The history of steam navigation is shown on New Swiss Set

This set of 4 charity stamps is the country’s annual Pro Patria Foundation set.              http://www.propatria.ch                                                      Its first day of issue will be May 5, 2011. The Purpose of the Pro Patria Foundation is to preserve Swiss scenery, Swiss monuments, and historic Swiss buildings and cultural items. The set was designed by Sandra Di Salvo of Winterthur, Switzerland. The individual stamps have a size of 33 X 28 mm. The sheets are composed of 20 subjects in a 5 X 4 format. They are printed by the 5 color offset method by the Cartor Security Printing firm of LaLoupe, France.

 The two low values of the set have a denomination of .85 Swiss Francs with a

surcharge of .40SFR. The first one shows a picture of the Steamer Piemonte. The ship was refurbished in 1965 and then again in 1972 when its boiler was replaced.  It is used in the Italian speaking section of Switzerland.

  The second of this pair shows a picture of the Steamer Gallia.  It was originally constructed in 1913 by the firm of Escher-Wyss & Cie if Zurich, Switzerland. It is known as the fastest lake steamer because of it flat, keel-less hull and shallow draft.

The second pair of stamps has a face value of 1.00 Sfr plus a surcharge of .50 SFR.  One stamp pictures the Steamship Blumlisalp. The ship was commissioned in 1905 and made is first voyage in 1906 on lakes Thun and Brienz.  The two deck stamp can hold a total of 750 passengers. The final stamp in the series illustrates the Steamship La Suisse. Built in 1908 by the firm of Sulzer Brothers of Winterthur, Switzerland, it is the flagship of The General Navigation Company of Lac Leman. It was put into service in 1910. It was converted from coal fired ship to oil  in 1960. Its second renovation was finished in 2009.

The following story is by Mario Gavazzi and is provided the Swiss Post Office as a way of introduction to Swiss lake steamers.

 PS “Guillaume Tell” (William Tell), Switzerland’s first paddle steamer, began operating on Lake Geneva in 1823 on the initiative of Edward Church, the American consul in France, heralding in the gradual replacement of conventional sailing boats and rowing boats by engine-powered vessels. The first steamers were simply equipped single-deckers with canopies to provide protection from the elements. The only roofed-over rooms were the cabins, and the ships provided freight rather than passenger services. It was not until later that they began to play a key role in leisure travel. For many years, mail was also carried by ship.
The “Belle Epoque”
The advent of railways in the mid-nineteenth century greatly boosted navigation. On the one band, they brought more passengers and goods to lake shores, where ships were used for onward transportation. However, in locations where railways ran alongside lakes — such as Lake Zurich
— the economic boom experienced by navigation was short-lived and the impact of the railways disastrous.
The early years of the ‘Belle Epoque’ during the final third of the 195b century, brought more foreign tourists to Switzerland, and Lakes Geneva, Brienz and Lucerne benefited most from this boom. Fleets were expanded accordingly, and the first

saloon paddle-steamers were built. The first one to operate in Switzerland was the “Oberland’ on Lake Brienz. Back then, ships with roomy superstructures were found only in other countries, but understandably enough, hoteliers in the Interlaken region lobbied for their introduction in Switzerland. The 55 “Mont Blanc”, the first saloon paddle-steamer to sail on Lake Geneva, came into service in 1875. The ships of the “Compagnie Générale de Navigation sure Lac Leman” (CON) were known for their excellent cuisine which could hold its own with restaurants on land. On Lake Lucerne, ship names like “Victoria”, “Germania” or “Italia” testified to the importance of foreign tourists for navigation. The saloons of the PS “Un” and “unterwalden”, which are still in service to this day, bear witness to those glorious days.
Looking back on the past century
until 1928, many saloon paddle-steamers were built — some of them very luxurious
— and remained the backbone of fleets on larger lakes for decades. Boat trips experienced their heyday between 1900 and 1915, when they were perceived as betokening luxury.
The early 20Th century brought a shift towards building first small, and later biggerand bigger, motor vessels which were easier to maintain and operate than steamers. The gradual transition to such ships began in 1918 and was virtually complete throughout Switzerland after
1950.
Major commitment to preserving unique witnesses to the past The “Friends of Steamers” movements that sprang up around 1970 prevented the last witnesses to this era from being broken up. Thanks to them and the technical know-how of the navigation companies, 15 saloon steamers, one half-saloon steamer and one propeller-driven steamer have survived. A half-saloon steamer—the PS “Neuchâtel — is currently being rebuilt and will be cruising on Lakes Neuchtel, Morat and Bienne in a few years time, and restoration work is also in progress on another ship for service on Lake Lucerne.

Piemonte video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsQBLACvqqc&feature=related

Gallia Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEjEUJs2n88&feature=related

Blumlisap Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwytHFcnwMo&feature=related

La Suisse Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD2yOc_KO1E&feature=related