World of Ships – May 2018

48 I World of Ships I Paddle Steamers

KAISER WILHELM

OWNER Lauenburg Elbeschiffahrtsmuseums

BUILT 1900 by Dresdner Maschienbau and Schiffswerft,

Dresden-Neustadt

MACHINERY Two-cylinder compound diagonal engine of

168hp coal-fired with new boiler in 1954; renovated 1910,

1954 and 1970

DIMENSIONS Length 57.2m, width 4.80m (hull), 8.40m

(over paddles)

PASSENGERS 350

Now a magnificent example of a smaller

preserved paddle steamer, Kaiser Wilhelm was

built in Dresden during 1900 for service on the

Upper Weser from Hameln to Hann Munden,

upstream sailings taking two days with a

single day trip in the return direction. Kaiser

Wilhelm was one of the first river steamers to

be fitted with a compound diagonal engine.

After only a decade of service she returned to

Dresden for lengthening.

Kaiser Wilhelm came unscathed through both

World Wars, the 1939-45 conflict ending with

three of the Weser company’s steamers lost

to the Soviet Union. Kaiser Wilhelm resumed

long-distance sailings after being re-boilered

in 1954, running opposite Kronprinz Wilhelm,

a steamer built for Dresden service as Meissen

in 1881 that moved to the Weser in 1907.

Kronprinz Wilhelm was withdrawn in 1967,

but the centre portion of the ship, including

paddle boxes, wheels and oscillating engine,

are now displayed at the German Shipping

Museum in Bremerhaven. Kaiser Wilhelm ran

for a further three seasons and was acquired

by the Elbe Shipping Museum in Lauenburg,

sailing under her own steam via the Weser-

ABOVE When the original boiler dating from 1900

was replaced in 1954, coal firing was retained.

Built in Dresden, Kaiser Wilhelm

was designed for service on the

Weser River between Hameln and

Hann Munden, running until she was

withdrawn in 1970.

ABOVE Kaiser Wilhelm, a magnificent example of a preserved paddle steamer.

Elbe Canal and through the then East

Germany to reach Lauenburg.

In the years since, Kaiser Wilhelm has

generally been steamed a couple of weekends

a month in summer, with a mixture of public

and charter sailings. In the first two decades

of her operational preservation, Kaiser

Wilhelm’s upstream sailings from picturesque

Lauenburg passed forbidding wire fences and

watch towers along the eastern bank, with

East German patrol boats often seen lurking in

the shallows. The reunification of Germany at

midnight on 3 October 1990 was marked by a

series of long blasts on Kaiser Wilhelm’s steam

whistle and was the only sound to be heard

echoing into the surrounding countryside.

The low-pressure cylinder rod broke

on 23 June 2001, putting the ship out of

passenger service until the beginning of

September 2001. Now the German Federal

Government is backing the vessel with a grant

of €950,000 for a full renovation, which

started in autumn 2017 and will be finished

in 2020. The veteran’s cruising area has

been extended in recent years, with a trip to

Dresden in 2015 and then a visit to the Elbe-

Sietenkanal, including use of the 38m ship lift

at Scharnebeck in 2016.

Then Kaiser Wilhelm was in fine fettle for

an epic voyage from Lauenburg to Berlin

between 21 and 29 July 2017, overnighting in

Domitz and Havelberg before a third day-trip

along the River Havel to Brandenburg, the

journey ending with the vessel arriving in

Berlin Potsdam. Her three-day stay included

morning and afternoon cruises on the

Wannsee. Kaiser Wilhelm then retraced the

outward route, including an overnight stop in

Brandenburg to take water.

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