Stephanie (ship)
 Drawing of Stephanie by Nicolaus Hug (1771-1852)
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The Stephanie was the first paddle steamer on Lake Constance. It was built and put into operation by Johann Caspar Bodmer in 1817 , but could not meet the expectations placed on it.
prehistory
The cloth shearer Johann Caspar Bodmer from Zurich ran a small cotton spinning mill in Constance . Out of his own interest, he also self-taught a lot of technical knowledge.
After the successful start of commercial steam shipping with Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat in 1807, more and more steamers appeared in the old world. One day Bodmer read an article in the newspaper about the new ships off the English coast. Enthusiastic about this new technology, Bodmer, without any knowledge of shipbuilding, set himself the goal of operating steamboats on Lake Constance. He was able to persuade many influential personalities to support, including ex-Queen Hortense of Holland and Grand Duke Karl Ludwig von Baden. Within a short period of time, he collected start-up capital of 20,000 guilders .
The steamship
After a study trip to England, Bodmer and two shipbuilders began building the ship on Schiffmacherplatz in today's Konstanz district of Petershausen (the location of today's spa and indoor swimming pool). A lack of knowledge and experience in shipbuilding made several time-consuming and costly changes to the hull necessary. As a result, the steam engine ordered in England could no longer be paid for, which Bodmer quickly replaced with the 2 HP steam engine in his spinning mill.
After it was launched on September 30, 1817, the ship was named Stephanie in honor of the Grand Duchess of Baden . In mid-April, the first test drives took place a few kilometers down the Rhine and back again. The official maiden voyage led to Meersburg on April 29, 1818 , and the ship needed four hours for the eight-kilometer route. On the way back, the steam engine failed and the passengers, including high-ranking personalities, had to take the oars.
Post-history
Bodmer fled to Meersburg, economically ruined and fearful of reprisals as well as disgrace. He is said to have been involved in a railway project in Hungary later. Bodmer died in 1827.
The orphaned Stephanie anchored in the Konstanzer Seerhein until it was auctioned and scrapped in 1821. The short period of service earned her the nickname "Stand-drive-never". The Stephanie was the first working steamship on Lake Constance, but could only complete a few test drives and the unsuccessful maiden voyage. Therefore, the first steamship on Lake Constance that was able to start regular ship operations is often referred to as the " officially first steamship on Lake Constance". "But the 'Wilhelm', the first steamship on Lake Constance, went with the machine that Bodmer had ordered in England."
Web links
- The Stephanie on bodenseeschifffahrt.de
- Drawing of Stephanie in the Schaffhausen City Archives
- History of the URH, with reference to the Stephanie .
Footnotes
- ^ W. Quenzer: From the first steamship on Lake Constance . In: Oberländer Chronik, supplement of Südkurier, Konstanz 1950.