History of the WolfgangseeSchiffFahrt

Long before the paddle steamer "Kaiser Franz Josef I" was the first steamboat to sail Lake Wolfgang in 1873, there was already a lot of traffic on this stretch of water. Primarily pilgrims were rowed with so-called "Traunderln" between Fürberg and St. Wolfgang.

In 1869, Berthold Currant, an engineer with the Empress Elisabeth Railway, together with Albert Pietz, the director of the Steyrermühl paper mill, endeavored to obtain a concession for liner shipping on Lake Wolfgang.

At the beginning of 1873, the first ship was delivered in individual parts from Linz to Strobl. On May 20, 1873, the first steamship, the paddle steamer "Kaiser Franz Josef I", completed its maiden voyage. This marked the beginning of liner shipping on Lake Wolfgang.

The first timetable provided for four trips daily during the summer months: Course Strobl - St. Wolfgang - Fürberg - St. Gilgen. The journey time was 45 minutes. Since the operation was not very profitable in the short summer months, Currant pushed for the construction of a railroad up the Schafberg.

In 1886, Currant bought a screw steamer for shipping on the Abersee (the old name of the Wolfgangsee) from the Budapest Propeller Transfer Company, which has been in service on the Wolfgangsee since 1888 as the "(Empress) Elisabeth".

It was not until 1893, after the construction of the Schafbergbahn under the management of SKGLB, that shipping experienced the hoped-for upswing. After several changes of ownership (Verkehrsbüro and Deutsche Reichsbahn), ÖBB bought WolfgangseeSchifffahrt together with SchafbergBahn and Hotel Schafbergspitze. After the end of the war there was a huge boom and the fleet was diligently expanded over the years. Today it counts six motorboats, including the paddle steamer "Kaiser Franz Josef I".

In April 2006, Salzburg AG für Energie, Verkehr und Telekommunikation took over SchafbergBahn and WolfgangseeSchifffahrt. Salzburg's energy and infrastructure service provider has thus expanded its business areas to include two leading tourist enterprises in the Salzkammergut region.