Schönbrunn’s twin
furnace oil-fired boiler.PADDLE STEAMERS
Paddle Steamers I World of Ships I 27
RIVER
DANUBE
SCHÖNBRUNN
OWNER OGEG - Austrian Railway History Society
BUILT 1912-13 by Schiffswerft Budapest, Hungary
RENOVATED 1954,1974 and 1988
DIMENSIONS 74.6m x 8m (hull), 15.6m (over paddles)
DISPLACEMENT 556 tons
PASSENGERS originally 1,400, now 600
MACHINERY Oil-fired two-cylinder compound diagonal
engine (by builders), 710hp
SPEED 26kmh (downstream)Schönbrunn, the last paddle steamer on the
Austrian stretch of the river Danube, was used
for a long-distance service from Passau via
Vienna to Budapest following an extensive
modernisation in 1954, when the boilers
were converted to use oil fuel. In the 1970s
Schönbrunn shared the Vienna-Passau service
with diesel-electric sisters Stadt Wien and
Stadt Passau on a roster, with a night spent
at Linz in either direction. The outward leg
offered a nostalgic experience as, following a
call at Grein, the steamer pounded against the
current, with a bridge-mounted searchlight
showing the way ahead as darkness fell.
The air of tranquillity was rudely shattered
at 0600 next day when stewards began
banging on cabin doors to awaken passengers
who were leaving the ship before it continued
to Passau. Schönbrunn took part in a number
of commemorative events, including a special
Vienna-Passau run on 12 July 1977, marking 25years since the restoration of sailings following
the end of World War II. The steamer’s own
70th anniversary was celebrated with special
sailings in 1983, and she continued until the
end of the 1988 season. Despite her fabric and
machinery being in excellent condition, DDSG
said high running costs meant there was no
prospect of a return to service.
Laid up at Korneuburg, near Vienna, from
1988, Schönbrunn went to Budapest in a
static role as a restaurant and casino from
1990 to early 1994, before being used as
the centrepiece of an exhibition promoting
Upper Austria in Engelhartszell. She was
moved to Linz during November 1994, but the
future did not look good, as DDSG passenger
operations came to an end, but OGEC, the
Austrian Railway History Society, became
Schönbrunn’s saviour.
After she had been purchased, a major
restoration programme was completed in
2000, with successful October trials paving
the way for the issue of a passenger certificate
in May 2001. Limited operation followed,
mainly on charters, but public services were
then started, although most of the 2009programme was lost after Schönbrunn
was rammed by river cruise boat Avalon
Tranquillity while she was moored at Linz.
During 2012 Schönbrunn made a special
sailing to Budapest and back, encountering
both her former diesel electric Danube
partners Stadt Wien and Stadt Passau en
route. In recent years, including during 2017,
an immaculately turned out Schönbrunn has
offered sailings from Linz and visited the
stretch of the Danube through the Wachau
region between Melk and Krems.STADT WIEN
OWNER Community of Tulln, Austria
BUILT 1939 by Werft Korneuburg, Vienna
DEMOTIONS 77.7m x 8m (hull), 15.2m (over paddles)
DISPLACEMENT 650 tons
PASSENGERS 860 (originally 1,460)
MACHINERY Twin 12-cylinder 460hp Sulzer diesels
powering two Brown-Bouveri electric motors
SPEED 25kmh (downstream)Two paddle vessels appeared with diesel-
electric propulsion during the early 1930s, the
Lake Geneva fleet’s Geneve, dating from 1896,ABOVE Stadt Wien on an afternoon cruise from Tulln in August 2012. (Myra Allen)ABOVE Cylinder heads shining to pefection in
Schönbrunn’s engine room. (Russell Plummer)02 Paddlers_Austria_NL.indd 27 17/04/2018 12:00