Titanic Belfast, a maritime museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland

© Allan Baxter/Gallery Stock

Titanic Belfast, a maritime museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland

The museum known simply as Titanic Belfast, commemorates the tragic end of the ocean liner that hit an iceberg on its celebrated maiden voyage 105 years ago today and sank in the Atlantic early the next morning. But the museum also fosters an appreciation for the ship’s close ties with the Northern Ireland capital city. From the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, the dry docks that once thrived where the museum now stands drove much of the economy in Belfast and the region. Numerous large ships similar to the RMS Titanic were built here, and the museum uses the well-known Titanic story as a way to tell the larger story of Belfast’s ship-building industry.