"The past is a mirror into which the present looks"
Japanese proverb
I read an article about the Battle of Lepanto and immediately thought that I have something like that on this topic, moreover, I was looking for this “something” in my time on purpose, and when I found it, I was very happy. And how not to be glad when your eyes suddenly appear that very galley "Real", which was the flagship of Juan of Austria in the famous battle of Lepanto!
Gallera "Real" at the Maritime Museum of Barcelona. Front view.
But the most interesting thing is that this is not a ship that has come down to us since that time (well, you never know how diligently they kept it!), But a replica made of it in the most accurate way, or, to put it simply, “well, a very large model”!
Most people believe that a ship model is just a "toy", the main advantage of which is its miniature size. Meanwhile, in history there are many examples of the construction of models that are no smaller in size than the original. So, the Maritime Museum in the city of Amsterdam in 1992 ordered a full-size copy of the largest sailing ship of the Dutch East India Company, built in 1748 and crashed off the coast of England on the first voyage. Three hundred years of St. Petersburg was marked by the construction of a replica of the first Baltic frigate "Shtandart". Well, the most recent example of such "modeling" is in the People's Republic of China. There, in 2005, the battleship Dingyuan, the former flagship of the famous Beiyang fleet of the Qin Empire, froze at the sea pier in Weihai, Shandong Province. The ship itself was built by order of China in Germany in 1883 - 1884. and at that time was one of the most modern ships of its time. In 1885, "Dingyuan" came to China along with the same type ship "Zhengyuan" and then for 10 years was the flagship of the Beiyang fleet, based in Weihaiwei (modern Weihai). At the beginning of 1895, it was badly damaged right in the harbor by Japanese torpedoes, and before its delivery, it was blown up by its own team.
The Chinese battleship Dingyuan is also a museum ship. There are cannons, but the engines are absent in principle. It was difficult and expensive to make them!
On December 21, 2002, the Weihai Port Authority organized a scientific and practical conference, at which experts in naval history and shipbuilders from all over China developed the basic principles of all forthcoming work on the reconstruction of this battleship. And exactly one year later, work on it began at the Haida shipyard in Rongcheng, Shandong province. On September 13, 2004, the ship was launched, and on April 15, 2005, it was already in the Weihai roadstead. The battleship was built in compliance with all dimensions: length 94.5 m, width 18 m, draft 6 m. With a displacement of 7220 tons, "Dingyuan" today represents the world's largest replica of a historic ship, executed on a 1: 1 scale. Although the vessel was built using electric welding, rivets are visible on the side sheathing sheets, although rowing boats and small-caliber cannons do not look very reliable. For the manufacture of deck flooring and ladders, too thin metal was taken: which is why the rumble when walking on it simply deafens. But the 12- and 6-inch guns are very well made: you can even see the rifling in the barrels, and on the breeches - the factory hallmarks of Krupp. It is strange that you can enter the main-caliber barbets, but for some reason you cannot enter the middle towers - which are located on the bow and stern! But you can take pictures near the massive oak steering wheel with the inscription in English: "Imperial Chinese Navy".
The Real Galley is a scale model in all its glory.
Well, the galley "Real" was created much earlier, namely in 1965, on the eve of the 400th anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto. Then the director of the Maritime Museum of Barcelona, Jose Martinez-Hidalgo, proposed to recreate this ship and thus perpetuate its memory. They worked on the drawings for several years, using as sources old descriptions, drawings, engravings and models that have come down to our time. Thanks to all this, they were able to build the most reliable "model" of a sailing-rowing ship of the 16th century, which was launched on the anniversary of this famous battle on October 7, 1971. Well, today this galley is located in the premises of the Maritime Museum of the city of Barcelona.
Carved and gilded stern of the ship.
Well, the paintings on the stern will do honor to any museum, although they are just copies of the works of the masters of that time.
Naturally, I found out that she was there in advance, before going there. I bought a map of the city, got out of the metro at the Citadel station and went further through the park, along the embankment, past the Aquarium, the Columbus monument and yachts standing at the pier. And here it is - the Maritime Museum of Barcelona - several "hangars", where once upon a time real ships were built. So the place is very convenient, one might say “smelling of the spirit of history”. After the city heat and stuffiness, it seems even cool inside. You pass the hall … and here it is right in front of you. And not just in front of you, but hanging over your head, like a huge gilded palace! Moreover, this is only the case. Because the ship is under a roof without masts.
In natural light, the stern of the galley looks like this.
As you know, in a battle with the Turks, with their flagship galley "Sultana", the latter rammed "Real", so much so that its ram penetrated into his hull to the fourth bench. However, this did not help the Turks. The "Sultana" was taken on board, and the green banner of the Prophet, given by Sultan Selim II to the commander of the Turkish fleet, Ali Pasha, and 150,000 gold guilds were seized on it.
View from the nose, on the left.
In addition to these details, it was known that the "Real" was built as a 30-canned two-masted galley in proportions typical for ships of this class and their time, with all their inherent advantages and, of course, disadvantages. A narrow hull with an insignificant draft, but with a wide upper platform, laid on brackets protruding overboard, made it possible to develop a decent speed, but because of this, the galley was not sufficiently stable and seaworthy. "Real" could really be used only in calm weather, and in case of strong winds and waves, it had to wait out in bays and ports, standing at anchor.
View of the galley deck.
But the decoration of the galley was unmatched, that is, maybe it did (it was not for nothing that the French called the first English battleship Royal Sovereign "The Golden Devil", there was so much gilding and all kinds of carvings on it!), But there were no analogues we didn’t get there. It was decorated in the Baroque style, which was just coming into fashion in Europe, which made this ship a real work of art.
And here's the backlit shooting. The author stands next to it for scale.
The design of the ship's decor was entrusted to one of the most famous masters of the Spanish Renaissance, Juan de Mal Lara. Well, he did his best to create a real masterpiece of ship art. For example, the superstructure on the quarterdeck he decorated the outside with sculptures and paintings on biblical and antique themes by the brilliant artists of his time, Juan Bautista Vasquez the Elder and Benvenuto Tortello; wood carvings were covered with abundant gilding, which gave the gallery a truly "royal" look.
Nasal figure.
The figure at the end of the spire - Neptune riding a dolphin - was carved by the sculptor Gabriel Alabert. The sails on the gallery were striped, red and white, which emphasized its flagship status, since ordinary galleys had sails of ordinary unpainted fabric.
The aft lanterns on the gallery are huge.
Lantern close-up.
The stern lantern was then also installed only on flagship galleys; but on "Real", in order to once again emphasize its dignity, three aft lamps were installed at once!
"Battle of Lepanto" H. Luna. (1887). Don Juan of Austria aboard the Real galley.
The vessel was launched in 1568 and had a displacement of 237 tons. The length was 60 m, the width along the mid-frame was 6, 2 m, that is, the vessel was very narrow in relation to its width! The draft was 2.08 m. The galley was driven by two oblique sails and 60 oars. The sail area was 691 m². 236 oarsmen worked at the oars, and besides them, the galley's crew consisted of about 400 soldiers and sailors! That is, the people inside her were stuffed like herring in a barrel! By the way, in the museum itself there is a screen that shows an animated picture of the rowers' work. Look … and you don't want to work like that under any guise!
Several figures of rowers on the deck.
There is a cutout in the bottom and you can see how the barrels and a man were located in the hold for scale. It is possible to look at the deck from above, but it is difficult, and there it is a bit dark under the ceiling. Taking pictures against the light of large arched windows is difficult and inconvenient, and a side view is impossible in principle. And, nevertheless, the replica makes a very reliable and extremely strong impression. So it seems that this is a ship of that time and this impression does not disappear during the entire time while you look at this ship!
Who's to say that this is the deck of a warship? What is parquet flooring? But the figure of a soldier in a Morion helmet reminds of the opposite!
