Sørlandet is a Norwegian heritage tall ship and one of very few full-rigged ships in the world. She is the senior of the existing Norwegian built square riggers, and for more than 50 years she held a central position in the education and training of young people. She is the second oldest of three Norwegian tall ships, the “Great Trio of Norway”, which besides her includes Statsraad Lehmkuhl and Christian Radich. History Construction on the Sørlandet was started in 1925 at Høivolds Mek shipyard in the city of Kristiansand on the south coast of Norway based on a £25,000 grant from ship owner O.A.T. Skjelbred. Completed on May 28, 1927, she measured 210 feet in length and 577 gross tons. She was given the name Sørlandet after the Norwegian region from where she originates. Maiden voyage On her maiden voyage to Oslo in 1927, Sørlandet was inspected by King Haakon and Crown Prince Olav. Later in the same year, she set sail for London with 90 young trainees on board Training vessel: Sørlandet’s Seilende Skoleskibs Institution The original intention behind mr. Skjelbreds grant was the establishment of a training institution called Sørlandets Seilende Skoleskibs Institution for young sailors, and with it the construction of a fully rigged tall ship with a steel hull that could house 80 cadets and their officers. As part of “Sørlandet’s Seilende Skoleskibs Institution,” the Sørlandet played a vital role in the education of young seamen from the southern region of Norway. The young men who received their training onboard disembarques as seamen and went in to service in the Norwegian Merchant Marine or in the Royal Navy. World Exhibit 1933 She sailed to Chicago to take part in the World Fair in 1933. Being the first Norwegian training ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean, she actually served as the Norwegian pavilion during the exhibition "Century of Progress". World War II The ship was in continuous service as a training vessel for the Norwegian Merchant Marine until 1939, when World War II started. The same year, she was chartered by the Royal Norwegian Navy and used as a depot ship in the naval port of Horten where the Germans seized her in April 1940. She was damaged during the war and served as an accommodation vessel for German submariners. At the end of the war she was in a degrading condition. She was restored and ready