City of Zurich (ship, 1909)
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The city of Zurich is the older of the two paddle steamers operated by the Zürichsee-Schiffahrtsgesellschaft (ZSG) and celebrated its 100th year of operation on June 12, 2009. The city of Zurich was built in 1909 by Escher, Wyss & Cie. in Zurich . She is the ZSG's longest- serving ship on Lake Zurich and operates on the Zurich – Rapperswil (SG) -Zürich route from April to November .
It and its sister ship Stadt Rapperswil (1914) differ from most other Swiss paddle steamers by their short chimney and the generously dimensioned upper deck for 1st class. Apart from the details, the two ships are easy to confuse: The town of Rapperswil can be recognized by the front cross mast and the different color of the sun deck. In the first class saloon, she is also more luxuriously equipped than her sister ship, recognizable by the mahogany and pear tree paneling and the artistically crafted stairs to the upper deck.
history
The city of Zurich was launched on May 8, 1909 after a construction period of six months and was christened by the daughter of the board member Naville of the then Zurich Steamboat Company (ZDG). The commissioning of the 320,000 Swiss franc expensive ship could only be made possible with subsidies from the public purse. The steamship impresses with its slim and elegant design, and in particular the Art Nouveau salon was very well received in the reports of the time. On Saturday, June 12, 1909, the city of Zurich set out on its three-hour maiden voyage at 3 p.m., amid gunfire and pouring rain . Members of cantonal and city authorities, representatives of the neighboring communities, the shipyard and other prominent guests were on board. In the first year of operation, the city of Zurich covered 12,575 kilometers and burned 258.45 tons of coal.
On September 4, 1912, the city of Zurich promoted its most famous guest to date, the German Kaiser Wilhelm II with his entourage and a few hand-picked guests. On the ship, which was decorated with flowers, there was a strict dress code, tea and German beer were served. The guest's evening tour was celebrated by the surrounding communities with fireworks, and years later the city of Zurich was still popularly known as the “Emperor's Ship”, albeit by far not by all: Jakob Stampfer, a stoker from Horgen , was told at the last minute of his “anti-imperial sentiments”. because of changed - Social Democrats were not wanted on the "imperial ship".
On Pentecost 1914, the sister ship Stadt Rapperswil was put into operation. Together with the city of Zurich and the Helvetia, built in 1875, the then Zurich Steamboat Company (ZDG) now owned three large ships as the backbone of its fleet. With the beginning of World War I, ship operations were massively reduced. On December 2, 1918, the Federal Council ordered the suspension of all steam-powered shipping routes because not enough coal could be imported into Switzerland; However, as early as 1919 the timetable restrictions were lifted again. In the winter of 1919, the city of Zurich was transferred to dry dock for the first time ; no serious deficiencies were found. During the Second World War, the steam boiler remained filled with water all winter and the engine room was heated in order to keep the temperature above freezing point and the paddle steamer for military purposes within 24 hours. During this time, private shipping almost completely came to a standstill.
From 1959, the last two paddle steamers on Lake Zurich were gradually supplemented by modern motor ships and were practically only used on Sundays. From 1986 the two saloon steamers ran again more frequently in the summer season and since 2004 almost every day during the summer season. In 1983 the board of directors of the ZSG decided to keep the last two steamships Stadt Zürich and Rapperswil after their decommissioning for cost reasons had been controversially discussed. Two years later, the ZSG celebrated “150 years of steam navigation on Lake Zurich” with various activities.
Maintenance work and structural changes
Structural changes were necessary for the first time in 1922 and 1939: the city of Zurich received new boiler pipes on the steam boilers, the roof of the upper deck was replaced and the paddle wheels revised. In 1938 an electric heater was installed. In the years 1941 to 1953 major overhauls were due: boiler repairs, extension of the upper deck to the wheelhouse and replacement of the sun tent with a fixed roof. In 1951 the coal firing was replaced by a heavy oil firing system, which saved machine personnel and reduced the crew from eight to six members. In the spring of 1956, the city of Zurich underwent a general overhaul and partially rebuilt, whereby the Art Nouveau furnishings of the salon were replaced by simple wooden paneling. It was not until the restorations in 1989/90 and 2003/04 that the interior was largely returned to its original condition using historical source material, so that a similar spatial experience is conveyed today as the passengers experienced on the maiden voyage in 1909. In 1960 and 1967 major overhauls were carried out in the dock in Zurich-Wollishofen, with repairs being carried out on the decks, on the stern cladding , on the boilers and paddle wheels. From 1979 to 1981 the city of Zurich underwent another thorough renovation: the rusted wheel arches were replaced, the lounge areas for the ship's personnel were expanded and the toilets were relocated so that they were more easily accessible. At the same time, the paddle steamer received a new drinking water treatment system and auxiliary diesel pumps and an additional bulkhead wall and hydraulic rudder control in the hull . In the winter of 1989/90, it was converted to the same technical standard as the sister ship Stadt Rapperswil : the two old steam boilers were replaced with a new one, the wooden deck was renewed, as was the wooden stairs to the 1st class; In addition, the salon and the smoking cabin have been returned to their original state. The renovation cost three million francs, financed by the public purse, the “Aktion pro paddle steamer” and with 200,000 francs donations from private individuals. On June 21, 1990, the completely renovated city of Zurich resumed passenger operations.
At the end of 2001, the ZSG board of directors initiated the “Full steam ahead” project with the aim of renewing the two Zurich lake steamers and equipping them with increased comfort. A fundraising campaign started on “Swiss Shipping Day” in 2002, again in cooperation with the “Aktion pro paddle steamer”. At the end of November 2003, the city of Zurich was washed out . The water, sewage and power supply, the cooling systems, the diesel generators and the heating were renewed . A new kitchen was installed in the hull, and since then improved glazing has been protecting the passengers on the upper deck so that the steamer can be used in any weather. In addition to other minor changes, the salon was largely restored to its original condition. On May 25, 2004, the paddle steamer, which was renovated for 1.7 million Swiss francs, was ceremoniously restarted. By its 100th anniversary, the city of Zurich will have covered around 700,000 kilometers.
Incidents around the city of Zurich
Two fatalities occurred in the one hundred year history of the city of Zurich : On May 25, 1922, the sub-machinist had a fatal accident while handling the steam engine ; On September 7, 1924, a passenger fell from the stern into the lake and could not be rescued despite an immediate search. On October 18, 1926, the city of Zurich drove against a landing stage during a test drive, and the fuselage was severely damaged. When casting off in Horgen, the port wheel blade was damaged in the summer of 1939 . In 1949 the city of Zurich suffered a paddle wheel break on the port side, and in the same year the saloon steamer unintentionally sank a police boat that was unable to evade due to an engine failure. On May 4, 1985, the city of Zurich rammed a wall due to a technical defect at the landing stage at Bürkliplatz in Zurich. Nobody was injured in this accident either, but the steamer had to be overhauled at the shipyard with a hole in the bow above the waterline . Almost to the day it came twenty years later at an exit maneuver in Rapperswil to a grounding , and the city of Zurich had for two weeks from the dispatcher to be taken. In 2008 the steamer touched the quay wall during the mooring maneuver in Zurich , but was able to continue the service unhindered.
100 years of the steamship city of Zurich
From April 23 to 25, 2009, the longest-serving passenger ship on Lake Zurich at Bürkliplatz was presented to the general public as part of an anniversary exhibition with its historical background. On June 12, 2009, exactly one hundred years after its maiden voyage, the city of Zurich carried out its anniversary voyage . The city of Rapperswil accompanied her on the three-hour tour with invited guests .
literature
- Kurt Hunziker, Robert Knöpfel (Hrsg.): The Zürichsee-Schifffahrt . History and stories from 1835 to today. Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich 2014, ISBN 978-3-03823-865-2 , p. 119-126 .
Web links
- Steam ships on the website of the Lake Zurich Shipping Company
- Website steamship anniversary
- Website campaign for paddle steamer Zurich
- Historical photographs
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Information boards at the anniversary exhibition from April 23 to 25, 2009 on board the City of Zurich
- ↑ Tages-Anzeiger (April 15, 2009): The oldest competitor of the Panta Rhei