Legendary Paddle Steamers
As the American Robert Fulton managed to provide ships with steam engines in 1807, a new and important chapter in the history of technical development was written. Today, more than 200 years after the maiden voyage of the paddle steamer “Clermont” on the Hudson River, historical paddle steamers are seen as cultural monuments in motion. These ships, of which some are more than 100 years old, have still lost nothing of their attractiveness. Paddle steamers belong to the world cultural heritage of modern humanity. One cannot travel in a more romantic and stylish way on water.
But the “domains” of these venerable ships are the reason for making a voyage unique: At the banks of the most beautiful and important rivers and lakes, stories, events, traditions and biographies can be found which want to be told. The films of the series “Legendary Paddle Steamers” accompany the steamers on all their routes, on water and on land. We meet people on board, take a look over the railing and draw to a halt together with the ships. When the heavy engines take a rest, the camera makes a shore leave to trace back the things gliding past too hurriedly in full speed.
The voyage on board of the most beautiful and oldest paddle steamers of the world is a contest of great beauties: ancient natural landscapes of rivers and lakes compete with the nostalgic technical miracles created by man.
Episodes
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Following the Scottish West Coast with Waverley
Rugged coasts, untouched nature and the rough climate of the Atlantic characterize the landscape on the west coast of Scotland. In the sounds and lochs of the Scottish West, Waverley, the last seaworthy passenger steamship in the world, appears once a year. The side-wheel steamer was built in 1947 to carry out short ferry passages on the Clyde River. Today, Waverley circumnavigates almost all of Great Britain. The impressive ship was sold to the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society in 1974 for the symbolic price of one English pound. Since then, she starts her season off the Western Isles in Scotland every year in May.
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Crossing Lake Mjøsa in the “Skibladner”
The paddle steamer Skibladner is the oldest passenger paddle steamer in the world in regular service. It has been plying Norway's largest inland lake, the Mjøsa, since 1856. The white swan has a melodious name, borrowed from Norse mythology. The ship Skíðblaðnir of the god Freyr, built by dwarves, could always have a tail wind, could be stowed in a small bag when folded and all gods in armor had room on it. The traditional ship of AS Oplandandske Dampskibsselskap does not have such fairy-tale powers, but atmospherically the Skibladner also transports guests to a world long gone.
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On the Ohio River with the “Belle of Louisville”
Idlewild - Avalon - Belle of Louisville - these three names stand for the last still roadworthy, historic sternwheeler in the USA. In 1914, the ship was built as Idlewild for the West Memphis Packet Company as a passenger ferry. With a draft of only 1.50 m and a robust steel hull, the boat is suitable for almost all navigable rivers of the Mississippi River system. Today, the Belle is the most traveled steamboat in American history. In the course of her eventful life, she has called at 130 places in 19 states.
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On the Elbe with “Diesbar”
With a length of more than 1000 kilometers, the Elbe is one of the largest rivers in Europe. The river has shaped landscapes since time immemorial: geologically, economically and culturally. One of the most beautiful sections of the river - in Saxony in southeastern Germany - has been navigated by the Saxon Steamship Company since 1836. One of its most beautiful ships is the Diesbar. Its engine is considered the oldest paddle steamer engine still in use in the world, the ship is the only steamer in the fleet still powered by coal.
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Across the lake Vierwaldstättersee with the “Unterwalden”
Lake Lucerne in the heart of Switzerland stretches from the foothills of the Alps to the first three-thousand-meter peaks of the high mountains. Home waters of the paddle steamer Unterwalden. For two and a half years she was not on the water. Now, after the biggest renovation in her history, the life of the 110-year-old paddle steamer is starting all over again. Her first voyages, with all the imponderables and challenges for the crew, take her into a diverse, wild landscape, right into the mystical heart of Switzerland. In their territory, scenic contrasts collide: barren high moorland and gently rolling alpine meadows, modern tourist resorts and quiet mountain villages, caves hidden deep in the earth and snow-covered two-thousand-meter peaks. The Unterwalden is part of the oldest and largest fleet of paddle steamers so high above the sea. Here on Lake Lucerne, according to national legend, the three original cantons swore eternal allegiance to each other over seven hundred years ago. A land around which countless myths entwine and whose lifeline since the opening of the Gotthard Pass in the thirteenth century was the shipping traffic on the lake.
Facts
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Original TitleLegendäre Raddampfer
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Year2011
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Length5 × 52' (ENG), 5 × 45 (GER)
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ResolutionHD
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Film byMatthias Hoferichter, Kerstin Holl, Anne Mesecke
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Produced by