Paddle steamer Stadt Zürich
Encyclopedia
Paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
on Lake Zurich
Lake Zurich
Lake Zurich is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zurich. It is also known as Lake Zürich and Lake of Zürich. It lies approximately at co-ordinates ....
. Stadt Zürich was built in 1909 by Escher, Wyss & Cie. in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
for the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft
Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft
The Lake Zurich Shipping Company or Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft is a public Swiss company operating passenger ships and boats on Lake Zürich....
, as the 32nd ship in touristic service on Lake Zürich. In contrast to most other Swiss paddle steamers, the most striking features of this vessel and its sister ship Stadt Rapperswil
Paddle steamer Stadt Rapperswil
The Stadt Rapperswil is a steam paddle ship on Lake Zurich. She was built in 1914 by Escher, Wyss & Cie. in Zürich for the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft. In contrast to most other Swiss paddle steamers, the most striking features of this vessel and its sister ship Stadt Zürich are a short...
(1914) are a short smoke stack
Chimney
A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
, and a spacious 1st class upper deck
Deck (ship)
A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary deck is the horizontal structure which forms the 'roof' for the hull, which both strengthens the hull and serves as the primary working surface...
.
History
Swiss franc
The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...
s - was supported by subsidies of the Swiss government. The ship's salon
Drawing room
A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained. The name is derived from the sixteenth-century terms "withdrawing room" and "withdrawing chamber", which remained in use through the seventeenth century, and made its first written appearance in 1642...
was decorated in the Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
style. On Saturday, June 12, 1909, Stadt Zürich started her three-hour maiden voyage
Maiden voyage
The maiden voyage of a ship, aircraft or other craft is the first journey made by the craft after shakedown. A number of traditions and superstitions are associated with it....
at 3 PM, housing members of cantonal and municipal authorities, representatives of Lake Zurich shore communities, of Federal Railways and other traffic institutions, and Escher, Wyss & Cie. and further prominent guests on board. The laudatio was hold by Kantonsrat (Zurich's parliament) member Brunner-Vogt, the administrative board's president of the shipping company. In the first year of its operation, the ship sailed 12,575 kilometers and used about 258,450 kilograms of coal.
On September 4, 1912, Stadt Zürich made an evening tour with her by far most famous guest, the German Emperor Wilhelm II, and his blue-blooded retinue and few hand-picked guests. The ship was adorned with flowers and strict dress regulations were given, and tea and German beer were served. In honor of the guest, the municipalities around the lake set off fireworks. The enthusiasm was enormous, and the visit of the emperor left a lasting impression, so that Stadt Zürich was called «the Emperor's ship» for years later. At the last minute, boilerman Jakob Stampfer from Horgen was replaced due to his emperor hostile fundamental attitude - social democrats on this «imperial ship» were unwanted.
On Pentecost 1914, the sister ship Stadt Rapperswil
Paddle steamer Stadt Rapperswil
The Stadt Rapperswil is a steam paddle ship on Lake Zurich. She was built in 1914 by Escher, Wyss & Cie. in Zürich for the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft. In contrast to most other Swiss paddle steamers, the most striking features of this vessel and its sister ship Stadt Zürich are a short...
had been put into operational service. The steamboat company then owned – together with Helvetia
Paddle steamer Helvetia
The Helvetia was a paddle steamer that operated on Lake Zürich in Switzerland between 1875 and 1958. She had a capacity of 1200 passengers....
(built in 1875) and Stadt Zürich – three big ships as the backbone of its fleet. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, ship operations were reduced, and on December 2, 1918, operations even with steamships were stopped by the Swiss Bundesrat (Swiss Federal Council
Swiss Federal Council
The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....
) as Switzerland couldn't import coal. The schedule restrictions were loosened in 1919. For the first time, Stadt Zürich was taken out of the water in the winter of 1919 for maintenance issues (no meaningful defects were found). Between 1922 and 1939, renewals were necessary: Stadt Zürich received new boiler tubes, the roof of the upper deck is replaced, and the paddlewheels. In 1938, the first electric heating was installed.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the boiler remained filled with water, and in Winter the plant room was heated to keep the temperature above the freezing point (operationally for military purposes, 24 hours a day). Between the years 1941 and 1953, larger revisions were done: Boiler repairs, extension of the upper deck, and replacement of the sun awning by a solid roof. The coal firing was replaced by a heavy oil firing unit in 1951, allowing machine staff to be reduced (in her early years, Stadt Zürich had a crew of 8). The following general overhaul and rebuilt was done in spring 1956. Unfortunately, the Art Nouveau equipment of the salon also was dismantled and replaced by a simple wood veneer. During restorations of 1989/90 and 2003/04, the ship's interior was returned into its original appearance using historically sourced material, so that a similar room experience is given today. In 1960 and 1967, main revisions in the dock had been done.
In the 1980s, the two remaining paddle steamers on Lake Zürich – Stadt Rapperswil and Stadt Zürich – had been replaced by modern diesel powered ships on daily service; practically they are in service on Sundays, except as of 1986 summer season and again since 2003/4. Urgent repairs to the decks, tail digging trenches disguising, boilers and paddlewheels were made from 1979 to 1981. The rusted paddle boxes were replaced, the day rooms removed and toilets replaced. The paddle steamer received a new water supply and diesel pumps. In the trunk, an additional bulkhead
Bulkhead (partition)
A bulkhead is an upright wall within the hull of a ship or within the fuselage of an airplane. Other kinds of partition elements within a ship are decks and deckheads.-Etymology:...
was installed and a hydraulic stearing gear. In 1983, the administration board of the ZSG decided preservation of the two remaining steamships. «150 years steam navigation on the Lake Zurich» were celebrated with various activities in 1985. In winter 1989/90, Stadt Zürich was improved to the same technical niveau as her sister ship Stadt Rapperswil: The two old steam-boilers were replaced by a new one, her wooden deck is replaced to 70%, and the wooden stairs to the 1st class were refurbished. Additionally, the salon and the smoke stack were restored to their original appearances. The renovation cost three million Swiss francs of public money; «Aktion pro Raddampfer» association paid 200,000 francs by private donations. On June 21, 1990, Stadt Zürich resumed her tourist service.
In 2001, the project «Mit Volldampf voraus» (full steam ahead) was started. The two paddle steamships were equipped with improved comfort, once again. A collection campaign was started for the renewal of the salon steamers. One year later, on «Tag der Schweizer Schifffahrt» (Swiss navigation day), in co-operation with the «Action pro Raddampfer». Revisions started in November 2003: Sewage and power supply, refrigeration plants, diesel engine and heating were replaced. A new kitchen was installed, improved glazing protects the passengers on the upper deck, so that the steamer can be used in all weather. The instep linoleum-carpet in the salon is replaced by a discreetly gray one and the aisle is provided with a beautiful runner. The salon was restored largely to its original condition. The steamer's renovation costs 1,7 million Swiss francs – Stadt Zürich returned to operation on May 25, 2004. By her 100th anniversary, Stadt Zürich had steamed more than 700,000 kilometers.
Incidents involving Stadt Zürich
On May 25, 1922, the subengineer was killed in a maneuver with the steam-driven engine. A passenger died on September 7, 1924, falling backward into the water. During a test drive, Stadt Zürich ran against a landing stage on October 18, 1926, in which the trunk cover was damaged strongly, and in summer 1939, paddles on the port side wheel were damaged in Horgen. In 1949, the port side paddlewheel broke. In the same year, the salon steamer sank a police boat which couldn't make way due to a defect. On May 4, 1985, Stadt Zürich rammed a wall due to a technical defect at the footbridge in Zurich: Nobody is injured but the steamer suffered a hole in the bow and was repaired in ZSG's shipyard in WollishofenWollishofen
Wollishofen is a suburb in Zurich's 2nd district.It was formerly a municipality of its own, having been incorporated into Zurich in 1893.The suburb has a population of 15,592 distributed on an area of 5.75 km².-Transport:...
. Landing in Rapperswil, a basic touch occurred on May 22, 2005 (repairs lasted two weeks). In 2008, landing at Zürich-Bürkliplatz, Stadt Zürich touched the quay; the ship continues its activities normally.