Eighty years of transport ships on the Brno Reservoir
On 5 May 1946, regular passenger boat service began on the Brno Dam. Plans for this boat service began to emerge in the second half of the 1930s, when the dam was still under construction. During World War II, two boats manufactured in Germany were brought to Brno. However, in 1945, a fire, probably caused by retreating German soldiers, damaged the ships. Both vessels were quickly repaired and moved to the Bystrc marina in the spring of the following year. The boats were named Morava and Brno, and each could carry a maximum of 103 passengers. They were powered by rechargeable batteries.
The Svratka boat also took to the water on 5 May. It was designed to transport smaller groups and could only carry 17 people. This boat had a petrol engine, but due to its frequent breakdowns, it was used only minimally (later only for service purposes). At the end of the 1950s, it was permanently decommissioned.
The Brno fleet today
Today, the fleet of the Brno transport company, which provides boat transport on the dam, has a total of seven boats: six double-deckers and one single-decker. The boats are named after cities with which Brno cooperates – Leipzig, Stuttgart, Dallas, Vienna, Utrecht. Another boat is called Brno, and since 2020, the renovated Morava boat, which was built by the company’s employees themselves in 1955 on the shore of the dam, has been back in service.
As part of this year’s 80th anniversary of the start of cruises on the dam, the Brno transport company will certainly prepare many interesting events. For example, an open day at the Bystrc shipyard is planned for 23 May 2026.
