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Málaga Marks 125 Years Since SMS Gneisenau Wreck With Citywide Tributes

The city’s remembrance emphasizes a lifesaving mobilization that forged lasting ties with Germany.

Overview

  • The anniversary program included a Málaga CF tribute with a special kit, an artist-designed captain’s armband, a stadium minute of silence, and the names of the 41 dead displayed.
  • Archival records place the wreck on December 16, 1900 off the Dique de Levante during a severe storm, with about 420 sailors saved and 41 fatalities.
  • The mass rescue led to a royal decree on January 3, 1901 granting Málaga the honorific title “Muy Hospitalaria,” which remains part of the city’s identity.
  • Germany later expressed formal thanks, including funding for the Santo Domingo bridge—known as the Puente de los Alemanes—opened on December 16, 1909 after the 1907 flood.
  • Researchers still flag gaps in burial accounting for roughly sixteen victims at the English Cemetery, and the wreck area has BIC archaeological protection dating to 2008.