If Cologne and Düsseldorf appear together in the name, there must be a historical reason for it. But joking aside:
The Cologne-Düsseldorfer, also abbreviated to KD, is the original of Rhine shipping and can now look back on almost 200 years of tradition.
In order to be able to work economically, shipping companies from Cologne and Düsseldorf merged in 1853 to form a joint company.
At first it was almost only goods that were transported by steamship between Rotterdam and Strasbourg, but from 1867 onwards more and more passenger ships were added.
By 1914 there were 32 in number with 2 million passengers annually.
During the First World War and a few years after, the ships were used as hospital and mail ships as well as troop transports.
The Golden Twenties really brought about a boom, and luxury trips were now also offered.
And the fleet was also modernized with new diesel ships. However, it was not until 2008 that the last paddle steamer ceased operations. The reason: the extensive destruction of the fleet during the Second World War and the initial repair of the old ships.
The KD was hit hard by the competition that began after the war from cheap domestic and international travel and other tourist alternatives.
That is why KD also offered Rhine cruises from 1960 onwards, which have been run by a separate company from the day trip business since 2000.
Do you know why KD ships often have the Maltese flag on the stern? It’s simple: since 2009, the home port for most ships has been La Valetta in Malta.
Today KD is the sole property of the Swiss “River Advice Group” and not only provides pure excursions and cruises but also numerous events on board the ships for entertainment on the Rhine between Düsseldorf and Mainz and on the Moselle.
Well then: “KD ahoy”.
More interesting information, including the history of the Cologne-Düsseldorfers, can be found here
*From the water we now move onto the rails. If you take the train from the main station, for example, towards Berlin or along the right bank of the Rhine, you inevitably have to cross the Hohenzollern Bridge, about whose history I will tell you a little bit in a moment. *
Image source 2nd image: Rhine steamer trip on the Lohengrin for the 200th anniversary of Johann Maria Farina’s company opposite Jülichs-Platz in July 1909, by Johann Maria Farina - Farina Archive, CC BY 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15203694
