For the later vessel of the same name that still plies Lake Constance, see Stadt Zürich (ship, 1909).
The Stadt Zürich was a Swisssteamship, built in 1855, that plied Lake Constance. She was given the nickname Teufelsschiff ("Devil's Ship") because she was involved in three serious collisions with other craft and was said to have sunk more German ships than the Danish navy during the Second Schleswig War.
The Stadt Zürich, like her sister ship, the Thurgau, was one of the largest and most powerful flush deck steamers on Lake Constance; these ships beginning their service in the mid-1850s. In 1870, the Stadt Zürich underwent her first conversion.[1] In 1884, the ship was converted to be the first half saloon steamer of the Swiss Northeastern Railway fleet and was called, from then on, the Zürich. She was used until the First World War period.[2] Following the scrapping of the Zürich in Romanshorn[3] her paddles were re-used on the paddle steamer, Pilatus from Lucerne.[4]
Accidentsedit
The Stadt Zürich caused "fear and terror" on Lake Constance as the result of three serious collisions in the period from 1860 to 1864, which earned her the nickname "Devil's Ship" (Teufelsschiff).[5]
Collision with the Königin von Württembergedit
On 10 March 1860 the Stadt Zürich rammed the right paddlebox of the Königin von Württemberg ("Queen of Württemberg") off the town of Friedrichshafen. Nobody was killed, but considerable damage was caused.[6]
Sinking of the Ludwigedit
On 11 March 1861, almost a year after her first accident, the Stadt Zürich collided with the steamer Ludwig around 18.15 hours in darkness and driving snow. In 1838, the Ludwig had been the first ship on Lake Constance to have a steel monocoque hull (Rumpfschale), but by this time she was relatively old. The captain, who was to have managed the transfer service between Lindau and Rorschach on the day of the accident, had delayed departure until late afternoon due to a severe storm, in order to avoid the worst squalls. This meant though that he had to steer a compass course in poor visibility. The white bow light of the Stadt Zürich approaching from Rorschach was assumed by the crew of the Ludwig to be part of Rorschach's harbour lighting. Meanwhile, nobody on the Stadt Zürich appears to have noticed the iron steamer, but only realised after the collision that the bowsprit was broken and that water was entering the ship. As a result, the Stadt Zürich turned around and returned to Rorschach Harbour, while the Ludwig, unnoticed by her collision partner, sank within a few minutes. Thirteen men and eleven head of cattle died in this accident, making the sinking of the Ludwig by the Stadt Zürich the most serious shipping accident known at that time that had happened on Lake Constance. One consequence of the investigations into the disaster was an improvement in the signal regulations: in addition to the white bow light a green starboard and a red port light had to be carried.[7][8]
Sinking of the Juraedit
After the Bavarian ship, the Ludwig had sunk, the Jura was bought as a replacement, a ship which hitherto had worked on Lake Neuchâtel. She was dismantled, transported to Lake Constance on carts, reassembled there and taken into service. On 12 February 1864, a foggy winter's day, the Jura was meant to sail from Konstanz to Romanshorn and Lindau. In the opposite direction, however, steamed the Stadt Zürich. Although each of the two ships had fog lookouts and were blowing their steam whistles as a signal, they could not avoid a collision. The Jura was being brought about when the bow of the Stadt Zürich stove into her, killing the fog lookout of the Jura. A waitress and the engine driver of the Jura went down with the steamer, which sank within four minutes. The remaining crew and all the passengers of the Jura were saved by the Stadt Zürich, which was able to proceed safely to Romanshorn, despite her buckled bow.[9][10]
Collision with the Stadt Lindauedit
A few months after the sinking of the Jura the Stadt Zürich slit open a paddle box on the Stadt Lindau in Lindau Harbour. A Bavarian correspondent sarcastically commented that the ship should be sold to Denmark as it had already sunk more German ships than the entire Danish navy.[11]
The Zürich c. 1900 in Rorschach
Referencesedit
^By then the ship had apparently already been rechristened; by contrast, Karl F. Fritz dated its renaming 14 years later."GD Stadt Zürich". Bodensee Schifffahrt.
Karl F. Fritz, Reiner Jäckle, Das goldene Zeitalter der Schaufelraddampfer auf dem Bodensee, Erfurt, 2013, ISBN978-3-95400-308-2
Karl F. Fritz, Abenteuer Dampfschiffahrt auf dem Bodensee, Meersburg, ²1990, ISBN3-927484-00-8
List of Lake Constance steamships
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stadt Zürich (ship, 1855).
Ship's data
January 01, 1970
stadt, zürich, ship, 1855, later, vessel, same, name, that, still, plies, lake, constance, stadt, zürich, ship, 1909, stadt, zürich, swiss, steamship, built, 1855, that, plied, lake, constance, given, nickname, teufelsschiff, devil, ship, because, involved, th. For the later vessel of the same name that still plies Lake Constance see Stadt Zurich ship 1909 The Stadt Zurich was a Swiss steamship built in 1855 that plied Lake Constance She was given the nickname Teufelsschiff Devil s Ship because she was involved in three serious collisions with other craft and was said to have sunk more German ships than the Danish navy during the Second Schleswig War Stadt Zurich Stadt ZurichHistory Switzerland NameStadt Zurich OwnerSwiss Northeastern Railway RouteRomanshorn BuilderEscher Wyss amp Cie Zurich Launched1855 Out of service1917 1919 FateScrapped General characteristics Class and typeMerchant ship TypePaddle steamer Displacement175 5 t Length49 5 m Beam9 8 m Draught1 58 m Installed power300 hp 221 kW PropulsionSteam Capacity300 Contents 1 History 2 Accidents 2 1 Collision with the Konigin von Wurttemberg 2 2 Sinking of the Ludwig 2 3 Sinking of the Jura 2 4 Collision with the Stadt Lindau 3 References 4 Literature 5 External linksHistory editThe Stadt Zurich like her sister ship the Thurgau was one of the largest and most powerful flush deck steamers on Lake Constance these ships beginning their service in the mid 1850s In 1870 the Stadt Zurich underwent her first conversion 1 In 1884 the ship was converted to be the first half saloon steamer of the Swiss Northeastern Railway fleet and was called from then on the Zurich She was used until the First World War period 2 Following the scrapping of the Zurich in Romanshorn 3 her paddles were re used on the paddle steamer Pilatus from Lucerne 4 Accidents editThe Stadt Zurich caused fear and terror on Lake Constance as the result of three serious collisions in the period from 1860 to 1864 which earned her the nickname Devil s Ship Teufelsschiff 5 Collision with the Konigin von Wurttemberg edit On 10 March 1860 the Stadt Zurich rammed the right paddlebox of the Konigin von Wurttemberg Queen of Wurttemberg off the town of Friedrichshafen Nobody was killed but considerable damage was caused 6 Sinking of the Ludwig edit On 11 March 1861 almost a year after her first accident the Stadt Zurich collided with the steamer Ludwig around 18 15 hours in darkness and driving snow In 1838 the Ludwig had been the first ship on Lake Constance to have a steel monocoque hull Rumpfschale but by this time she was relatively old The captain who was to have managed the transfer service between Lindau and Rorschach on the day of the accident had delayed departure until late afternoon due to a severe storm in order to avoid the worst squalls This meant though that he had to steer a compass course in poor visibility The white bow light of the Stadt Zurich approaching from Rorschach was assumed by the crew of the Ludwig to be part of Rorschach s harbour lighting Meanwhile nobody on the Stadt Zurich appears to have noticed the iron steamer but only realised after the collision that the bowsprit was broken and that water was entering the ship As a result the Stadt Zurich turned around and returned to Rorschach Harbour while the Ludwig unnoticed by her collision partner sank within a few minutes Thirteen men and eleven head of cattle died in this accident making the sinking of the Ludwig by the Stadt Zurich the most serious shipping accident known at that time that had happened on Lake Constance One consequence of the investigations into the disaster was an improvement in the signal regulations in addition to the white bow light a green starboard and a red port light had to be carried 7 8 Sinking of the Jura edit After the Bavarian ship the Ludwig had sunk the Jura was bought as a replacement a ship which hitherto had worked on Lake Neuchatel She was dismantled transported to Lake Constance on carts reassembled there and taken into service On 12 February 1864 a foggy winter s day the Jura was meant to sail from Konstanz to Romanshorn and Lindau In the opposite direction however steamed the Stadt Zurich Although each of the two ships had fog lookouts and were blowing their steam whistles as a signal they could not avoid a collision The Jura was being brought about when the bow of the Stadt Zurich stove into her killing the fog lookout of the Jura A waitress and the engine driver of the Jura went down with the steamer which sank within four minutes The remaining crew and all the passengers of the Jura were saved by the Stadt Zurich which was able to proceed safely to Romanshorn despite her buckled bow 9 10 Collision with the Stadt Lindau edit A few months after the sinking of the Jura the Stadt Zurich slit open a paddle box on the Stadt Lindau in Lindau Harbour A Bavarian correspondent sarcastically commented that the ship should be sold to Denmark as it had already sunk more German ships than the entire Danish navy 11 nbsp The Zurich c 1900 in RorschachReferences edit By then the ship had apparently already been rechristened by contrast Karl F Fritz dated its renaming 14 years later GD Stadt Zurich Bodensee Schifffahrt Karl F Fritz 1990 p 28 Bodensee 1823 1869 Archived from the original on 5 March 2016 GD Stadt Zurich Bodensee Schifffahrt Anton Heer Erst Zurich dann der Saentis In Neue Zurcher Zeitung Jan 2014 Bodensee Hefte Vol 3 Issues 7 8 p 250 Karl F Fritz 1990 p 33 Karl F Fritz Vom Raddampfer zur Weissen Flotte Geschichte der Bodenseeschifffahrt Erfurt Sutton 2013 p 18 A Deichert Wirtschaftsstudien mit besonderer Berucksichtigung Bayerns Vols 21 25 1905 p 96 Emil Krumholz Die Geschichte des Dampfschiffahrtsbetriebes auf dem Bodensee Wagner 1906 p 59 Karl F Fritz 1990 p 34Literature editKarl F Fritz Reiner Jackle Das goldene Zeitalter der Schaufelraddampfer auf dem Bodensee Erfurt 2013 ISBN 978 3 95400 308 2 Karl F Fritz Abenteuer Dampfschiffahrt auf dem Bodensee Meersburg 1990 ISBN 3 927484 00 8 List of Lake Constance steamshipsExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stadt Zurich ship 1855 Ship s data Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Stadt Zurich ship 1855 amp oldid 1144882780, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
