Germany and Danzig

Time balls in Germany were first established in 1875; following correspondence with Greenwich about the nature of British signals. The first time balls were erected in 1875 at the Baltic ports of Neufahrwasser and Swinemunde, and at Cuxhaven and Bremerhaven on the North Sea Coast. Some used special towers while others were positioned on existing buildings. Additional time balls at other locations gave a total of eleven German time balls in 1915. Many were replaced or complemented by time light signals which first appeared as principal signals after 1911. A single time gun was located first at Kiel and then on a training ship at Mürwick. Neufahrwasser; later known as Gdansk, was first in Germany, then in Danzig, then Germany again and now in Poland. The 1876 Neufahrwasser time ball was replaced by another at a different location in 1894, replaced in turn by a time light in 1927. Another more powerful light was introduced in 1930 at nearby Gdynia.