Sundkøbing has its own harbor, where there are several ships. The large ship, Agnete, is the merchant's ship, which he sails to Lübeck in Germany to buy the goods you can not get in Denmark. He also trades the things we can produce in Denmark, such as skins and horses.

 

The ships are loaded and unloaded for goods and the merchant takes orders from the city’s craftspeople. The dyer, for example, needs indigo to dye the fine blue color that the merchant’s wife is so fond of.

 

In the Middle Ages, the main transport of goods and people took place via water. The roads were bad and the carriages were not so comfortable for long stretches. The fast road was by water. Denmark was well located in relation to the German Hanseatic cities' trade routes to the north. This meant that large merchant ships docked at our market towns and created fertile ground for trade.

Water was the lifeblood and through the many merchants and sailing merchants, you got news from the big world outside Denmark.

 

Agnete

The merchant's large ship, Agnete, is a reconstruction of a ship found in Gedesby on Falster in 1988. The original find dates to the 14th century.

Agnete is a small merchant vessel that could sail in the inland waters of Denmark, but also easily take trips to the northern German cities.

The ship was reconstructed in collaboration with the Viking Ship Museum in the early 90s.

 

Sophie

Until 10 years ago, the Medieval Center had two ships. Sophie, a reconstruction of a 17th-century ship found in Bredfjed on Lolland. She now stands and welcomes guests on the way down to the parking lot, as it’s not possible to sail with Sophie anymore.