SS Kaiserin Maria Theresia Archival Collection
Kaiserin Maria Theresia (1890) North German Lloyd
Built by "Vulkan", Stettin, Germany. Tonnage: 7,840. Dimensions: 528' x 51' (545' o.l.). Propulsion: Twin-screw, 20 knots. Triple expansion engines. Masts and Funnels: Two masts and three funnels. Modifications: As originally built this liner had three masts and two funnels; also was of single-screw. In 1899 lengthened from 463 feet to 528 feet, which raised her tonnage to 7,840. Maiden Voyage: Made her first voyage as Kaiserin Maria Theresa, March 11, 1900. Renamed: Ural (1904) Russian. Fate: Sunk during the Russo-Japanese War at Battle of Tsushima, May 27, 1905. Previously Named: Spree (1899). Ship Alternate Spelling: Kaiserin Maria Theresa.
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1902-09-30 SS Kaiserin Maria Theresia Passenger List
Steamship Line: Norddeutscher Lloyd (North German Lloyd)
Class of Passengers: First and Second Cabin
Date of Departure: 30 September 1902
Route: Bremen to New York via Southampton
Commander: Captain P. Wettin
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First Class Smoking Room on the Kaiserin Maria Theresia of the Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen (North German Lloyd) ca 1900. Detroit Publishing Company Photochrome. Library of Congress LC # 2002720835. GGA Image ID # 1d6fb22b7b
First Class Promenade Deck of the Kaiserin Maria Theresia of the Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen, ca 1900. Detroit Publishing Company Photochrome. Library of Congress LC # 2002720834. GGA Image ID # 1d71600b12
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Pleasure Cruises by the Magnificent Twin-Screw Steamer SS Kaiserin Maria Theresia, 1904. SS Kaiser Wilhelm II Passenger List, 6 October 1903. GGA Image ID # 1ebc3920df
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Title Page, SS Kaiserin Maria Theresia Cabin Passenger List, 30 September 1902. GGA Image ID # 20e36f9c09
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Senior Officers and Staff, SS Kaiserin Maria Theresia Cabin Passenger List, 30 September 1902. GGA Image ID # 20e3c8b0ad
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Back Cover, SS Kaiserin Maria Theresia Passenger List, 30 September 1902. GGA Image ID # 1ebdb39c68
S. S. Kaiserin Maria Theresia - 1900
When the North German Lloyd S. S. Kaiserin Maria Theresia reached New York last month on her westward trip, few would have recognized in the magnificent liner the old familiar Spree so great a metamorphosis had she undergone. The new vessel is a remarkable example of the present-day possibilities in vessel construction.
The practically new vessel is of these dimensions: Length, 546 ft.; beam, 52 ft.; depth. 37 ft.; gross tonnage, 7,800 tons. She has accommodations for 330 first cabin, 140 second cabin and 400 steerage passengers, and carries besides a crew of 290 all told.
The twin screws are driven by triple expansion engines of 17,000 I. H. P., which are expected to give a sustained speed of 20 knots. The engines have cylinders, 43 1/2 in., 67 in., and (2) 77 in. dia. by 63 in, stroke. All shafting in the vessel is of nickel steel, and the propellers are of bronze. They are three-bladed and are 18 ft. 4 1/2 in. dia.
In addition to the main engines, there are 38 auxiliary engines with 66 steam cylinders. Steam is generated in nine double-ended boilers, 15 it. 4 in. dia., and 18 it. 7 in. long, four single-ended boilers of the same diameter, and 10 ft. 3 in. long.
In the passenger quarters, the decorations and furnishings are unusually magnificent. In its exterior appearance, the vessel has a pleasing appearance in the water. (Marine Engeering, April 1900:138)
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Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen 1857-1970, Volume One, History -- Fleet -- Ship Mails
🌍 Transatlantic Titans: The Rise of Norddeutscher Lloyd and the Transformation of Ocean Travel (1857–1918)
Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, 1857–1970, Volume 1 by Edwin Drechsel is a meticulously researched chronicle of the origins and golden age of the Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL), one of the most important steamship lines in global maritime history.
The book covers:
- The founding of NDL in 1857 by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann
- The transition from sail to steam, paddle to screw propulsion
- The increasing demand for transatlantic mail and passenger service
- The NDL’s competition with British lines for speed, prestige, and the Blue Riband
- The line’s crucial role in transporting millions of emigrants to North America
- Its involvement in global mail and freight services
- The impact of World War I on German shipping and commerce
Volume 1 concludes just before or during the war years that halted NDL’s rapid rise.
Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen 1857-1970, Volume Two, History -- Fleet -- Ship Mails
Winds of Change: Norddeutscher Lloyd and the Final Era of Ocean Travel (1920–1970)
The second volume of Edwin Drechsel’s monumental work Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, 1857–1970 picks up in the aftermath of World War I, tracing five tumultuous decades through:
🌊 Postwar decline and slow recovery
🚢 The interwar years and the Blue Riband triumph of the Bremen (1929)
📉 The Great Depression’s toll on ocean travel
🌍 The transformation of global shipping under the shadow of WWII
🧱 Postwar reconstruction and the decline of passenger liners
📦 The pivot to container freight and the 1970 merger with HAPAG
Drechsel, drawing on his personal ties (his father was a North German Lloyd captain), maritime journalism background, and deep expertise in ship mails and German liner history, delivers a book that is both richly detailed and profoundly human.
Passenger Ships of the World - 1963
🎓 “A Global Voyage Through Steamship History for Historians, Genealogists, and Maritime Enthusiasts”
Eugene W. Smith’s Passenger Ships of the World – Past and Present (1963) is a masterfully curated encyclopedic reference that charts the rise, peak, and transformation of ocean-going passenger ships through nearly two centuries. Expanding upon his earlier Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific works, Smith offers a global maritime panorama that includes ships serving the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Oceania, as well as Canal routes and California-Hawaii shuttle lines.
🧭 This book is an essential resource for:
- Maritime historians seeking design evolution and fleet data
- Genealogists tracing voyages and shipping lines
- Educators and students studying transoceanic migration and tourism
- Ship modelers, naval architects, and enthusiasts interested in dimensions, tonnage, and speed
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