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A three-masted sailing ship of 1896, the Rickmer Rickmers is one of Hamburg's most photographed landmarks, her green hull and tall rigging moored permanently at the St. Pauli landing stages as a floating museum of the great age of sail. She was built at the Rickmers shipyard in Bremerhaven and named after the founder's grandson, launched as a sailing cargo vessel that carried rice and bamboo from Asia and saltpetre and other goods around Cape Horn from South America, trading under sail in the dying decades of the windjammer era. Over a long and varied career she changed hands and flags several times: requisitioned by Portugal during the First World War and renamed, she served for decades as a Portuguese naval sail-training ship before falling into disuse. Rescued from being scrapped, she was brought back to Hamburg in 1983 by a preservation society, restored to her original appearance and name, and opened as a museum ship in 1987, becoming a much-loved symbol of the city's maritime heritage. Visitors can explore her decks, climb below to see the holds, crew quarters, captain's cabin and engine room, and learn about life aboard a working sailing ship through displays on her history, the cargo trade and the hard, dangerous existence of her crews. Changing exhibitions, often on maritime themes or art, are mounted aboard, and a restaurant in the hull offers meals with a harbour view. Her rigging and masts make a dramatic sight against the busy port backdrop, and her position right on the waterfront at the Landungsbruecken, close to the harbour ferries and the old Elbe tunnel, could hardly be more convenient. Open daily and easy to reach, the Rickmer Rickmers offers an evocative, hands-on encounter with seafaring history and a fine vantage point on the working life of Hamburg's harbour. Open daily and inexpensive to board, the ship offers a hands-on look at seafaring history that appeals to all ages, and the restaurant in her hull is a characterful place for a meal. Her position right at the Landungsbruecken, beside the harbour ferries and the old Elbe tunnel, makes her one of the easiest and most atmospheric of Hamburg's maritime attractions to visit.