World of Ships – May 2018

PADDLE STEAMERS

Paddle Steamers I World of Ships I 57

An aerial view with

Hohentweil’s deck

canopies in place.

BODENSEE

The last paddle steamers from the German,

Swiss and Austrian fleets on Bodensee

(Lake Constance) were all withdrawn in

the mid-1960s. However, half a century

later, one of the former German steamers

is still flourishing, having been restored

for operational preservation in 1990 under

the direction of the Bodenseeschiffahrts

Museum, and is now based at Hard on the

lake’s Austrian shore.

HOHENTWEIL

BUILT 1913 by Escher Wyss of Zurich, Switzerland

MACHINERY Two-cylinder compound diagonal engine of

950hp by builders with a top speed of 16.7 knots

NEW BOILERS fitted 1988-89

DIMENSIONS Length 56.9m, width 6.50m (hull),13m (over

paddles)

PASSENGERS 850

Built for the Royal Wurttemberg Railways,

which, along with vessels from the States of

Bavaria and Baden became part of German

Railways in 1918, Hohentweil is powered by

a compound diagonal steam engine provided

by her Zurich-based builders that is similar

to machinery provided in the same period for

Lake Lucerne steamer Gallia. Hohentweil was

extensively modernised in 1935 with a new

forward saloon and bridge.

During World War II she had a narrow

escape when she was held at Konstanz instead

of returning to Friedrichshafen, where the

steamers Wurttemberg and Friedrichshafen

were sunk that night in an Allied bombing

raid. After World War II she was operated

from Friedrichshafen until being moved to

run out of Konstanz in 1960. Her withdrawal

in 1962, caused by failure of a high pressure

inlet valve, was earlier than planned and

Hohentwiel was quickly bought in to serve

as a sailing club headquarters at Bregenz in

the Austrian corner of the lake, remaining in

there until 1979.

Fortunately, the boiler and engine were

retained and, after a lengthy campaign, an

international organisation was set up to take

over the vessel in 1984, with plans for towage

between various lake centres to operate in

a static capacity. Such was the momentum

and interest in the cause that operational

preservation became a reality. Following the

ship’s dry docking at Hard in 1986, a large-

scale reconstruction took place, with two new

boilers being fitted and the engine given a

complete overhaul by Escher Wyss.

During the 1930s the foredeck structure

and bridge were removed, along with the

main mast as the vessel was returned to her

original lines, including a new taller funnel

and a huge cross tree on the foremast, always

a feature of Bodensee steamers. The saloons

were upgraded, with modern galley equipment

brought in before Hohentweil completed

trials under steam in February 1989 and went

on to offer a full summer season of public

sailings and charters. Some trips were run

in conjunction with the then new German

motor vessel Graf Zeppelin, with passengers

travelling in one direction on either ship.

ABOVE Hohentweil’s impressive 950hp Escher Wyss

steam engine.

ABOVE The plush and welcoming after saloon of

Hohentweil after1980s restoration.

ABOVE Going astern, Hohentweil, one of Europe’s

first preservation triumphs.

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