A ''pünte'' (plural: ''pünten'') is the German term for a type of non-motorised river boat and thus a special type of flat-bottomed boat. It is propelled manually using a crank or hauled by horses on the shore. Today ''pünten'' are used almost exclusively as

ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

History

''Pünten'' were built from wood. They had a flat bottom and the sides sloped only slight outwards. ''Pünten'' were often fitted with a sail, although this was usually insufficient for propulsion, so that the boat was mostly hauled as well. A horse was transported on board for this purpose, which had to be put ashore when the boat came to stretches of river that required the boat to be hauled.

''Pünten'' today

After centuries of decline, several ''pünten'' are again in operation in Germany in

East Frisia East Frisia () or East Friesland (; ; ; ) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisia (peninsula), East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the ...

and the

Emsland Landkreis Emsland () is a districts of Germany, district in Lower Saxony, Germany named after the river Ems (river), Ems. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Leer (district), Leer, Cloppenburg (district), Cloppenbur ...

. For example the ''Leher Pünte'', the only sail-driven ferry over the navigable Ems, crosses the river near Lehe and, near the Großes Meer in the East Frisian municipality of Südbrookmerland ''pünten'' are used at two points along a cycleway.
Mit der Pünte über das Marscher Tief
', 3-Meere-Weg, Projekt Großes Meer. The oldest operational hand-operated ferry in Central Europe is the ''pünte'' in Wiltshausen, which crosses the

Jümme Jümme is a collective municipality (''Samtgemeinde'') in the district of Leer (district), Leer in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is named after the River Jümme (river), Jümme which flows through all three constituent communities. It has a ...

at its confluence with the Leda.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Punte Boat types