Köln-Düsseldorfer (KD) is a river cruise operator based in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The company operates a total of 14 cruise ships on the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

, Main and

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

rivers. The famous KD steamer line operated on the Rhine with

steamers Steamer may refer to: Transportation * Steamboat, smaller, insular boat on lakes and rivers * Steamship, ocean-faring ship * Screw steamer, steamboat or ship that uses "screws" (propellers) * Steam yacht, luxury or commercial yacht * Paddle st ...

and tourist boats. The Lorelei rock was a famed day outing for pleasure seekers.

History

The first

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

s arrived on the Rhine from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1816. The Dutch were first to react. In 1824 they founded the

Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij The Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij ((Netherlands Steamboat Co)), abbreviated as NSM or NSBM, was a Dutch shipping line focused on inland navigation. In the 1820s it was important for the quick introduction of steam power on the Dutch rivers ...

(NSM). After establishing a few local lines from Rotterdam, NSM established a line from Rotterdam to Cologne in 1825. The founders of NSM negotiated with merchants from Cologne, who participated in NSM. In 1827 the Preussisch-Rheinischen Dampfschiffahrtsgesellschaft (PRDG), then started to operate a steamboat service between

and

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

. This line cooperated with NSM. Further up the Rhine Dampfschiffahrtsgesellschaft von Rhein und Main (DGRM) operated between Mainz and

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. In 1838 the Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft für den Nieder- und Mittelrhein (DGNM), the "

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

" company was founded. It led to a time of intense competition. At about the same time, the growth of freight and passenger traffic was limited by the expansion of the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

s which were constructed along the banks of the Rhine. The river became heavily travelled during the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

, by 1856 the millionth ticket was proudly sold. In 1832, the first steamboat journeyed from the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

all the way to

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, but this was not a regular service.

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

was an established port by 1840, and In 1846 the Ludwig-Donau-Canal was completed after 9 years of work. It was named after King

Ludwig I of Bavaria Ludwig I or Louis I (; 25 August 1786 – 29 February 1868) was King of Bavaria from 1825 until the German revolutions of 1848–49, 1848 revolutions in the German states. When he was crown prince, he was involved in the Napoleonic Wars. As ki ...

. The steamboats also started a new age of

tourism in Germany Germany is the eighth-most-visited country in the world, with a total of 407.26 million overnights during 2012.

. In January 1925 PRDG and DGNM founded the Köln-Düsseldorfer Rheinschiffahrts GmbH. This new company became the manager of the two companies. It was also a legal entity which became the owner of some of the assets. Henceforward logistics where managed from Cologne, while the Düsseldorf office was responsible for commerce. In April 1928 the Dutch Nederlandsche Stoomboot Reederij (NSR), which had succeeded to NSM's shipping activities on the Rhine, was entered into the partnership. The NSR had 10 ships, and took 4 from the partners. It also became responsible for the entire freight activities of the Köln-Düsseldorfer. This made 1928 a record year with 2.649 million passengers.

The KD Line acquired

In 2000, KD Line was purchased by

Viking Cruises Viking (formerly Viking Cruises) is a cruise line providing River cruise, river, Cruising (maritime), ocean, and expedition cruises. Its operating headquarters are in Basel, Switzerland,Adam H. Graham"The Rising Tide: How Viking Changed Cruisin ...

, making it a subsidiary of the largest river cruise line in the world.

Fleet

''Goethe'' remains the only vessel now serving with the KD and is the last example of paddle propulsion. She is no longer steam, having been converted to diesel-hydraulic propulsion in 2008–2009. ;PS Goethe http://www.k-d.com/redirect-index.php?npfad=/kd-flotte/dampfer-goethe.html * Built at Cologne in 1913 by Sachsenberg at Cologne-Deutz * Length : 83 metres - 272 feet (extended from 77.8 m after 1951-2 rebuild) * Former Engines : Compound Diagonal, built by Sachsenberg at Rosslau

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koln-Dusseldorfer Shipping companies of Germany Tourism in Cologne Companies based in Cologne Tourist attractions in Cologne Tourist attractions in Düsseldorf Rhine River cruise companies