Swiss History, Commercial Sailing
Contrary to a generally held belief, Switzerland has a very old sailing tradition. Indeed, up to the 19th century, most transportation was done along rivers and lakes. One must remember that the roads, whenever they existed, were generally in a very poor shape. For example, on Lake Geneva, a fleet of sailing boats handled the transportation of people and goods. At the outlet of the Simplon and Grand Saint-Bernard Alpine Passes was arriving a constant flow of goods from Venice and Genoa, and from even further to the East: It was one of the links in the Spice Road. The Lake Geneva Barks, derived from the Galleys of the Dukes of Savoy, have handled a steady traffic of construction materials until the middle of the 20th Century. The situation was very similar on the Vierwaldstättersee, or Lake Luzern, at the outlet of the Saint-Gothard Pass and on the Bodensee, or Lake Constance, at the outlet of the Graubunden passes. May you be reminded that, according to the famous legend, William Tell was not only a good shot, but also an excellent sailor! That merchant fleet has some worthy successors! Indeed, Switzerland currently controls, in tonnage, the largest commercial maritime fleet, not only of any landlocked country, but even higher than that of, for example, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain or France!