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Description

The console of the famed Britannic organ, taken in its new home at the Museum für Musikautomaten in Seewen, Switzerland. I visited this the same day as the Rheinfall; it was a long day of traveling, but it was well worth it in the end!

The Britannic Organ

This gorgeous Welte Philharmonic Organ was intended for the White Star Line’s famous liner Britannic, the third and final of the Olympic-class sisters; the idea was that it would be installed in the grand staircase. Unfortunately, the First World War interfered with that dream: the German-built organ couldn’t be delivered to a country its manufacturers were now at war with, after all, and of course Britannic was requisitioned for use as a hospital ship and subsequently sank after striking a mine in the Aegean Sea. After that, the organ vanished into the annals of history - until 2007, when maintenance workers found hidden inscriptions bearing Britannic’s name. They realized the instrument in their possession was in fact the very organ that had been built for Britannic nearly a century before; now, the organ stands as both the proud centerpiece of the Museum für Musikautomaten and an enduring reminder of what Britannic would have been had she survived the war.

For more information on the history of the organ, check out the museum’s page about it here !

Description

The console of the famed Britannic organ, taken in its new home at the Museum für Musikautomaten in Seewen, Switzerland. I visited this the same day as the Rheinfall; it was a long day of traveling, but it was well worth it in the end!

The Britannic Organ

This gorgeous Welte Philharmonic Organ was intended for the White Star Line’s famous liner Britannic, the third and final of the Olympic-class sisters; the idea was that it would be installed in the grand staircase. Unfortunately, the First World War interfered with that dream: the German-built organ couldn’t be delivered to a country its manufacturers were now at war with, after all, and of course Britannic was requisitioned for use as a hospital ship and subsequently sank after striking a mine in the Aegean Sea. After that, the organ vanished into the annals of history - until 2007, when maintenance workers found hidden inscriptions bearing Britannic’s name. They realized the instrument in their possession was in fact the very organ that had been built for Britannic nearly a century before; now, the organ stands as both the proud centerpiece of the Museum für Musikautomaten and an enduring reminder of what Britannic would have been had she survived the war.

For more information on the history of the organ, check out the museum’s page about it here !