White Fleet paddle steamers, Dresden

Dresden at the Blaues Wunder bridge. View from the Blasewitz quarter to Loschwitz on the other side.

The White Fleet (Weisse Flotte in German) of Dresden, Germany is the oldest and biggest paddle steamer fleet in the world. It consists of nine wheel steamers, two salon ships and two motor ships.

All the ships have names of Saxon towns and cities or Saxon people like August the Strong. The ships connect Meißen via Dresden to Saxon Switzerland along the river Elbe where they pass some remarkable castles, vineyards and villa quarters.

Between Dresden-Übigau and Dresden-Pillnitz, Söbrigen to be more exact, the area is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This part of the White Fleet area is eighteen kilometers long and mainly situated in the city of Dresden itself.