The Umschau (loosely translated as ‘looking around’)
Until the first half of the 19th century, it was customary in northern Germany (and especially in the Baltic Sea region) for coastal shipping, which at that time was predominantly agricultural and also dependent on the weather, to be suspended during the three winter months. During this time, skippers and crews gathered in various ports for the coming season in a process known as the Umschau. In most port cities, there were specific meeting places for this gathering, such as harbour pubs, a local skippers' association or another well-known public place (in Wismar, for example, this was the Fastelabendmarkt). Depending on the location, certain rituals were observed during the Umschau. In Rostock, for example, it was customary for sailors seeking work to remain on one side of the street between Blutstraßenecke and the town hall, while captains and helmsmen remained on the opposite side. In Warnemünde, an older and more experienced sailor was sometimes tasked with putting together the crew. On the Baltic coast in particular, it was decided long before the start of the next sailing season who would sail with which skipper or captain on which ship.
With the decline of local small-scale shipping towards the end of the 18th century and the growing importance of steam shipping, which was less dependent on the weather, at the beginning of the 19th century, the practice of finding a new ship through the Umschau also disappeared. Other reasons for the decline of the Umschau were, on the one hand, the growing port cities, which attracted large numbers of sailors from outside the area, who met there with hiring agents who acted as intermediaries between sailors and shipowners, and, on the other hand, the shipping companies, which set up their own hiring offices to recruit sailors.
The term ‘Umschau’ is still used today. It can still be found, for example, in the collective agreement for German maritime shipping, where it determines the time to be granted (and paid) by the shipowner during which a crew member can look for another position.
