The ship was built over 100 years ago as a steamboat and was still under steam until 2008. After being converted to a diesel engine, the restored ship now travels on the Nostalgia Route on the Middle Rhine between Koblenz and Rüdesheim

Köln-Düsseldorfer Deutsche Rheinschiffahrt GmbH celebrates its anniversary in 2026. The traditional company will be 200 years old. The undisputed oldest well-wisher from its own ranks is the paddle steamer Goethe. The steamer was launched in 1913 as a replacement for the decommissioned "Ernst Moritz Arndt". It was the last newbuild for the combined freight and passenger service of the Preußisch-Rheinische Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft, one of the two predecessors of the KD. For many years, the Goethe was the last remaining steamer on the Rhine. On October 5, 2008, the history of steam navigation on the German section of the Rhine came to an end.

Floating landmark

Köln-Düsseldorfer had the paddle steamer Goethe converted to diesel propulsion. The distinctive paddle wheels are driven by hydraulic motors. The faithfully restored paddle steamer is on the Nostalgia Route through the entire UNESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley. The tour starts in Koblenz and goes to Rüdesheim and back. Along the way, you will pass romantic Rhine towns such as St. Goarshausen, St. Goar, Bacharach, Assmannshausen and Bingen. Even after more than 100 years, whether under steam or not, one thing is clear: the "Goethe" belongs to the Middle Rhine. It is a floating landmark that announces itself from afar with the characteristic tooting of its steam whistle.

"Köln-Düsseldorfer Deutsche Rheinschiffahrt GmbH celebrates its anniversary in 2026. The traditional company will be 200 years old."

Predecessor "Goethe I" only lived for a short time

A look at the company's history shows that the ship in the fleet's history is "Goethe, Number 2". There was previously the "Goethe I." It was a so-called smooth deck ship for passengers and goods. Like its sister ship "Schiller", the steamer was delivered in 1847. But unlike the latter, the "Goethe" was not put into service until February 1848. Festively decorated, it set off early in the morning from Cologne to Koblenz. Despite high water, the journey took only six hours and a few minutes. The "Schiller" had taken almost 30 minutes longer on its maiden voyage. However, the first "Goethe" does not seem to have given her owners much pleasure. As early as 1901, it went to Holland to be scrapped.

Severely damaged in the Second World War

The successor to the name "Goethe" (II) proved to be much more robust. Although she also had to put up with some adversity. During the Second World War, the ship was hit by two high-explosive bombs in Koblenz at the end of July 1942 and had to be repaired at the shipyard. In December 1944, the "Goethe" was leased to the NSDAP district leadership in Ahrweiler. The National Socialists housed Russian prisoners of war on the ship, who were forced to dig trenches and build anti-tank barriers along the Siegfried Line. At the beginning of March 1945, the "Goethe" was attacked by American low-flying aircraft, hit by two bombs in the stern and sunk. The ship was only raised in April 1949 and finally rebuilt in 1952/53. Together with MS Köln, the Goethe was then used in 1953 as the anniversary ship for the 100th anniversary of the merger of the Preußisch-Rheinische Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft in Cologne and the Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft für den Nieder- und Mittelrhein in Düsseldorf to form the Köln Düsseldorfer Betriebsgemeinschaft.

After the end of the season in 1989, the "Goethe" was initially taken out of service and decommissioned in the Niehl harbor in Cologne. In 1995, six years later, the steamer was extensively restored in the Art Deco style, true to the original. At the end of August 1996, the "Goethe" was then presented to the public in a festive ceremony in Cologne and put back into service. And so the Goethe is still a great pleasure for many locals and tourists in the Middle Rhine Valley today.

"The faithfully restored paddle wheeler is on the Nostalgia Route through the entire UNESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley."