The German Arctic expedition of 1869-70, and narrative of the wreck of the "Hansa" in the ice

In Short

Karl Koldewey's official chronicle captures the Second German Arctic Expedition of 1869–1870, detailing the dual fates of the steamship Germania and the sailing schooner Hansa. Designed to reach record high latitudes and chart unknown stretches of the East Greenland coast, the expedition fractures when the vessels separate in the pack-ice. While the Germania successfully wintered in a secure harbor, allowing its scientists to conduct extensive surveys and sledge journeys, the Hansa was crushed by relentless ice floes. Its crew endured a grueling winter floating southward on a drifting ice-cake inside a shelter made of coal-bricks before escaping in open boats. This narrative endures as a masterpiece of polar literature, balancing rigorous scientific observation with a thrilling account of human resilience against absolute destruction.

The Story

In the summer of 1869, the Second German Arctic Expedition departs from Bremerhaven under elaborate instructions drawn up by geographer Dr. August Petermann. Command of the expedition is given to Captain Karl Koldewey aboard the steamer Germania, accompanied by the sailing schooner Hansa, commanded by Captain Paul Hegemann. Their mission is ambitious: penetrate the pack-ice off East Greenland, explore unknown coastal territories, and push as far north toward the Pole as weather and ice permit. Early in the voyage, the crews maintain high spirits, observing traditional maritime rituals like the crossing-the-line ceremony, complete with a dramatic visit from Neptune and festive camaraderie in the cabin.

By mid-July, however, the northern waters present a formidable wall of ice. Navigating a vast ice bay, the two vessels maneuver together through blinding fogs and shifting channels, but on July 20, heavy pack-ice separates them near the 74th parallel. The Hansa, unable to keep up with the steam-powered Germania, becomes hopelessly trapped in the coastal ice off East Greenland by early September.

Realizing that their ship is doomed to be frozen fast, Captain Hegemann and his men prepare for the worst. They construct a small emergency winter house directly on a sturdy ice floe, using compressed coal-tiles as bricks, anchored together with a mortar made of snow and fresh water. Their precautions prove prophetic. In October, the grinding pressure of the ice crushes the Hansa, forcing the crew to abandon ship entirely and take refuge in their coal-brick hut. For months, fifteen men drift southward upon this shrinking cake of ice through a brutal Arctic winter. They endure howling blizzards, sub-zero temperatures, terrifying structural cracks in their floating sanctuary, and midnight panics where the floe threatens to break apart beneath their feet. Despite the extreme peril, they maintain strict discipline, celebrate Christmas on the ice, and manage to keep their health intact.

By February 1870, the drifting floe brings them near the southern region of Greenland. As the ice disintegrates further in the spring, Hegemann commands the men to abandon the floe and navigate three small open boats—the Hope, the Bismarck, and a third launch—through treacherous ice-choked channels. After weeks of exhausting rowing, hauling boats over ice barriers, and suffering severe frostbite and wet clothing, they finally make landfall at the Island of Illuidlek on June 4. Rowing further down the coast, they reach the Moravian mission settlements at Friedrichsthal and Lichtenau, where they are warmly received by Danish authorities and German missionaries. They eventually travel north to Julianeshaab and Frederickshaab before securing passage back to Europe.

Meanwhile, the Germania pushes northward along the coast, scouting for a safe harbor to pass the winter. Reaching Shannon Island and finding further northern navigation blocked by heavy ice, Koldewey retreats slightly south to a protected bay on Sabine Island, christened "Germania Harbour." There, the ship is dismantled for the winter, anchored to the shore-ice, and transformed into a base for scientific operations. Throughout the dark winter, the naturalists, geologists, and astronomers conduct detailed magnetic and meteorological observations, despite ferocious storms that damage their temporary observatories and sweep away snow-walls.

Spring brings ambitious sledge expeditions led by Lieutenant Julius Payer. Traversing icy landscapes in extreme cold, sleeping packed tightly inside canvas tents where melting frost drips on their gear, the party reaches a record latitude of 77° 1' N, charting virgin territory, discovering King William's Island, and ascending high coastal peaks for surveying. They encounter polar bears, hunt herds of musk-oxen and reindeer to supplement their rations, and explore ancient native tent-rings. In July 1870, the Germania breaks free from the ice and begins her voyage home. Arriving off the mouth of the Weser in September, the crew learns that war has broken out between Germany and France—and discovers, to their immense relief, that their long-lost comrades from the Hansa have survived their ordeal and returned safely before them.

How It Unfolds

The expedition departs — The Germania and the Hansa set sail from Germany under detailed scientific directives, celebrating their entry into Arctic waters with lively maritime ceremonies and high hopes for polar discovery.

Separation in the ice — In late July 1869, heavy fogs and impenetrable ice fields sever contact between the two vessels near Sabine Island, forcing each ship to pursue its own survival strategy.

The crushing of the Hansa — Beset by coastal ice off East Greenland, Captain Hegemann orders the construction of a shelter made from coal-bricks on a large floe shortly before the ship is destroyed by ice pressure.

Winter on a drifting floe — The Hansa crew spends four perilous months drifting southward upon an ice field, enduring terrifying nocturnal ice-quakes, gale-force blizzards, and shrinking living quarters.

Escape in open boats — In May 1870, as their floe disintegrates, the survivors haul their small boats across ice ridges and navigate open water channels to reach the safety of the Greenland shore.

Refuge at the missions — Reaching southern Greenland, the exhausted crew finds shelter among Danish colonists and Moravian missionaries at Friedrichsthal and Lichtenau before returning to Europe.

The Germania winters at Sabine Island — Unaware of the Hansa's fate, Captain Koldewey secures his steamship in a protective bay, unrigging the vessel to endure 290 days locked in the ice.

Northward sledge journeys — In early spring, expedition members undertake grueling sledge marches over frozen seas, mapping uncharted coastlines up to 77° N and conducting extensive geological and magnetic research.

Triumphant return to Germany — After freeing the Germania from the summer melt, Koldewey sails home to the Weser in September 1870, receiving news of the Franco-Prussian War and reuniting with the saved Hansa crew.

The People

• Captain Karl Koldewey — The overall commander of the expedition and captain of the Germania. Driven by a profound sense of duty to fulfill the geographical instructions of Dr. Petermann, he seeks to navigate as far north as possible while safeguarding his crew. His prudent decision to secure a southern winter harbor at Sabine Island ensures the preservation of his ship and the success of the scientific program.
• Captain Paul Hegemann — The resolute master of the sailing schooner Hansa. Faced with the catastrophic loss of his ship, he maintains calm authority, organizing the construction of the coal-brick house and leading his fifteen men through an unprecedented winter ice-drift and boat journey without losing a single life.
• First-Lieutenant Julius Payer — An intrepid Austrian pioneer and key explorer on the Germania. Passionate about mountain ascents, surveying, and mapping virgin territories, he pushes sledge parties across frozen straits to record-breaking latitudes, surviving polar bear attacks and extreme physical exhaustion to expand geographical knowledge.
• Professor Gustav Laube — A geologist aboard the Hansa who documents the cultural encounters and hardship of the shipwrecked crew. Adaptable and observant, he takes part in shipboard rituals, writes detailed journals during the floe-drift, and provides rich descriptions of the Greenlandic native settlements and Norse ruins.
• Dr. Pansch — The expedition physician and naturalist aboard the Germania. Dedicated to collecting marine fauna and studying northern flora, he tends to wounded party members, oversees sanitary conditions, and maintains crew morale through times of intense hardship.

In Its Own Voice

When the Hansa crew realized their floating ice field was breaking apart beneath them, they felt the full terror of their situation:

"For a change, we laid ourselves flat down with our ears to the floor, and could then hear a rustling like the singing of ice when closely jammed, and as if water was running under our great floe."

Despite the constant threat of destruction, the natural beauty of the Arctic wilderness frequently moved the expedition members:

"We stood and felt that we were at the entrance of a new world, whose whole enchantment had thus burst upon us."

During the long winter sledge journeys, physical comfort was entirely nonexistent inside their cramped canvas shelters:

"The cooking apparatus, filled either with ice or snow, is in full activity; the temperature rises rapidly; heavy clouds of smoke fill the tent, so that one cannot see one’s hand; a burning candle has the appearance of a halo round a moon; a light rain falls from the thoroughly wet walls of the tent, which, after becoming steam, at once freezes--the dampness of clothes and covering thus augmenting daily."

What It's Really About

Beneath its chronological record of daily temperatures, geographical coordinates, and navigational logs, The German Arctic Expedition of 1869-70 is a study in human adaptability against elemental forces. It presents a stark contrast between two distinct modes of polar existence: the calculated, methodical work of scientific exploration on a secure vessel, and the raw, improvised struggle for sheer survival on a disintegrating ice field.

The narrative explores how structured discipline, technological ingenuity, and social unity allow men to endure conditions that would otherwise prove fatal. Constructing a home out of coal-tiles and snow, or maintaining astronomical observations during a ten-day blizzard, reflects a core nineteenth-century belief in scientific rationalism as a buffer against chaos. Ultimately, the book asks how human beings maintain their moral order, professional purpose, and sanity when isolated at the very edge of the known world.

Why Read It Today

Readers drawn to classic maritime literature and polar survival stories will find this account deeply engrossing. Unlike narrative histories written long after the fact, Koldewey’s compiled narrative possesses an immediate, visceral authenticity, constructed directly from the daily logbooks, journals, and scientific reports of the officers and researchers who lived through the events.

The reading experience is marked by striking contrasts. Pages of meticulous natural history—detailing musk-ox behavior, aurora observations, and geological formations—are suddenly interrupted by harrowing set-pieces: a sudden polar bear attack that leaves an officer badly wounded, or the agonizing noise of ice grinding against a flimsy shelter in total darkness. The prose reflects the period’s earnest tone and precise technical vocabulary, which may require patience from modern readers used to dramatized non-fiction. However, this matter-of-fact presentation only heightens the psychological drama of the Hansa crew's remarkable 1,000-mile drift on an ice-floe. It stands as an enduring testament to early polar exploration, where courage and scientific curiosity met the uncompromising reality of the frozen sea.