Russia's famous Kruzenshtern barque will take part in a pentannual festival of sailing ships in Amsterdam, a spokesman for the Baltic State Fishing Fleet Academy, which operates the vessel, said on Thursday.

"Kruzenshtern arrived in Amsterdam to take part in the international festival of sailing ships, Sail Amsterdam, to begin today, on August 19. This festival is one of the most famous international sailing ship events," the spokesman said.

Around 600 sailing ships, including some 50 tall ships, will take part in the event to continue for five days.

This year's parade began at 10:00 a.m. local time, with a parade of ships, led by Dutch Clipper Stad Amsterdam, sailing down the North Sea Canal towards the Dutch capital.

On August 25, Russia's famed four-masted sailing ship will visit Germany's Bremerhaven, to take part in the opening ceremony of the Sail Bremerhaven festival.

The Kruzenshtern is widely regarded as one of the jewels of the Russian sailing fleet. It was built in Germany in 1926 as a windjammer class ship (then called The Padova).

After World War II, the ship was transferred to the Soviet Union as a reparation payment and renamed after a legendary Russian navigator Johann Kruzenshtern (1770-1846), who performed Russia's first round-the-world trip.

Since the 1970s, the ship has been used as a training vessel for naval cadets.

The Kruzenshtern was moored for three weeks in Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Olympics and became one of the most important symbols of support for the Russian team in its ultimately unsuccessful campaign.

KALININGRAD, August 19 (RIA Novosti)