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River Rhein, Germany

Independent local operators

Although the KD and its antecedents dominated services on the river with their enormous paddle steamers, more localised services were also available with smaller operators. The Cologne shipping company based at Koln-Mulheim (Mulheimer Dampfschiffahrtsgesellschaft, later called Koelner Reederei AG) was taken over by the KD in 1925 but others continues, as they still do to this day


Reederei Luwen (Gebruder Luwen Schiffahrt & Handelsgesellschaft mbH & Co)
based in Duisburg, bought two old Rhine passenger/cargo paddlers which had been sold off by the KD (Moltke and Freiherr vom Stein) and were being used on the River Elbe. In the 1930s, they were brought back to the Rhine and reconstructed as genuine passenger steamers and named GLUCKAUF and WESTMARK. These steamers were primarily used by the Nazi "Kraft durch Freude" (Strength through Happiness) organisation. One paddler which did survive the war after rebuilding was lost to fire in 1951 but the company continued with a similar-styled vessel : buying and rebuilding the derelict hull of the Rhine paddle tug Mainz 24 (ex-Badenia IX, built by Schichau in Elbing in 1898) which had been bombed and sunk during the war with her remains later raised and taken to Duisburg. Fitted with Voith-Schneider propulsion she survived until burnt out in 1978 and scrapped in Hendrik-ido-Ambacht in 1982 despite the KD having purchased the wreck with a view towards salvage and renovation.



The 35 metre long vessel above was built in 1902 by Gebruder Sachsenberg at Cologne (Koln-Deutz) as STADT BONN for the Mondorfer Fahrgesellschaft based at Mondorf near Bonn
From 1923 sailed as KREIS MOERS (as seen above in a post card view) when she moved to new owners Kreis Moers Dampfschiffahrt based at Moers near Duisburg. She was later named Maintal and Kurfurst Ruprecht and from 1935 sailed out of Heidelberg (for Gebruder Fischer) 



Mainzer Personenschifffahrtsgesellschaft AG
based in Mainz
Operated the paddle steamer RHEINLUST (above, post card view courtesy of Markus Graf) built in 1902 by C Ruthof



Moguntia Personen Schiffahrts AG
based in Mainz, it operated the AUREA MOGUNTIA
Built in 1888 by JL Meyer at Papenburg for the Dampfschiff-rhederei Norden to serve the North Sea resort island of Norderney as Norddeich
Withdrawn in 1925 and sold to the Jade Seebaderdienst company at Wilhelmshaven, being renamed Jade, sailing between Wilhelmshaven and Wangerooge
Sold to buyers at Ginsheim near Mainz on the Rhein but resold to the Moguntia Personen Schiffahrts AG of Mainz and renamed AUREA MOGUNTIA
Renamed RHEINGOLD in 1928 (see photo above, courtesy of Markus Graf)
Sailed for August Friedrich out of Mainz
Moved to Lubeck in 1942 for use as a floating restaurant and scrapped in 1949


Oberrheinische Schiffahrtsgesellschaft
based in Mannheim bought a small paddle steamer MIRAMAR from John Reid & Co of Port Glasgow, UK in 1880. She was 125 ft long with iron hull with a 2 cyl (20 and 20 in x 30 in) engine by Walker, Henderson & Co of Glasgow

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