Category Archives: North German Lloyd

“Servizio Di Vapore Espresso,” September 1906

North German Loyd advertising poster, 1906. Courtesy U.S. National Archives.
North German Loyd advertising poster, 1906. Courtesy U.S. National Archives.

This 1906 poster from the North German Lloyd agent in Italy, Leupold Fratelli, announces sailings of König Albert, Prinzess Irene and Königin Luise:

"Servizio Di Vapore Espresso

a doppia elicia

da Genova & New-York

toccando Napoli e Gibilterra"

Or, in English:

"Express Steamship Service

 by double screw [two propeller ships]

from Genoa & New-York

stopping at Naples and Gibraltar"

 

Barbarossa

Barbarossa in port at Galveston, August 1907
Barbarossa in port at Galveston, August 1907

Barbarossa was one of Prinzess Irene's sister ships.

The North German Lloyd shipping company launched the Barbarossa on May 9, 1896. The ship began its maiden voyage to Australia on August 1, 1897.

Built by the Blohm & Voss company in Hamburg, the Barbarossa had these specifications when launched:

Weight: 10,769 Gross Registered Tons (GRT)
Dimensions: 167.1 meters length overall by 18.3 meters (548 feet X 60 feet)
Propulsion: Quadruple (IV) steam (expansion) engines, twin screw
Power: 7,000 Indicated Horsepower (IHP)
Speed: 14.5 knots
Passengers:
     First class: 230
     Second class: 227
     Third class (steerage or ‘tween): 1,935
     Crew: 187-226

Barbarossa’s passenger capacity was too great for year-round use on the Australian service, so it ran in the high season Bremen-to-New York and Mediterranean-to-New York (where Barbarossa often joined Prinzess Irene).

At the start of World War I, Barbarossa sheltered with Prinzess Irene at the North German Lloyd docks in Hoboken. The United States seized the ship on June 4, 1917, renamed it Mercury and used it for troop transport.

"USS Mercury on 18 May 1918." Courtesy Shipscribe.com
"USS Mercury on 18 May 1918." Courtesy Shipscribe.com

The Mercury did not return to regular commercial service after the war. It was broken up in 1924.

The Barbarossa class of ocean liners

Barbarossa. Postcard, about 1903.
Barbarossa. Postcard, about 1903.

Prinzess Irene was one of eleven Barbarossa class ocean liners, which were launched between 1896 and 1901. These are the ships in the Barbarossa class (with launch dates):

Friedrich der Grosse (1896)*

Barbarossa (1896)*

Königen Luise (1896)*

Bremen (1896)*

König Albert (1899)*

Hamburg (1899)

Grosser Kurfürst (1899)*

Prinzess Irene (1900)*

Kiautschou (1900)

Moltke (1901)

Blücher (1901)

The North German Lloyd line operated the ships indicated with an asterisk (*).