Żegluga Bydgoska () is an inland navigation company based in Bydgoszcz. Its first existence dates back to 1869, when a shipping firm was established in then Bromberg. Since August 12, 2009, it has been integrated into Wrocław's group "OT Logistics S.A.".
History
Inland navigation in Bydgoszcz emerged in the 14th century, as confirmed by the earliest known written records of sailing on the Brda river.
A shipping corporation was established in 1487, in Bydgoszcz, its statute signed by Andrzej Kościelecki, then Starosta of the city. At that time, Bydgoszcz was one of the few cities of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth which had a river shipping professional association; the others were located in Gdańsk, Toruń, Kazimierz Dolny and Jarosław. Furthermore, a Helmsman guild was created in 1591, by the City Council. At the end of the 16th century, this brotherhood consisted of about 80 steersmen and helpers, called Pomagrami.
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. 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.
The company had the concession for chain-towing and shipping on the Brda River, from the city locks to the Vistula River. It possessed: 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. 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, 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. 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).