A sailing piece of Danish history

Visit the museum cutter Elisabeth K571, moored at Dragør Old Harbour.

One of the few surviving rescue vessels

Elisabeth K571 is one of the few known surviving Danish boats that helped transport refugees from occupied Denmark to neutral Sweden during October 1943. It is estimated that around 700 Jewish refugees escaped to Sweden from Dragør.

Einar Larsen

The cutter’s skipper, Einar Larsen, helped approximately 70 refugees cross the Øresund before he himself had to flee in 1944.

Elisabeth K571 represents an important and dramatic chapter in Danish history – the rescue of the Danish Jews in 1943. The vessel also tells the story of Dragør’s once-thriving fishing culture, which has largely disappeared today.

A floating cultural heritage

After Dragør Museum acquired the cutter in 2003, it was carefully restored to its original 1941 appearance. In 2007, Dragør Museum became part of Museum Amager.

Today, Elisabeth continues to sail as a living piece of cultural heritage and remains an important part of the harbour environment in Dragør.