Votive ship

[1] Votive ships are relatively common in churches in the Nordic countries Denmark,[2] Sweden, Norway[3] and Finland, as well as on Åland[4] and Faroe islands, but are known also to exist in Germany, the United Kingdom[5] and Spain.

[2] The practice of displaying model ships in churches stems from the Middle Ages and appears to have been known throughout Christian Europe, in both Catholic and Lutheran countries.

A model ship originally displayed in Stockholm Cathedral but today in the Stockholm Maritime Museum dating from circa 1590 is the oldest surviving example in the Nordic countries.

[2] Votive ships are quite common in France, in coastal towns (and in some inland ones as well) either as model ships (generally made by sailors after escaping a shipwreck ) or as paintings (generally depicting some awkward situation) they are known under the Latin term of Ex-Voto (made after a vow).

[citation needed] The church of Sainte Anne d'Auray in Brittany has the biggest French collection of marine ex-votos, but the practice even extends to the Mediterranean French shores, including Corsica.