster with its presence. The tree is grown in Jūrmala, Melluži, taking saplings from the walnut growing in the homestead of I. Helvig and V. Raina.
During World War II and in 1954-1955, the Baltic Sea near Ziemupe was filled with several sunken ships. L. Grundmanis told about the burial of the dead passengers of the steamer VIENÍBA in the Ziemupe cemetery. That's how we learned about another big tragedy in the Baltic Sea between Škėda and Ziemupi, which happened on June 27, 1941. The cargo steamer VIENĪBA was adapted to the needs of the war hospital of the Soviet Army at the beginning of World War II in Latvia and was the last ship to leave the port of Liepāja, but was sunk.
Underwater photos of the Ziemupe sailboat wreck
Wreck of the sunken ship Materials used in the article "Moskva".
Materials from Voldemar Rein's archives, the newspaper "Jaunākās zīna", May 22, 1936, and the book "Invisible Heritage under the Waves", published by the group of authors "Baltic Sea Region Underwater Cultural Heritage Working Group", were used in the preparation of the article. You can see this book about sunken wrecks in the Baltic Sea "Invisible heritage under the waves" at the underwater diving club "Divings".
I want to see sunken ships in the Baltic Sea, what is required?
- Diver certification is required “PADI Open Water Diver” or “PADI Advanced Open Water Diver". Recommended diver certificate “PADI Wreck Diver" and "PADI DrySuit“
- Adequate weather conditions are required for sailing.
- Listen to the instructor's lecture about safety and diving on ships (In short - we do not touch anything on the ships, we leave behind only bubbles and take with us photo video shots and unique impressions).
You can sign up for a guided tour of sunken ships by following the diving club trips
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