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The grave of Gorch Fock on the island of Stensholmen

The grave of Gorch Fock on the island of Stensholmen

Photo: Ferd. Braune, Atelier Naumann, Inhaber, Hamburg ( Aus Gorch Focks Tag- und Nachtbuch S. M. S. Wiesbaden. In: Vaterstädtische Blätter , 1916/17. Nr. 10, 3. Dezember 1916) / Wikimedia Commons , Public domain , resized

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#Ancient relics #Underground
Nik Frost Nik Frost

Visit the grave of a poet who died in the Battle of Jutland and wrote a poem predicting his fate.

The poet and writer Johann Wilhelm Kinau, better known by his pseudonym Gorch Fock, served in the German Navy and died during the Battle of Jutland in 1916. His body was discovered washed up on the Väderöbod island and was later buried on the nearby island of Stensholmen.

The body of this writer was found with a sealed box containing a poem he had written that predicted his demise. The poem, titled "Letzter Wunsch", includes lines about sinking deep into the sea and a final request to be taken over board.

In 1913, Kinau published his most popular work, the novel Seefahrt ist Not!, in which he describes the life of the deep sea fishermen of his home island.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons

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