| Type | S.A. |
|---|---|
| Industry | Transport |
| Founded | 1890/91 |
| Headquarters | Zürich, Switzerland |
| Area served | Lake Zürich |
| Website | http://www.zsg.ch/ |
The Lake Zurich Shipping Company or Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (commonly abbreviated to ZSG) is a public Swiss company operating passenger ships and boats on Lake Zürich.
The company operates services connecting lake-side towns between Zürich and Rapperswil, as well as more tourist oriented cruises and boat services on the River Limmat through the centre of the city of Zurich. It is a member of the Zürich Public Transport Network (ZVV) and transports over 1,5 million passengers every year.[1]
The ZSG is a joint stock company with a share capital of 11 million Swiss Francs (CHF). The share capital – one third is in private hands – is divided into 110,000 bearer shares, each with a nominal value of CHF 100.[2]
Contents |
Steam navigation started on Lake Zurich in 1834, when Franz Carl Caspar and Johann Jakob Lämmlin founded a new company (Caspar und Lämmlin, Unternehmer der Dampfschiffahrt auf dem Zürcher- und Walensee) and ordered their first ship from William Fairbairn of Manchester, England. The Minerva entered service the following year.[3]
Over the years, various other companies started operating steam ships on the lake, and various mergers took place, until the entire fleet was taken over by the Swiss Northeastern Railway (NOB) in 1874. The NOB also owned most of the railway network around the lake, and this monopoly led to consumer resistance, and to the formation of the Zürcher Dampfbootgesellschaft (Zürich Steamship Company) in 1890/91. In order to operate a tram-like suburban traffic, a series of nine screw steamships was ordered.[3]
When the NOB became part of the Swiss Federal Railways in 1903, the Zürcher Dampfbootgesellschaft took over its fleet of ships on Lake Zurich. This included the large paddle steamer Helvetia. In 1909 and 1914, it ordered two further large paddle steamers, which were to become today's Stadt Zürich and Stadt Rapperswil respectively.[3]
In 1934 the Zürcher Dampfbootgesellschaft introduced its first successful motor ship, the Etzel, and from then on the fleet became increasingly motorized. As a consequence, the company changed its name to Zürichsee Schifffahrtgesellschaft, or ZSG for short, in 1957.[3]
In 1990, the ZSG became part of the Zürich Public Transport Network (ZVV), accepting the ZVVs common tickets and tariffs.[1]
In 2009 there was a centennial exhibition on board Stadt Zürich at Zürich-Bürkliplatz. On June 12, 2009, exactly 100 years after the maiden voyage of the steamship Stadt Zürich, its anniversary trip with invited guests and its sistership Stadt Rapperswil was celebrated.[4]
A fleet of 17 passenger ships, including two historical paddle steamers – Stadt Zürich (built in 1909) and Stadt Rapperwil (1914) – and 15 motor vessels of various sizes is operated by the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft. ZSG's flagship MS Helvetia has a capacity of 1200 passengers. The fleet includes three small Limmat boats for round trips on the Limmat river and on the lower Lake Zürich at Zürich.[5]
| Name | Type | Built in | Passengers | Builder | Engine | Named after | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stadt Zürich | Steam ship | 1909 | 750 | Escher Wyss & Cie. | 368 kW (Escher Wyss) | The city of Zurich | |
| Stadt Rapperswil | Steam ship | 1914 | 750 | Escher Wyss & Cie. | 368 kW (Escher Wyss) | The city of Rapperswil | |
| Helvetia | Motor ship | 1964 | 1200 | Bodan-Werft Metallbau GmbH | 635 kW (MAN) | Helvetia, the national personification of Switzerland | |
| Linth | Motor ship | 1952 | 1000 | Bodan | 730 kW (2×365, MAN | The Linth, a river that feeds Lake Zurich) | |
| Limmat | Motor ship | 1958 | 850 | Bodan | 485 kW (MAN) | The Limmat, the outfall river of Lake Zurich | |
| Wädenswil | Motor ship | 1968 | 700 | Bodan | 442 kW (MAN) | Wädenswil, a town on Lake Zurich | |
| Panta Rhei | Motor ship | 2007 | 700 | ÖSWAG | 884 kW (2×442, MAN) | Everything Flows in Ancient Greek | |
| Säntis [6] | Motor ship | 1957 | 300 | Bodan / ZSG | 440 kW (MAN) | Säntis, a Swiss mountain | |
| Albis | Motor ship | 1997 | 300 | Bodan | 500 kW (2×250, MAN) | Albis, a range of hills near Zurich | |
| Pfannenstiel | Motor ship | 1998 | 300 | Bodan | 500 kW (2×250, MAN) | Pfannenstiel, a mountain overlooking Lake Zurich | |
| Uetliberg | Motor ship | 1999 | 300 | Bodan | 500 kW (2×250, MAN) | Uetliberg, a mountain overlooking Zurich | |
| Bachtel | Motor ship | 1962 | 250 | Bodan | 250 kW (MAN) | The Bachtel Tower overlooking Lake Zurich | |
| Zimmerberg | Motor ship | 2001 | 150 | Bodan | 294 kW (2×147, MAN) | Zimmerberg, a mountain overlooking Lake Zurich | |
| Forch | Motor ship | 2001 | 150 | Bodan | 294 kW (2×147, MAN) | Forch, a village near Zurich | |
| Turicum | Limmat boat | 1992 | 51 | Bodan | 116 kW (2×58, MWM) | An early name for Zurich | |
| Felix | Limmat boat | 1993 | 51 | Bodan | 116 kW (2×58, MWM) | Felix, one of Zurich's patron saints | |
| Regula | Limmat boat | 1993 | 51 | Bodan | 116 kW (2×58, MWM) | Regula, another of Zurich's patron saints |
The paddle steamer Helvetia, built in 1875 and last operated in 1958, was scrapped in 1964. The so-called Landi-Boote built for the Swiss national exposition ("Landi") of 1939 – MS Etzel, Halbinsel Au, Möve and Speer – were decommissioned at the end of the 1990s and replaced by three motor ships (300 passengers each) of the Albis type – Albis, Pfannenstiel and Uetliberg – in addition to two smaller (150 passengers each) motor ships – Zimmerberg and Forch.
| Name | Type | Built in | Passengers | Builder | Engine | Decommissioned | Named after | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helvetia | Steam ship | 1875[3] | 1200[3] | Escher Wyss & Cie. | 480 PS (Escher Wyss) | 1958, scrapped and scuttled in 1964[3] | Helvetia, the national personification of Switzerland | |
| Etzel | Motor ship | 1934[3] | 2001, now used by the Etzel society | Etzel, a mountain overlooking Lake Zurich | ||||
| Halbinsel Au | Motor ship | The Au peninsula in Lake Zurich | ||||||
| Möve | Motor ship | 1939 | 200 | Escher Wyss & Cie. | Diesel | Sold to Brussels, renamed GUEUSE [7] | ||
| Speer | Motor ship | Speer, a mountain overlooking Lake Zurich | ||||||
| Ufenau | Motor ship | 1977[8] | Bodan[8] | 2001, now used as Davidoff by Hensa AG at Rapperswil[9] | Ufenau, an island in Lake Zurich | |||
| Glärnisch | Motor ship | Escher Wyss & Cie. | since 2007 serving as Restaurant ship in Wädenswil | Glärnisch, a Swiss mountain | ||||
| Stäfa | Motor ship | Escher Wyss & Cie. | serving as Restaurant ship for the community center Zürich-Wollishofen | Stäfa, a town on the banks of Lake Zurich |
The ZSG operates regular round trips from its main Zurich landing point at Bürklipatz. These stop on both shores at Zürichhorn, Wollishofen, Kilchberg-Bendlikon, Küsnacht-Heslibach, Küsnacht, Zollikon, Meilen, Herrliberg, Rüschlikon, Thalwil, Erlenbach, Oberrieden, Horgen, Au peninsula, Wädenswil, Richterswil, Stäfa, Männedorf, Ufenau island and Rapperswil. There also are short round trips (1,5 hours) from Zürich-Bürkliplatz heading to Erlenbach and Thalwil.
The company also operates services on the Limmat river through the centre of Zurich. These services operate upriver from the Landesmuseum to Lake Zurich, stopping at Wollishofen and Zürichhorn before returning downriver to the Landesmuseum. Because of the low bridges over the Limmat in central Zurich, these services use low profile motor boats.
The ZSG employs approximatively 80 permanent members of staff, and in the main summer season (April-December) five additional nautical seasonal workers, as well as seven staff in the ticket office at Zürich Bürkliplatz. In its own ship yard at Zürich-Wollishofen work qualified carpenters, painters, mechanics, electricians, plumbers and locksmiths.[10]
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||