Polish divers have discovered a sunken 19th-century ship in the Baltic Sea with a unique cargo: it was carrying champagne, wine, mineral water and porcelain. The ship was discovered several dozen kilometres off the coast of Sweden. It is possible that the cargo, valuable for that time, was transported to the Russian Tsar.
As the leader of the diving group, Tomasz Stahura, said, at first the locator showed that there was something resembling a fishing boat at the bottom. But after the dive it became clear that the find was very valuable. The sailing ship, which is believed to have been built between 1860 and 1867, is very well preserved. The ship was loaded with more than a hundred bottles of champagne and baskets of Selters mineral water in clay containers.
– At that time, mineral water was considered practically a medicine and was served only at the royal table. Its value was so great that special guards were assigned to the cargo during transportation. We found bottles of mineral water from the German company Selters, which still operates today and its products are considered elite,” Stakhura said.
It is possible that the cargo was destined for the Russian Tsar and that the ship travelled across the Baltic Sea to St. Petersburg. Selters products were well known in Russia and its name became a household name. Before the revolution, soda water was the name given to various mineral and carbonated table waters and was mentioned in classical Russian literature.
