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Hjejlen
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The history of Hjejlen

• A group of citizens of the town of Silkeborg,
  including the paper mill owner and founder of
  modern Silkeborg, Michael Drewsen, placed the
  order for Hjejlen in 1861 at the Baumgarten
  Burmeister shipyards in Copenhagen.
• The Danish Rigsdagen (the Government) gave
  Drewsen a loan of 5000 rd (the monetary standard
  at that time) for a steamer. At that time Drewsen
  had already placed an order for a vessel at the
  price of 10.000 rd. Drewsens proverb had always
  been Its now or never. His attitude and
  wilfulness did not please the Danish Rigsdagen.
  
• The idea was that the steamer should take
  tourists from the harbour of Silkeborg to the
  Himmelbjerget ( Sky Mountain). The vessel was
  built in connection with a visit to Silkeborg by
  the Danish king, King Frederik VII, a close
  friend of Drewsen, who, by the way, had suggested
  to Drewsen to provide a steamer for Silkeborg.

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On June the 15th 1861the vessel came to Silkeborg
after a long sail from Copenhagen, and was
inaugurated in a big celebration, which Frederik
VII also took part in. The vessel was named
Hjejlen after the famous bird form the Danish
heath, the golden plover. The Vessel is 85
feet  in length, 12.5 feet  at the widest point
and has a draught of 5.5 feet. Some years after
the arrival of Hjejlen to Silkeborg, the vessel
was renewed, with a brand new saloon with red
velvet sofas. The hull of Hjejlen has always
been black, but in 1924 it was painted white.
This made feelings run high among the townies of
Silkeborg, which led to Hjejlen being repainted
black. Since then the colour of the hull has
never changed. Hjejlen is the oldest paddle
steamer in the world, and is still used to take
around tourists the Gudenå. You can read about
Hjejlen today and its relation to the Sky
Mountain in the Power Point show about Hjejlen
And the Sky Mountain. Read more
on http//www.hjejlen.com/cust/376/showpage.asp?I
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