On Monday 6 July 2015, the Prague Steamboat Company presented a new electric boat at the eco-friendly Kampa mooring. The event marked the 150th anniversary of the company's founding and the 600th anniversary of the burning of Master Jan Hus. The new vessel was christened MISTR JAN HUS.
With this act, PPS symbolically paid tribute to one of the most important figures in our national history. No boat in the history of Czech ship naming has yet borne this name.
The Mistr Jan Hus is a quiet, fully eco-friendly open vessel (cabriolet) powered by two 24 V Omikron Marine electric motors of 4 kW, made in Třebíč in the Czech Republic. The motors are powered by a total of 16 batteries whose capacity covers a full day's operation. The boat was built by the master craftsmen of the Prague Steamboat Company at the Podbaba shipyard.
The Mistr Jan Hus was designed for the specific Prague navigation conditions so as to allow passengers to see places that are normally inaccessible, where the Vltava is shallow yet offers stunning views. From its home mooring at Kampa it will set off daily on sightseeing cruises right up to the Charles Bridge, under the last preserved arch of Judith Bridge, into the lagoon by the Old Town Bridge Tower and, thanks to its shallow draft, will sail through the Čertovka along Kampa to Prague Venice and the Karel Zeman Museum. It will significantly relieve the considerable noise from heavy motorboat traffic.
"It is a welcoming step towards the residents of Kampa and the area around the Čertovka," says Lesser Town native Karolina Peake. "I would wish that in the future only electric boats sail on the Čertovka," she adds.
The Prague Steamboat Company was founded in 1865 by the legendary mayor František Dittrich and ranks among the longest-running purely Czech companies. 150 years since its founding are commemorated by the ongoing exhibition "THE ART OF STEAMBOAT NAVIGATION" at the National Technical Museum. A grand celebration will be held on the weekend of 22-23 August, when one of Europe's oldest steamers, KRIPPEN, will sail to Prague from Dresden.
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