The PS ''Helvetia'' was a

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...

that operated on

Lake Zürich __NOTOC__ Lake Zurich ( Swiss German/Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used to ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

between 1875 and 1958. She had a capacity of 1200 passengers. The ''Helvetia'' was built in 1875 for the

Swiss Northeastern Railway The Swiss Northeastern Railway (''Schweizerische Nordostbahn''; NOB) was an early railway company in Switzerland. It also operated shipping on Lake Constance (''Bodensee'') and Lake Zürich. Until the merger of the Western Swiss Railways into the ...

(NOB), and acquired by the

Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft The ''Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft'' or Lake Zürich Navigation Company (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 ...

(ZSG) in 1903, when the NOB became part of the

Swiss Federal Railways Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...

. Between 1909 and the 1950s, she operated alongside the later, and still extant, paddle steamers ''Stadt Zürich'' and ''Stadt Rapperswil'' as the backbone of the ZSG fleet. She last operated in 1958 and, after briefly serving as a restaurant ship, she was partially scrapped in 1964. The remains of her hull were scuttled at the harbour of

Nuolen Wangen is a municipality in March District in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The municipality includes Wangen itself, together with the hamlet of Nuolen. Geography Wangen has an area, , of . Of this area, 64.9% is used for agricultural p ...

, where they remain. The ''Helvetia'' was named after the national personification of Switzerland, and this name is now carried by the ZSG's motor vessel ''Helvetia''.

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Paddle steamers 1875 ships Steamships of Switzerland Ships built in Switzerland {{Switzerland-stub