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Side-Wheeled Paddle Steamers
The
Four Motor Paddle Vessels built 1963/4 for the Weisse Flotte,
Dresden
Above
: JF Bottger (ex Friedrich Engels) in her final season . Photo
taken on 22nsd August 1993, shown by kind courtesy of John Day
DEPV
Karl Marx - Used as a hotel ship at Dresden-Neustadt
with the name "Koje"
DEPV J.F. Bottger (ex - Friedrich Engels) - Used
as a accommodation ship for the YMCA at Dresden-Neustadt
DEPV Grafin Cosel (ex - Wilhelm Pieck) -
Scrapped 1998
DEPV August der Starke (ex-Ernst Thalmann) -
Scrapped 1998
Four identical
Rosslau-built diesel-electric paddlers were introduced in 1963 (Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Ernst Thalmann) and
1964 (Wilhelm Pieck), Three vessels were re-named in 1991 after the
fall of the Communist government, but Karl Marx, already laid up
awaiting refit, never sailed under its intended new name of Daniel
Poppelmann as cash for the planned work was not available. JF Bottger
was withdrawn after the 1993 season. Two new large motor vessels took the names and
places in the fleet of Grafin Cosel and August der Starke for the
1994 season onwards. Karl Marx and JF Bottger were refurbished as
part of a skills development programme for unemployed people but put
into static use at Dresden-Neustadt dock as youth hostel
accommodation ships.
Length: 69.91 m - Breadth : 7.8 m / 13.3 m overall
Diesels : 2 x 340 HP units by Schwermaschinenbau Karl
Liebknecht at Magdeburg
Electrical Drives : Twin motors by VEB Elbtalwerk at
Heidenau
Above : DEPV Ernst Thalmann at Terrassenufer, Dresden
in 1978. Photo by kind courtesy of Kevin Hoggett
Preservation
Poppelmann (which never sailed under this name) has now been called
"Koje"
JF Bottger retains her last-used name
Both are moored in Dresden and are available for bookings, with particular preference given to
school groups in the case of Koje and to young adults in the case of
JF Bottger ( https://www.cvjm-schiff.de/ )
JF Bottger has had the enclosed area of her upper deck extended fore and aft
Above : This photo of a YMCA
(CVJM) owned ship JF Bottger was taken by Nigel Clark in 2004
Above : JF Bottger in 2012 - photo by kind courtesy of Enrico Crosti
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Statically Preserved Paddle
Steamers
River Elbe -
Dresden