Elbe ferry Coswig (Anhalt)

All information without guarantee. There is no ferry service in January, February and December. In case of high water, ice, fog, strong wind or similar. In case of high water, ice, fog, strong wind or similar weather conditions (uncertain weather) the ferry service will be suspended.

Here at the old Elbe crossing in Coswig, a barge ferry was already described in the land register of 1566. This ferry needed for the 125m wide river, depending on the water level, 40-60 minutes to cross. On the then existing Fährprahm (a flat hull with a blunt bow and stern), there was only room for a horse-drawn carriage and horse.

At that time, the Elbe crossing was mainly used by the Anhaltian princely house as a connection to Wörlitz and Dessau, but also by the farmers who brought their hay from the Wörlitz Elbe meadows to Coswig. Since the ferry was leased as manorial property, the ferryman had the obligation to maintain the barges as well. In return for ferrying the princely family, he received a wisp of rye (about 1000kg) annually. For all other passengers there was no fixed tariff, the cost of the crossing had to be negotiated with the ferryman in each case.

Since Whitsun 1864 the old barge ferry Coswig was replaced by a new yaw ferry. The barge ferry, which had been in use up to that time, had to be brought to the other bank with great effort on the part of the ferrymen by means of piling and rowing. Due to the strong current of the Elbe, drifting could not always be avoided. The much larger yaw ferry, an invention of the Dutchman Hendrick Heuck, represented a significant improvement in every respect.