Ship Regentag
29. June 2024
photo: Bernhard Schramm
After six years of restoration, the ship is once again open to visitors.
20 years ago, the REGENTAG was brought from New Zealand to Tulln by freight on the initiative of the then mayor Willi Stift on the occasion of a Hundertwasser exhibition in the Minorite Monastery. In 2015, the REGENTAG was declared a historic monument.
The ravages of time were taking their toll on the ship. An expert report found numerous shrinkage cracks and fissures in the wood due to water ingress, so extensive restoration work was carried out from 2018 to 2024, financed by the Hundertwasser Non Profit Foundation. The city of Tulln also made a contribution, as did the Austrian Federal Monuments Office and the state of Lower Austria.
On June 29, 2024 the presentation of the renovated ship took place at the Nibelungenplatz.
20 years ago, the REGENTAG was brought from New Zealand to Tulln by freight on the initiative of the then mayor Willi Stift on the occasion of a Hundertwasser exhibition in the Minorite Monastery. In 2015, the REGENTAG was declared a historic monument.
The ravages of time were taking their toll on the ship. An expert report found numerous shrinkage cracks and fissures in the wood due to water ingress, so extensive restoration work was carried out from 2018 to 2024, financed by the Hundertwasser Non Profit Foundation. The city of Tulln also made a contribution, as did the Austrian Federal Monuments Office and the state of Lower Austria.
On June 29, 2024 the presentation of the renovated ship took place at the Nibelungenplatz.
How a transport ship became the artist ship REGENTAG
In 1968 Hundertwasser acquires a Sicilian-Tunisian transport ship by the name of “San Giuseppe T”.
Hundertwasser sails the ship along the Apulian coast, via San Foca, Brindisi, Molfetta, and along the Dalmatian coast, via Split and Rovinj, to Venice. There the refurbishing of the San Giuseppe T into the REGENTAG begins.
He describes the years of the ship refurbishing as his first years of practical apprenticeship in architecture.
Hundertwasser lengthened the ship from 12 to 16,6 metres, rounded out the hull, set two masts, redesigned the bow and stern, and gave the superstructure a creative, asymmetrical appearance.
He included the ship in his catalogue raisonné under the work number 703.
Trial voyages under Captain Horst Wächter in the Mediterranean Sea: Dalmatia, Sicily, Corsica, Elba, Malta, Tunis, Crete, Rhodes, Cyprus and Israel.
In 1968 Hundertwasser acquires a Sicilian-Tunisian transport ship by the name of “San Giuseppe T”.
Hundertwasser sails the ship along the Apulian coast, via San Foca, Brindisi, Molfetta, and along the Dalmatian coast, via Split and Rovinj, to Venice. There the refurbishing of the San Giuseppe T into the REGENTAG begins.
He describes the years of the ship refurbishing as his first years of practical apprenticeship in architecture.
Hundertwasser lengthened the ship from 12 to 16,6 metres, rounded out the hull, set two masts, redesigned the bow and stern, and gave the superstructure a creative, asymmetrical appearance.
He included the ship in his catalogue raisonné under the work number 703.
Trial voyages under Captain Horst Wächter in the Mediterranean Sea: Dalmatia, Sicily, Corsica, Elba, Malta, Tunis, Crete, Rhodes, Cyprus and Israel.
San Giuseppe T
Hundertwasser aboard the Regentag
Captain Horst Wächter voyages the REGENTAG to New Zealand. The voyage takes place 18 months, via Gibraltar, Panama, Galapagos and Tahiti. Hundertwasser is himself captain on bord in the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and on the final stretch Tahiti – Rarotonga – Kermadec Islands – Auckland – Bay of Islands.
In the South Pacific Ocean, the REGENTAG lay at anchor near Hundertwasser’s land in the Bay of Islands. She has been in the care of Captain Andrew Fagan and of Richard Smart.
In 1999 Hundertwasser has the boat coated with ferro-cement.
Richard Smart and Mike Brouwers are also renewing the wheelhouse, which is being re-sheathed with fibreglass and epoxy resin and then clad with Totara wood. The waterline is decorated with tiles.
In the South Pacific Ocean, the REGENTAG lay at anchor near Hundertwasser’s land in the Bay of Islands. She has been in the care of Captain Andrew Fagan and of Richard Smart.
In 1999 Hundertwasser has the boat coated with ferro-cement.
Richard Smart and Mike Brouwers are also renewing the wheelhouse, which is being re-sheathed with fibreglass and epoxy resin and then clad with Totara wood. The waterline is decorated with tiles.
Since 2004 the REGENTAG has been lain at anchor in the guest harbour of the city of Tulln.
Water ingress has caused mould and fungal growth and numerous shrinkage cracks as well as gaps in the wood. The moisture in the wood made extensive renovation work necessary, which is taken on by boat builder Tobias van Kooij in September 2018.
When the ship is craned in November 2022, many cracks and leaks were found in the ferrocement. The entire underwater hull has to be covered with an epoxy resin laminate.
Lamination of the underwater hull with epoxy resin laminate in spring 2023 guarantees permanent waterproofing.
In January 2024, the masts are set and then the rig renewed.
The restoration costs of more than 520,000 euros are borne by the Hundertwasser Non Profit Foundation, Vienna.
Together with the city of Tulln, the Austrian Federal Monuments Office and the Lower Austrian provincial government are also making contributions and are subsidising the restoration with 25,000 and 20,000 euros respectively.
Contact for viewing and information: https://www.tulln.at/erleben/stadt-kultur/museen/schiff-regentag
Water ingress has caused mould and fungal growth and numerous shrinkage cracks as well as gaps in the wood. The moisture in the wood made extensive renovation work necessary, which is taken on by boat builder Tobias van Kooij in September 2018.
When the ship is craned in November 2022, many cracks and leaks were found in the ferrocement. The entire underwater hull has to be covered with an epoxy resin laminate.
Lamination of the underwater hull with epoxy resin laminate in spring 2023 guarantees permanent waterproofing.
In January 2024, the masts are set and then the rig renewed.
The restoration costs of more than 520,000 euros are borne by the Hundertwasser Non Profit Foundation, Vienna.
Together with the city of Tulln, the Austrian Federal Monuments Office and the Lower Austrian provincial government are also making contributions and are subsidising the restoration with 25,000 and 20,000 euros respectively.
Contact for viewing and information: https://www.tulln.at/erleben/stadt-kultur/museen/schiff-regentag
craning in 2022