Children and adults can turn their hands to a river table. Rivers get silted up and become increasingly shallow. Ships get stuck and commerce stagnates. Try to keep the river navigable for the IJssel cog. Learn in a fun and interactive way how water and sand can be you best friends or worst foes. The second interactive element of the exhibition is 'Sailing with a cog'. The cog and its cargo are headed for the town of Kampen. As the skipper, you navigate the boat with a stick. If you go too slowly, you have to trim the sails. If you are going too fast, you have to ease the sails. The cargo must reach Kampen harbour as safely and intact as possible. With all the weather conditions along the way, this will prove to be a challenging task.
Sail the cog to safe haven
Laura Koehler, project leader of the IJssel cog preservation, talks about the preservation process in the exhibition. With a 360-degree view, visitors are able to look at the IJssel cog inside the preservation station from all sides. As a guide, there is a narrative about the cog in the past and the cog now.
The wreck was discovered at the bottom of the River IJssel in 2010. Never before had such a complete cog been uncovered. With widespread interest, the cog was lifted from the IJssel in 2016 and subsequently taken to Batavialand for preservation. To preserve the cog, the wood is slowly being impregnated to protect it for many years to come.
This particular cog measures 26 x 8.5 metres and was probably scuttled deliberately around 1400. The ship was intended to block the sand, gravel and sludge, keeping the IJssel waterway navigable.
