Moored at Bataviawerf, in Lelystad, in the Netherlands, is an authentic replica of a 17th-century ship named Batavia that once belonged to the Dutch East India Company. The replica was created by master-shipbuilder Willem Vos, who carries an extraordinary mission —to reconstruct famous ships from the golden age of the Netherlands' maritime history using traditional ship-building techniques that were popular during that period. So far, he has built Batavia, while a second ship “The Seven Provinces”, is a work-in-progress.

Willem Vos originally owned a company that built wooden and polyester boats, but with modernization demand for handmade boats was falling. Once, when Vos went to the bank to ask for credit, the bank tried to belittle his company by saying that his profession belonged in a museum —and inadvertently gave him the idea for Bataviawerf.

The replica of Batavia at Bataviawerf. Photo credit: Malis/Wikimedia