200 years of KD - We are celebrating our anniversary

KD anniversary weekend with Cologne Lights and year-round promotions

In the anniversary year 2026, KD guests can look forward to special events and surprises all year round. The traditional season-opening cruise on the paddle wheeler RMS Goethe on April 25 will feature culinary and musical highlights. A special season-opening cruise is also currently being planned for Cologne.

"It is very important to us to really let everyone take part in this very special anniversary of KD . We have been closely connected to the people and cities on the Rhine for 200 years - now we want to give something of this connection back," explains
Nina Luig, Managing Director of KD. This also applies to the employees, who will be the first to embark on a journey through 200 years of KD history at a team event.
On June 11, the day KD was founded, the official ceremony will take place on the Rhine with representatives from politics and business.

The first weekend in August will then be all about the KD anniversary. Thanks to the great popularity, the Kölner Lichter will be continued and will take place on August 1. The official pre-sale starts with today's announcement.

Another highlight awaits all shipping enthusiasts on August 2, when KD invites them to the "Open Deck Day" in Cologne. Throughout the day, guided tours and a children's and entertainment program will take place "Behind the scenes" on a moored ship.
At the same time, there will be round trips with special gastronomic specials and discounts. MS RheinGalaxie will set sail from Cologne to Düsseldorf for the anniversary brunch cruise. Similar events are planned for Düsseldorf and the Middle Rhine.

There will be special catering offers on board throughout the season, including a curry sauce specially created for the anniversary year. Fans of the KD can also look forward to special merchandise items such as polo shirts, key rings and caps, which can be purchased on board the ships or in the web store.

Creative competition with prominent support

In the anniversary year, everyone has the opportunity to become a part of the KD themselves. The shipping company is launching a creative competition in which anyone can submit a design for KD 's special anniversary year wine label by December 31, 2025. We are looking for ideas for a personal "KD" that expresses emotions and memories associated with KD . In addition to a community vote on Instagram, a four-member jury will decide on the best design. In addition to Managing Director Nina Luig, the jury includes Dr. Marie-Christine Frank, Managing Director & Founder of Drei Brueder Kommunikation und Beratung GmbH, and Barbara Foerster, Head of the City of Cologne's Department of Culture. The fourth member of the jury is Juliane Eller, winemaker and founder of Juwel Weine, who will press the anniversary wine for KD in 2026.

200 school classes - 200 KD moments

The anniversary year has special activities in store for all friends of KD , including the youngest passengers. In 2026, KD is inviting 200 school classes from North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse to travel for free. School classes of all school types can apply via an online form on the KD website from 06.11.2025 to 15.12.2025 and take a panoramic or scheduled trip of their choice during the 2026 season.

200 stories, faces and secrets

KD 's 200-year history is peppered with countless exciting and surprising moments. As part of the anniversary, KD is publishing 200 of these stories, faces and secrets under the motto #kdmoments, staged in a modern way across all of KD 's existing channels such as social media, website and print. The basis for this is KD's extensive archive material.

Under the direction of the renowned historian and archivist Dr. Ulrich Soénius, Director of the Rheinisch-Westfälisches Wirtschaftsarchiv (RWWA) in Cologne, all existing KD archives have been arranged, processed and digitized. "It has been very important to us to preserve the history of the KD, which has helped shape the economic history of the Rhineland, and to make it accessible for academic work. We are very grateful to the RWWA for this valuable collaboration," says Nicole Becker, Head of Marketing.

All of KD 's campaigns relating to the anniversary will find their "home port" on the website www.k-d.com. The URL of the landing page for the anniversary is kd Among other things, it also contains the comprehensive history of KD in a total of 30 milestones, some of which are digitally animated. All of KD 's anniversary content features a specially developed anniversary logo that builds a bridge between the company's history and its modern orientation.

From January 2026, various series will be played out on social networks, in which, for example, employees and prominent KD companions will have their say. Many a secret that has been revealed in the course of the archive work will also be revealed. RheinZeit", KD's print magazine, which is available free of charge on all ships and at all agencies, contains extensive background stories and reports on the anniversary. In addition, a special KD anniversary edition of the successful Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage Storybox will be published in time for the anniversary year and will be available for purchase. The Storybox is a combination of a high-quality print product and a variety of digital content, such as a professional radio play set in the Middle Rhine Valley, partly on board the paddlewheel ship Goethe.