Passenger shipping on Lake Geneva

Vevey paddle wheel ship

The passenger ship on Lake Geneva combines the numerous Seeanstössergemeinden of Lake Geneva in Switzerland and France as Bellevue , Coppet , Evian-les-Bains , Geneva , Hermance , Lausanne , Le Bouveret , Montreux , Nyon , Thonon-les-Bains and Vevey with a dense Transport network.

history

The Geneva on a postcard from 1928

The Winkelried , built in 1870, was one of the most famous ships on Lake Geneva

The professional fishermen are believed by historians to be the first ferrymen on this lake. The Barque du Léman had established itself as a special type of ship on the lake. In 1823 the first steamship was used on the lake by the American consul Edward Church . From July 1, 1823, the Guillaume Tell operated regularly between Geneva and Lausanne. Soon the Winkelried (1824) and the Vaudois Léman (1826) also competed with the steamer for the transport of goods and people on the lake.

With the Belle Epoque since the middle of the 19th century and the expansion of the railways, more people and goods came to the banks of the lakes, where ships took over the onward transport. Lake Geneva also benefited from the increasing number of foreign tourists . The fleets were greatly expanded and the first saloon steamers were built. In 1875, the Mont Blanc, the first saloon paddle steamer, went into operation on Lake Geneva. The ships of the Compagnie générale de navigation sur le Lac Léman (CGN) were known for their gastronomy.

After the First World War , only a few larger steamships were put into operation on the Swiss lakes. The city ​​of Lucerne was the last paddle steamer in Switzerland to join the fleet on Lake Lucerne in 1928 . Diesel motor ships replaced the partly outdated and unprofitable steamships on rivers and lakes. These require fewer staff and are ready for operation more quickly, as they do not have to be preheated to generate steam. The renewal of the fleets of the Swiss shipping companies led to the construction of a wide variety of modern and comfortable motor ships. However, the steamships on Lake Geneva will continue to be operated and maintained for tourist reasons.

Motor ship Lausanne in front of St-Saphorin

The 1973 disused steamship Genève (2012)

Current fleet of the Compagnie Générale de Navigation sur le Lac Léman

Motor ships Col-Vert (1960), 130 passengers Henry Dunant (1963), 550 passengers Général Guisan (1964), 550 passengers Ville-de-Genève (1978), 560 passengers Léman (1990), 780 passengers Lausanne (1991), 1500 passengers Morges (2005), 200 passengers Coppet (2007), 125 passengers, speedboat Genève (2007), 125 passengers, speedboat Lavaux (2008), 200 passengers

Paddlewheel ships Wheeled ships with diesel-electric propulsion Italy (1908) , 560 passengers Vevey (1907) , 560 passengers Helvétie (1926) , 980 passengers, out of service since 2002 Paddle steamer Montreux (1904) , 750 passengers La Suisse (1910) , 1200 passengers Savoie (1914) , 690 passengers Simplon (1920) , 1000 passengers Rhône (1927) , 850 passengers

Ports, stations, courses

Liner berths are marked with a *.

• Amphion, Aubonne, * Bellevue, * Chillon, Choiseul, * Clarens, * Céligny, Commerce, * Coppet, * Corsier, Crans, * Cully, * Eaux-Vives, Est, * Evian, Evian-Mouette, Founex, * Geneva, Gitana, * Hermance, * La Belotte, La Nautique, La Tour de Peilz, Lausanne, Lausanne-Vidy, * Lausanne- Ouchy , Lausanne-Vieux Port, * Lutry, * Nyon, * Les Paquis, Lugrin, Lutry-Vieux-Stand , * Lutry, * Cully, * Meillerie, Château, *, * Montreux, * Nernier, * Nyon, Perroy, Petit-Bois, Pichette Ouest u. Est, Port Vidoli, Prangins, * Pully, * Rivaz, Ripaille, * Rolle, Saladin, * Sciez, * Sechex, * St Gingolph, * St Prex, * St Sulpice, Tannay, * Territet, * Thonon, * Tourronde, Venoge , * Versoix, Versoix-Bourg, * Vevey-Plan, * Vevey-Marché, * Vevey-la-Tour * Villeneuve, * Yvoire

Skippers' associations, sailing clubs

ACVL (regional umbrella association) La Société nautique de Rolle Le Cercle de voile du Vieux Chablais Le Club Nautique de Nernier Yvoire. 1957. Le Club Nautique de la Baie de Corsier L'Union Nautique de Morges L Amicale de voile de Vevey

Le Cercle de Voile de Villeneuve Le Cercle de Voile du Vieux Chablais Le Cruising Club Suisse groupe Lémanique, section Haut Lac Le Yacht Club de Genève Les Pirates du Bief Océanique Yacht Club Société Nautique de Genève

Shipyards

The Sulzer brothers from Winterthur and Escher-Wyss from Zurich were able to deliver a large number of steamboats for the Swiss lakes during the Belle Epoque. Their reputation for good shipbuilding and especially for the quality of steam engines made them known abroad.

See also

• List of Swiss shipping companies
• Ships of the shipping company SGV on Lake Lucerne (also paddle steamer)
• Société Nautique de Genève (exclusive Geneva sailing club with international membership and importance) - the youngest branch is the team alinghi
• The white fleet on Lake Constance and Lake Zurich (ZSG)
• Transhelvetic Canal , an unrealized Swiss canal connection from the Upper Rhine via the Aare , Lake Neuchâtel and Lake Geneva to the Rhone
• Shipping canal projects in the Alps, via other unrealized canal projects in the Alps

literature

• Charles Borel: Switzerland and inland navigation . Robert Steffen printing house, Geneva 1941.
• Charlotte Kunz: The paddle steamers of Lac Léman. (Swiss art guide. No. 316). Ed. Society for Swiss Art History GSK. Bern 1982, ISBN 3-85782-316-X .

Web links

Commons : Compagnie Générale de Navigation sur le Lac Léman  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Commons : Paddle steamer on Lake Geneva  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website CGN
• Société des Mouettes Genevoises Navigation (SMGN) . Ferries on Lake Geneva
• Compagnie Générale de Navigation sur le Lac Léman in the Commercial Register of the Canton of Geneva