The exhibition shows the results of the Museum of the City of Rijeka so far in researching the history of the fascinating ship Galeb, which, like the phoenix, always comes back to life. Sailing as the Italian warship RAMB III, it flew 900 miles from Libya to Sicily after a torpedo blew up its bow. As a German minesweeper Kiebitz, he ended up at the bottom of the port of Rijeka as a victim of the bombing. Three years after the sinking, Brodospas brought it to the surface with a demanding engineering action, and the designers of Rijeka’s Brodoprojekt prepared documentation on the basis of which it was reconstructed into a school ship of the Yugoslav Navy. He gained world fame as the floating residence of Josip Broz Tito, who sailed with him to the countries of the non-aligned movements, and not only to them. The seagull has become a symbol of new political efforts, advocating for “peaceful coexistence” among nations during the Cold War bloc division. Since 1990, it has been left to decay, and a new beginning appeared in 2006, when it was protected as a cultural monument of the Republic of Croatia.
The exhibition includes photographs, documents, technical drawings, paintings and objects from ship cabins, restored ship furniture and more, presenting the reasons why Galeb, although still waiting for its restoration, is already a point of great tourist interest.
