Prussian period
The intensive development of Bromberg/Bydgoszcz industry in the second half of the 19th century led to an increase in shipping traffic on both Vistula and Brda rivers. In addition, water towing transport has been already used for goods and lumber since 1870, on the two rivers and along the Bydgoszcz Canal towards inland Germany.
To manage those flows, a first company using modern tugboats and barges was created on June 3, 1869, by the banker A. Aronson.[4] On January 20, 1883, the company was renamed Bromberger Schleppschiffahrt F.W. Bumke ('), then again on August 29, 1891, as Bromberger Schleppschiffahrt Aktien Gesellschaft ('). Its shareholders were: Lewin Louis Aronsohn, a banker and a commercial counselor and Heinrich Dietz, Fritz Kleindienst, Karl Wenzel and Emil Werckmeister, city councilors.[4]
The company had the concession for chain-towing and shipping on the Brda River, from the city locks to the Vistula River. It possessed:[4] The seat of the company was in Bydgoszcz and its offices were located at today's 17 Grodzka Street on the Brda river bank.
During Prussian times, the company's Supervisory Board was chaired by mayors of Bydgoszcz (e.g. Hugo Braesicke, Alfred Knobloch, Paul Mitzlaff) and city councilor Heinrich Dietz. Louis Aronsohn was the deputy chairman for many years and many well-known German merchants, manufacturers and bankers from Bydgoszcz and the region were members of the board, such as Emil Werckmeister, Max Francke or Wilhelm Blumwe.
The company purchased plots of land in villages around Bydgoszcz, today integrated as city districts: "Zimne Wody", "Kapuściska", "Siernieczek" with a folwark and "Czersko Polskie" with a mill and a brickyard. It passed agreements with the city council and the Prussian State. On the one hand, in exchange to repaying 4% of its profits to the city, the shipping firm took over the taxing rights and obligations of the municipality. On the other hand, following the contract concluded with the State Treasury,[4] the Prussian government had to improve the condition of the waterways between the Vistula and the Oder rivers. It was also stated that two dead water branches of the river in "Zimne Wody" were to be handed out to the company. In return, the shipping enterprise was bound to establish and equip a river harbour on the left bank of the Brda river.
In 1891, the towing company opened a machine factory and a shipyard in "Zimne Wody". The factory produced, among others, steam boilers, cranes, steel structures and tow chains. The best seller product was the equipment for spirit distillery, which, by 1918, had been sold to over a thousand plants in Germany and abroad.[4] The shipyard was manufacturing screw steamers, berlinkas and other river ships, out of wood and steel; in addition, the facility was used to repair the floating rolling stock.
In 1892, a steam brickyard and a sawmill were opened in "Czersk Polski", which at the beginning of the 20th century processed 30,000 m³ of wood. A second and larger sawmill, with a wood capacity of 55,000 m³, was built in 1899 in "Siernieczek". Both places were linked to the railway network via sidings. Besides, the company had another plant, a steam distillery, in "Czersk Polski". Lastly, the firm possessed several farms, in "Siernieczek" (1 farm), "Zimne Wody" (2 farms) and "Ściersk" (1).
In 1897, the Prussian government approved the river harbour project in "Zimne Wody", designed by the company. The same year, the Water Construction Office in Bromberg realized large works in the river meander, allowing the shipping company to lay down a road (present day Sporna street) through the newly created island (today's "Island on Zimne Wody", ) by the means of two steel bridges, hence connecting "Weg Chausse nach Fordon" with "Thornerstraβe" (today Fordońska and Toruńska streets). An oxbow lake on the Brda was identified for the location of the future port basin. Its construction took seven years (1897-1904). In addition, the scheme required to set up, among others, access railway and sidings, storage yards, warehouses for loading/unloading wagons/ships, and steam cranes. At the beginning of the 20th century, the port was able to handle up to 2,000 wagons per year.[4]
In the 1910s, the Bydgoszcz Shipping Society built workers housing estates in "Zimne Wody", "Czersk Polski", and restaurants near the port and the machine factory (1905). The company also had its own Health Fund, which provided social benefits to its employees.
From 1905 to 1920, the firm developed further, taking over cargo shipping between Gdańsk and Bydgoszcz as well as other towns along the Vistula river up to Toruń. By 1919, a local branch was established in Gdańsk and representative offices for goods shipment were set up in Tczew, Gniew, Korzeniewo, Nowe and Świecie.
The creation and operation of the Bydgoszcz Shipping Society had an undeniable impact on boosting the industry and trade, as well as transforming the eastern city suburbs into an industrial area (i.e. today's districts: "Bydgoszcz Wschód", "Zimne Wody", "Siernieczek" and "Brdyujście").[4]
- two chain tugs;
- "Victor", a screw steamer;
- a machine factory in the eastern district of "Zimne Wody";
- an estate in the village of "Czersko Polskie", comprising a distillery.
Interwar period (1920–1939)
With the takeover of Bydgoszcz back to Polish hands on January 19, 1920, the company had its name changed to Lloyd Bydgoski, Bromberger Schleppschiffahrt, Towarzystwo Akcyjne () with Polish citizens as members of the management board, such as engineer Stanisław Rolbieski.[4] Since the city council owned 52% of the shares, the Supervisory Board was always chaired by the mayor of Bydgoszcz.[5]
The geostrategic changes stemmed out of the Treaty of Versailles brought changes in the political boundaries, reducing the shipping traffic on the Vistula-Oder waterway. In addition most of the German employees were forced to leave the city: therefore, the company, in a dire economic situation between 1920 and 1925, had workers brought from the Greater Poland Voivodeship and Galicia.[4] While the Lloyd's transshippment harbour, distillery and the sawmills had a low activity, the shipyard, the brickyard and the machine factory were working at full speed. The late 1920s saw rapid fluctuations in the timber demand and an increase in the water transport via the Vistula river to the detriment of the Bydgoszcz Canal and the transshipping operations of "Zimne Wody" port.
From 1923 to 1930, Bernard Śliwiński then president of Bydgoszcz, became the chairman of the Supervisory Board.
German Occupation
After the outbreak of World War II, Bydgoszcz was seized by the Wehrmacht: the company's assets were confiscated by the German Central Trust Office-East. A receivership was launched in court but was suspended on September 3, 1942.[4]
The main shareholder of the Society during the occupation became the company "Preussische Bergwerks- und Hütten Aktiengesellschaft" or "Preussag" from Berlin, the ancestor of today's TUI Group.[4] The firm's name was reverted to its original Prussian one, "Bromberger Schleppschiffahrt Aktiengesellschat". In addition, only Germans were allowed to sit on the Supervisory Board, like Walter Ernst. The company had still branches in Warsaw, Poznań and Gdańsk, main offices located in Naklo, Czarnków, Ujście, Gorzów Wielkopolski and Międzychód, with representatives present in Grudziądz, Płock and Włocławek.[6]
Within the new political order, the company's scope changed radically and concentrated anew to the east-west flow, towards Germany, as it used to be under Prussia times.
Post World War II period (1945-1990)
After Bydgoszcz was liberated from German occupation, the company passed back into Polish hands. During the fights in the region, the company and its employees brought help to he Soviet troops: For these actions, the shipping firm was awarded Soviet medals.[3] By a ministerial decision on March 7, 1945, a compulsory state administration was established over the firm. During the war, 7 ships and 9 barges had been destroyed or lost: in 1945, only 8 towing ships and 8 barges were serviceable.[6] Not only was the rolling stock ruined, but also the real estate and warehouses in Warsaw and Gdańsk had burned down. Nonetheless, the shipping company was at that time the "second largest" water transport company in Poland.
In 1947, the District Liquidation Office, a governmental body managing "abandoned property", transferred the company and its assets to the city of Bydgoszcz. On February 13, 1948, "Lloyd Bydgoski" was nationalized by a decision of the Minister of Communications. On March 1, 1951, the crew of private barges were included into the permanent employees of the company.[6]
Contrary to the interwar period, after 1945 the company only focused on shipping activities and got rid of other assets not related to this function: the brickyard was transferred to the "Union of Ceramics Construction" (1951), farms were first moved to private tenants, then to
Modern period (1990-2010)
On November 30, 1995, Żegluga Bydgoska was transformed into a joint-stock company.[5] Half of the shares were held by the "National Investment Fund", 25% by the State Treasury, 15% by employees and the left shares by private investors.
In 2000, the company was one of the two largest inland shipowners in Poland with Odratrans S.A. from Wrocław. Its foreign freight represented 70% of its total activity. Żegluga Bydgoska assets comprised:[5]
In December 2004, Odratrans S.A., Żegluga Bydgoska's main domestic competitor, took over a controlling stake of the capital. On August 12, 2009, the company Żegluga Bydgoska-Odratrans was entirely incorporated into Odratrans S.A., thus liquidating the shipping company. The only preserved assets were those located in Bydgoszcz, which constituted a transport and forward base for its new owner.
In 2010, Odratrans S.A. was at the head of one of the largest fleet in the European Union (almost 1000 units).[1]
