Lake Constance shipping
The term Lake Constance shipping refers to the entirety of shipping traffic on Lake Constance .
Shipping on Lake Constance can look back on a long tradition. As a connecting element, it favored the economic and cultural proximity between the neighboring areas. While the economic importance was limited to fishing and trade for a long time , today the focus is on tourist use and recreational boating.
history
prehistory
The roots of Lake Constance shipping are believed to be in the Mesolithic . It is reasonable to assume that the hunters and gatherers of this time already sailed Lake Constance with the means at their disposal - primitive watercraft such as dugout canoes. It can also be assumed that the inhabitants of the partially preserved prehistoric pile dwellings in Lake Constance used dugouts. However, this is not guaranteed by archaeological finds that have not yet been found.
Antiquity
The first written records of shipping on Lake Constance have survived from antiquity. The historian Strabo attests with his report on the naval battle on Lake Constance in 15 BC. Ancient military shipping on Lake Constance.
At the time the Lake Constance area belonged to the Roman province of Raetia , Lake Constance shipping received new impulses. The emerging, transalpine trade increased the volume of trade. The favorable location of Lake Constance was an advantage here: the shortest trade connection across the Alps was between Lake Como and Lacus Brigantinus . The border location of Lake Constance within the declining Roman Empire gave military shipping a boost. A flotilla of boats under the command of two Praefecti was stationed in Constance and Bregenz , the largest Roman cities on the lake, to protect against Alemanni groups breaking in .
middle Ages
The fall of the Roman Empire hardly changed Lake Constance shipping; old structures, trade routes and knowledge were taken over. In the early 7th century, shipping became a means of Christian missionary work in the Lake Constance area. There is evidence of a crossing of the monks Gallus and Columban from Arbon to Bregenz in 610.
All of the large Lake Constance monasteries owned ships that were indispensable for the logistics between the partly spatially separated possessions of the same. With the territorialization , the respective sovereigns wanted their own port. In the late 11th century, Fußach was expanded to become the port of the Counts of Bregenz ; the port of the Bishop of Constance was in Arbon, that of the monastery of St. Gallen in Steinach .
In order to make it easier for the cities in the hinterland of Lake Constance to access Lake Constance, the tributaries were often expanded, as can be seen in the example of Ravensburg . In 1400 , King Wenzel gave in to the citizens' requests for an expansion of the Schussen , whereupon work began on making it navigable. The specific reason may have been the paper production industry that had previously emerged in the city, for which transport by water would have been beneficial, other economic considerations will also have contributed to the now high economic importance of Lake Constance shipping.
With the introduction of a new type of ship, the market ship , the exchange of goods between the lake neighbors reached a new high. The market ships went to cities at fixed times on market days and carried people and sales goods to the markets in the destination . There is evidence of a market ship for Constance, Arbon, Lindau, Schaffhausen and Bregenz. The new type of market ship also set new standards in terms of size: the Lindau market ship was intended for 60 people including their goods.
Early modern age
The formation of clearly separated rulership areas , which was largely completed in the 16th century - the Confederation was de facto independent of the empire as a result of the Swabian War as early as 1499 - led to a severe restriction in the now international trade between the coastal regions; numerous tariffs and regulations made a good economic relationship difficult. Nevertheless, the Reformation and Counter-Reformation promoted a denominational split between the mostly Lutheran imperial cities and other Reformed territories and the Catholic-ruled areas around the lake. A new type of ship was used as an instrument for the regional superiors to demonstrate their presence and to control trade on the lake. The Jagschiff served from now on as a police boat, also it was used for representative purposes.
A major armed conflict took place on Lake Constance between 1632 and 1648 in the form of part of the Thirty Years' War . The so-called naval war on Lake Constance demanded a lot from both an economic and a human point of view.
In the 18th century, the use of larger ships became common in trade, following the increased demand for cargo space.
19th and 20th centuries
In the course of the 19th century the cargo sailors were displaced by the steamships that were new at the time. At the beginning of the Lake Constance steam shipping, the Württemberg Wilhelm was put into service on November 10, 1824. If the steamship fleet was initially in private hands, between 1854 and 1863 it was owned by the three state railway companies in Baden, Württemberg and Bavaria. Their holdings were then taken over by the Deutsche Reichsbahn on April 1, 1920 .
After 1871 there was also increased passenger transport by saloon steamships. As early as the last decade of the 19th century, there were private motorboats and cargo sailing ships powered by a gasoline engine on Lake Constance , which were retrofitted with an approximately 5 hp petroleum or diesel engine to make them independent of the wind. The cargo sailing ships were later gradually replaced by smooth-deck steamers. The first passenger motor boats were put into service in Bodman in 1895. Local regular services with small petrol motor boats emerged in various cities. The Lake Constance fishermen have been using efficient motor boats since 1910. In 1925, the Bodan shipyard built the first larger Lake Constance motor ship. By 1939, a total of 28 one-, two- and three -deck motor ships followed, most of them with the new Voith Schneider propulsion system . With the connection of Austria in 1938, the ships of the neighboring country were also subordinated to the Reichsbahn.
For the duration of the Second World War, the function of shipping on Lake Constance was often determined by military use. Civilian ships were converted into training ships for the German navy and floating anti-aircraft batteries.
Since 1950, the United Shipping Companies for Lake Constance and Rhine (VSU) put a total of 43 motor ships into service (as of 2015). In 1962, the Deutsche Bundesbahn, as the successor to the Reichsbahn, centralized the administration of Lake Constance shipping in Karlsruhe. With the withdrawal of all steamers from 1957–1967 by the VSU, including the Deutsche Bundesbahn, the era of steamship travel on Lake Constance largely ended; only the Hohentwiel, the only representative of this type of ship, can still be found on the lake today. The first motor ships that replaced the steamships have now also been scrapped. However, some are still in service at the age of up to 90, some of them are listed. Today 12 German, 13 Swiss and five Austrian motor ships from the large shipping companies operate on Lake Constance, as well as three catamarans and nine car ferries . Some of them have taken over the ship's bells from paddle steamers that have long been retired and thus point to the long tradition of shipping on Lake Constance.
gallery
Wilhelm (1824). The first paddle steamers were smooth-deckers.
Hohentwiel (1913). The saloon steamer is the oldest ship and the last steamship on Lake Constance.
Baden (1935) . The first three-deck motor ship is the oldest scheduled ship and is a listed building.
Karlsruhe (1937) . Served as accommodation for French soldiers in Konstanz after the war until it was released in 1949.
Munich (1962) . The steamships were decommissioned in the 1960s and replaced by new builds.
St. Gallen (1967). Ship of SBS Schifffahrt AG.
Constanze (2005) . The three catamarans are the fastest passenger ships on Lake Constance.
Überlingen (2010) . The newest and most modern ship of the VSU on Lake Constance.
Mail ships
Letters were given to sailing ships as early as the Middle Ages. Official mail ships only existed on Lake Constance since 1813. These were scheduled ships that were authorized to regularly carry mail.
Ship accidents and wrecks
A large number of sunken ships lie on the bottom of Lake Constance. 300 wrecks alone have so far been registered by underwater archaeologists in Baden-Württemberg, but the total number of Lake Constance wrecks is likely to be far higher. The salvage and conservation of a medieval wreck discovered off Immenstaad in 1981 remained an exception, the majority of the wrecks still lie on the lake bed today. However, this fact attracts divers - the Jura wreck has established itself as a popular destination for diving tourists.
Shipbuilding and ship types
Among the shipowners of the Middle Ages and the early modern period, names such as B. Wilhelm unusual for a ship. The relationship between owner and boat was determined by pragmatism, the Bodensee ship was a commodity with a shelf life of about 10 years. It was different with the steamships, they had names from the beginning. This practice was also adopted by the lädinen of that time.
In the course of time, the number of ships on Lake Constance changed, from simple cargo sailing ships to steam-powered ships to the large diesel ferries of today.
Lädinen / Segmer
Until the advent of steam shipping in the 19th century, the Lädi type and its sub- genres determined the image of Lake Constance ships . A distinction was made according to size between Lädinen , Halfladinen , Segmer , Halbsegmer and Viertelsegmer . The designation Lädine is probably due to charging (load, charge). For ship types based on slightly modified basic forms of the Lädine such as B. the market ship or the hunting ship (see section history ) were common terms related to the intended use.
| Type | Length Width | Mast height | Sail size | Loading capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ladine | 110 × 14 feet | 85 feet | 18.5 × 24 (top) / 16.5 (bottom) cubits | 700 sacks of grain or 140 barrels of salt of 6 quintals each |
| Half-ladies | 80 × 10 feet | 130 barrels of salt | ||
| after: Karl Heinz Burmeister: From the cargo ship to the pleasure ship. , 1992, p. 29 f. | ||||
Steamships
Ports
Nowadays almost every place on the lake shore has a marina, and many also have a landing stage for the large scheduled boats, which is due to the great importance of tourism and recreational boating. It used to be different, the traffic, especially the larger ships, was concentrated in fewer ports. In the Middle Ages and the early modern period, Lindau , Bregenz , Konstanz , Buchhorn , Meersburg and Rorschach as well as Arbon , Fußach and Hard were important as trading and transport ports . In the 19th century, with the advent of steam shipping, some ports lost their importance, while new transport hubs such as the Romanshorn harbor emerged.
In 1764 the total number of Lädinen was around 150. These were distributed among the individual ports as follows:
| Ports (selection) | Number of ships | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lindau | 30th | |||
| Bregenz | 30th | |||
| Constancy | 7th | |||
| Meersburg | 8th | |||
| Rorschach | 3 | |||
| Fußach | 12 | |||
| Hard | 8/9 | |||
| after: Karl Heinz Burmeister: From the cargo ship to the pleasure ship. , 1992, p. 32 | ||||
Todays situation
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Today, the economic use of Lake Constance for shipping is limited to tourism and the fishing industry - unlike in most of the previous centuries, when trade was the focus. The two ferry lines Constance-Meersburg and the ferry line Romanshorn-Friedrichshafen have a certain economic importance . They are also frequented by trucks.
The Bodensee-Schifffahrtsordnung (BSO) is the legal basis for various ordinances that affect Lake Constance shipping. The total number of ships licensed on Lake Constance is 58,751, with ships used for pleasure making up the majority.
Leisure / tourism
With the development of the Lake Constance area for tourism, the need for passenger ships increased - meanwhile, the White Fleet on Lake Constance can be described as the largest inland fleet in Europe. To “maintain and promote shipping traffic between the shores of Lake Constance” and the Upper Rhine to Schaffhausen, as the statutes say, the four large shipping companies re-founded a joint association after the war, the United Shipping Companies for Lake Constance and the Rhine (VSU). He coordinates the timetables and tariffs of the members. In addition to these formerly state-owned shipping companies with scheduled, excursion and charter traffic all over Lake Constance, some small private companies are active in local traffic. The municipal motorboat companies in local public transport, e.g. B. in Konstanz ( motor boat company of the city of Constance ) and Bodman ( motor boat company Bodman ), there are no more. The largest shipping company on Lake Constance, Stadtwerke Konstanz GmbH, is a municipal company with a wide range of investments.
Often there is no economic benefit associated with the numerous sailing boats; sailing in Lake Constance is mostly practiced in leisure time. According to the BSO, operators of boats whose engine power exceeds 4.4 kW or which have a sail area larger than 12 m² are only entitled to operate these ships if they are in possession of a Lake Constance skipper's license . Successful passing of a special test carried out by the authorities entitles the holder to use the patent.
The annual sailing regatta around Lake Constance is the largest regatta on Lake Constance .
fishing
In the course of time, Lake Constance fishing has steadily lost its importance, although around 120 professional fishermen still pursue their profession today. The most important food fish of Lake Constance are the blue whitefish as well as other whitefish species and the Kretzer .
Sea mark
In addition to the internationally customary sea markings, number plates are used on Lake Constance, which have a black number (some also a black lowercase letter) on a white background. These square, black-framed panels mark the two-meter depth line or shoals . In the case of shallows, they are positioned in such a way that they delimit the sea side at the two-meter depth line. Some are marked with lowercase letters in addition to the number. Seaward from the navigation mark, the water depth is at least two meters with a Konstanz level of 2.5 meters. However, flooding has meant that this minimum depth is not guaranteed everywhere, and some navigation marks - especially on the Bavarian shores of Lake Constance - have to be re-measured. They start continuously clockwise at the port of Constance with "1". In Austria they end with “99” at the Upper Rheinspitz. From the Swiss border it starts again with "1" up to the numbers "40" near Kreuzlingen. Correspondingly on the Untersee from “1” near Iznang to “11” near Oberstaad. However, not all numbers have been assigned or have been removed by subsequent measurements. The order in the Bregenz Bay is 67, 70, 73. The Rhine fairway is marked with white-green diamonds. The green field points to the fairway.
See also
- Seemuseum (Kreuzlingen) on the history of Lake Constance shipping and fishing.
- List of passenger ships on Lake Constance
- White Fleet (Lake Constance) - with numerous links to other articles
Web links
literature
- Karl Heinz Burmeister : From cargo ship to pleasure ship. On the history of shipping on Lake Constance. Universitätsverlag Konstanz, Konstanz 1992, ISBN 3-87940-426-7
- Klaus Scherff: The Bodensee-Schiffsbetriebe. From the beginning until today , published by Bodensee-Schiffsbetriebe, Konstanz. Ubstadt-Weiher, Heidelberg / Ifu Verlag regionalkultur, Basel 2004, ISBN 978-3-89735-287-2 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Martin Maimberger et al .: Shipwrecks in Lake Constance . In: Freiburg Online Publications. Retrieved May 13, 2014
- ^ A b c Karl Heinz Burmeister: From cargo ship to pleasure ship. On the history of shipping on Lake Constance. Universitätsverlag Konstanz, Konstanz 1992, ISBN 3-87940-426-7 , p. 11 ff.
- ^ A b c d Karl Heinz Burmeister: From cargo ship to pleasure ship. On the history of shipping on Lake Constance. Universitätsverlag Konstanz, Konstanz 1992, ISBN 3-87940-426-7 , p. 18 ff.
- ↑ a b Markus Hehl: The steam locomotive era in Swabia. Klartext Verlag, Essen, 2011, ISBN 978-3-8375-0613-6 , page 87.
- ↑ Karl Heinz Burmeister: From cargo ship to pleasure ship. On the history of shipping on Lake Constance. Universitätsverlag Konstanz, Konstanz 1992, ISBN 3-87940-426-7 , p. 36 f.
- ↑ Karl Heinz Burmeister: From cargo ship to pleasure ship. On the history of shipping on Lake Constance. Universitätsverlag Konstanz, Konstanz 1992, ISBN 3-87940-426-7 , p. 29 ff.
- ↑ Lake Constance ship statistics as of December 31 , 2012 , accessed on May 25, 2014
- ↑ Birgit Hofmann: Fishermen on Lake Constance are concerned about the future. In: Südkurier , March 2, 2013, accessed on May 15, 2014
- ↑ Graphic on the distribution of catch by fish species, published by the Institute for Lake Research , accessed on May 25, 2014
- ↑ press release