Köln-Düsseldorfer
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Willkommen an Bord!
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| Aktiengesellschaft | |
| Industry | Transportation |
| Founded | 11 June 1826 |
| Headquarters | Cologne, Germany |
| Products | Cruise ship holidays |
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Number of employees
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189 |
| Parent | Viking River Cruises |
| Website | http://www.k-d.com |
Köln-Düsseldorfer (KD) is a river cruise operator based in Cologne, Germany. The company operates a total of 14 cruise ships on the Rhine, Main and Moselle rivers.
The famous KD steamer line operated on the Rhine both with connecting steamers and tourist boats. The Lorelei rock was a famed day outing for pleasure seekers.
The first steamboats arrived from England in 1816, heralding a new age of tourism in Germany. Ten years later, the first German shipping line started up its operation between Cologne and Mainz; by 1856 the millionth ticket was proudly sold. In 1832, the first steam boat journeyed from the North Sea all the way to Basel, but this was not a regular service. Mannheim was an established port by 1840, and the river became heavily travelled during the industrial revolution. In 1846 the Ludwig-Donau-Canal was completed after 9 years of work. It was named after King Ludwig I of Bavaria.
The KD Steamer Line can trace its history back to 1853 when two earlier companies, the Preussisch-Rheinischen Dampfschiffahrtsgesellschaft (PRDG), the "Köln" company and the Dampfschiffahrtsgesellschaft für den Nieder- und Mittelrhein (DGNM), the "Düsseldorf" company, merged at a time of intense competition and in response to the loss of much of the freight and passenger traffic along the Rhine following the expansion of the railways along its banks.
Despite the merger, the two companies, which were established in 1826 and 1836 respectively, maintained semi-independent operations ordering their own vessels which were known as "Köln" or "Düsseldorf" boats. Although other companies operated vessels during this period, especially in the more northerly and southerly stretches of the river, the KD came to dominate and absorb the competitors, such as the Mülheim Company (MDAG), with the exception of the Dutch Steamboat Company (NSM/NSR), which traced its inception back to 1823, when steam was first introduced for passenger and goods transport.
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Wikipedia