{"id":3155,"date":"2026-04-24T15:44:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T13:44:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spreewald-dorf-lehde.de\/100-years-of-canoe-rental-in-luebbenau\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T14:45:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T12:45:09","slug":"100-years-of-canoe-rental-in-luebbenau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spreewald-dorf-lehde.de\/en\/100-years-of-canoe-rental-in-luebbenau\/","title":{"rendered":"100 years of canoe rental in L\u00fcbbenau"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spreewald tourism experienced a strong upswing long before the First World War. The increasingly better and faster rail connection between Berlin and the Spreewald contributed significantly to this, as did the increased advertising for the Spreewald in the Berlin newspapers by Mr. Fahlisch and Mr. Albinus from L\u00fcbbenau.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

Numerous canoeing clubs sprang up in the Berlin area, linked to the desire of athletes to be able to travel not only on local waters, but also in the “hip” Spreewald. The invention of a foldable and portable boat, such as the folding boat invented by the student Alfred Heurich in 1905, seemed to be a solution. “Comrades! Once a year, golden freedom beckons! So think of the trip to the Spreewald as a vacation from your ego. The time for relaxation is usually terribly short. Let’s have an effective recovery time. Live free of all worries and just bring your boat, time and a sense of humor!” was the slogan in a club advertisement at the time.<\/p>\n

For the Spreew\u00e4lder, a foldable boat initially seemed like a crazy idea that would never catch on. But slowly, some far-sighted people began to develop a business sense: why should Berlin water sports enthusiasts have to pack and unpack their boats and transport them by train when rental boats could be made available to them locally?<\/p>\n

The “Spreewald-Reederei”<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On May 14, 1926, Erich M\u00f6hring was the first person in L\u00fcbbenau to open a boat rental business at Dammstra\u00dfe 74 in L\u00fcbbenau, which he called the “Spreewald-Reederei”.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
The Spreewald shipping company around 1930 ….<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
…and 2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Building permit from 1927 for the expansion of the boat rental.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

The “Spreewald-Reederei” quickly developed into a tourist service provider. Boats could be rented and parked at the destination. In cooperation with the Burger Koloniesch\u00e4nke and the Bleiche, a kind of shuttle service was created. “Luxury boats” were lined with carpets and cushions so that “even long journeys are a real pleasure”, as a travel guide from 1930 put it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

The Spreewald shipping company in 1930, viewed from the Goroschoa. The arbor (center) and the boathouse (right) were dismantled in 1962 and rebuilt on the site of today’s Franke canoe rental shop.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>
Contemporary documents give an impression of the achievements of the former “Spreewald-Reederei”.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rebirth of the “Spreewald-Reederei” as “Bootsverleih Franke”<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In 1945, the Silesian refugee child Manfred Franke<\/a> was accommodated with his parents and brother Arwed Franke<\/a> in the barracks next to the “Spreewald-Reederei”, formerly housing for the Reich Labor Service. Today, the AWO meeting place is located on the site. In the years that followed, Manfred Franke earned some pocket money in his spare time from Hans Buchholz, the boat hire company at the time and Erich M\u00f6hring’s successor. He helped launch the boats into the water and then cleaned them.<\/p>\n

After vocational training and various jobs, Manfred Franke was suddenly approached by Hans Buchholz: “You can have my boat rental, I’m moving to Hiddensee!” He knew the company and the rental procedure, but giving up a well-paid job as an excavator operator and swapping it for a seasonal business? That needed to be well thought out! After finding a job as a driver for the winter at Cottbuser Bau-Union, the decision was easier for him. With the 45 paddle boats he took over, he managed well throughout the summer. The government’s price target, which was the same for all rental companies: 80 pfennigs an hour for a single-seater, had an inhibiting effect. An adjustment to supply and demand – unthinkable, that would have meant the withdrawal of the business license.By the third winter, he and his family were able to live off the summer’s income. Manfred Franke set about building his own wooden paddle boats, “out of necessity, because there were none to buy”. He expanded his boat fleet every winter. Some of these paddle boats, recognizable by their beautiful grain and paintwork, are still in use today.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

A wooden boat built by Manfred Franke on the Goroschoa (BF = Bootsverleih Franke)<\/em><\/p>\n

During this time, he made the decision to try his hand at plastic boats. Polyester was occasionally available, but not the fiberglass mats that were necessary for shaping and stability. He wanted to take a look around the Berlin-Gr\u00fcnau factory for plastic rowing boats. “But they made a state secret out of it and wouldn’t let me in,” Franke recalled. For a “tip” of 20 marks, the engineer in charge let him walk through the hall, but he wasn’t allowed to touch or take anything. Only what he had seen and had in his head. “And that was enough for me to get to work and build my own boats out of plastic!” He created the missing fiberglass mats from scraps and waste that he procured from the Gr\u00fcnau shipyard. The “relationships” that were so vital in socialist times helped here – in the form of Spreewald gherkins!<\/p>\n

After reunification, everything changed: boats were available to buy, more rental companies set up their own businesses and pricing became free. A new era began for Manfred Franke. He was able to further modernize his fleet and ultimately hold his own on the market.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

Manfred (left) and Thomas Franke 2020<\/em><\/p>\n

Son Thomas Franke on the future of the company he inherited from his father in 2023: “I’ve known the business for decades through working with my father and I know how much passion he put into the company. Carrying on his legacy is a matter of course for me. My father’s self-built boats are still sailing, it takes a lot of effort to maintain them, but it’s worth it to me. We are also moving with the times, we have a well-maintained website, but we have also realized that e-mail correspondence takes up an infinite amount of time and we therefore prefer personal contact, whether on site or on the phone. And whenever I look after a group paddling away in their shiny boats, I think of my father, who always enjoyed the sight!”<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Franke boat rental 2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Manfred Franke<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n

The new “Spreewald-Reederei” emerged from the former “Spreewald-Reederei” 80 years after it was founded at the same location.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Helmut Michler opened the new “Spreewald-Reederei” at Dammstra\u00dfe 74 in L\u00fcbbenau on 17.07.2006. His boats are painted in the city colors blue\/yellow and are therefore easily recognizable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

Helmut Michler (left) covers the boats with Andreas Harms.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

The “Bootshaus Goroschoa” was founded just two weeks after the “Spreewald-Reederei”. <\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

On May 26, 1926, Heinz Kipp was granted a business license for his “Bootshaus an der Goroschoa” at Dammstra\u00dfe 76 in L\u00fcbbenau (photo taken around 1930)<\/em><\/p>\n

The Kipp boathouse, which no longer exists today, was also the information center of the Spree-Havel Rowing Association. In the fall of 1929, the recently built boathouse was doubled in size due to the high demand, with parking spaces for 200 canoes and a glazed terrace for 150 people added. The Spreewald travel guide from 1931 states: “In addition, a canteen provides inexpensive meals. For comrades who want to prepare their own meals, rooms are available for free preparation. Drinks, canned food and cigars are available in the canteen at retail price. Consultations and use of the facilities are completely free of charge.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

Mr. and Mrs. Kipp in May 1938. The shape of the hood could suggest that Mrs. Kipp comes from the Burger parish. However, the hood was probably only “borrowed” because the L\u00fcbbenau photographers had various items of traditional costume in their collection for advertising purposes.<\/em><\/p>\n

Within a short time, the Kipp boathouse and the neighboring canoe house had become the headquarters of Spreewald tourism, a kind of first tourist information center. The house was a meeting point for canoeists, while barge tourism was established next door in the large harbor. Opposite the “Spreewald-Reederei”, a hostel of the German Canoe Association was built with 24 beds (1930). As a result, more and more wooden paddle boats were purchased and paddle tourism flourished – until the Second World War caused everything to collapse.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>
The Kipp boathouse on the Goroschoa in the travelogues of the 1930s.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Summary\/timetable:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
May 14, 1926<\/td>\nOpening of the “Spreewald-Reederei” by Erich M\u00f6hring in L\u00fcbbenau, Dammstra\u00dfe 74<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 26, 1926<\/td>\nOpening of the “Bootshaus Gorroschoa” by Heinz Kipp in L\u00fcbbenau Dammstra\u00dfe 76 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nSpreewald-Reederei:<\/em> <\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
April 22, 1927<\/td>\nConstruction of a boathouse approved (see construction drawing and resolution of the district committee 11.04.1927) <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1929<\/td>\nArtur and Hans Buchholz take over the Spreewald shipping company <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
June 14, 1933<\/td>\nPermission to operate your own barge departure point from your own boat rental shop alongside the rental of paddle boats. (see letter from the mayor as local police authority no. 86)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1926<\/td>\nMain business of the shipping company in L\u00fcbbenau, Dammstra\u00dfe 74,Branches are located in Burg “Gasthaus Koloniesch\u00e4nke” and in Burg “Gasthaus Bleiche”. The boats can be rented in L\u00fcbbenau or Burg and returned in Burg or L\u00fcbbenau.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
until the end of 1959<\/td>\nlead Herta and Hans Buchholz senj. the business continues. Son Hans Buchholz jun. gives up the business and moves to the island of Hiddensee. <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1962<\/td>\nThe boathouse and the house (“Laube”) of the Buchholz family are dismantled and moved to Dammstra\u00dfe 72 D by the Fam. Manfred Franke, and from then on operated as “Bootsverleih Franke”.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
July 17, 2006<\/td>\nReopening of the Spreewald-Reederei on the site of the old Spreewald-Reederei at Dammstra\u00dfe 74 by Helmut Michler.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
25.11.2023<\/td>\nManfred Franke passes away, the boat rental business is continued by his son Thomas Franke.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n

Thanks: The historical documents come from the private collection of Andreas Harms, L\u00fcbbenau<\/strong><\/p>\n

Peter Becker, 25.04.2026<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spreewald tourism experienced a strong upswing long before the First World War. The increasingly better and faster rail connection between Berlin and the Spreewald contributed significantly to this, as did the increased advertising for the Spreewald in the Berlin newspapers by Mr. Fahlisch and Mr. Albinus from L\u00fcbbenau. Numerous canoeing clubs sprang up in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kb_optimizer_status":0,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","slim_seo":{"title":"100 years of canoe rental in L\u00fcbbenau - Spreewald\u00addorf Lehde","description":"Spreewald tourism experienced a strong upswing long before the First World War. The increasingly better and faster rail connection between Berlin and the Spreew"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nicht-kategorisiert"],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":1,"label":"Nicht kategorisiert"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/spreewald-dorf-lehde.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/peterbecker-2375-1024x724-g7tuVz.jpg",1024,724,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"sven-hofmann","author_link":"https:\/\/spreewald-dorf-lehde.de\/en\/author\/881ce4191d54ed84\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":1,"name":"Nicht kategorisiert","slug":"nicht-kategorisiert","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":212,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":1,"category_count":212,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Nicht kategorisiert","category_nicename":"nicht-kategorisiert","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spreewald-dorf-lehde.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spreewald-dorf-lehde.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spreewald-dorf-lehde.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spreewald-dorf-lehde.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spreewald-dorf-lehde.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3155"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/spreewald-dorf-lehde.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3157,"href":"https:\/\/spreewald-dorf-lehde.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3155\/revisions\/3157"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spreewald-dorf-lehde.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spreewald-dorf-lehde.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spreewald-dorf-lehde.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spreewald-dorf-lehde.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}