J.W. Klawitter

The origins of the shipyard go back to George Klawitter, who was listed in 1712 as the 1st shipbuilder of the Gdańsk Shipwrights' Guild. Johann Jacob Klawitter (born 1767) was named as the senior member of this guild in 1804. From 1823 he built ships with his son Johann Wilhelm Klawitter in Danzig. Over the years, the company was  owned by the family: Julius Wilhelm Klawitter (1830–1910), Carl William Klawitter (1856–1929) and Friedrich Wilhelm Klawitter (1866–1942). By the turn of the century some 400 ships had been built, it was one of the major German Shipyards in those days. Business declined in the WWI years, came back after the war, but had to close business in 1931 in the global economical crisis. In total 500 ships had been build over the years.