Helvétie, Steamboat

The Helvétie is a paddle steamer built in 1926 by Sulzer Frères in Winterthur, 78.5 m long and 15.9 m wide, with a dark hull, a white upper deck and a yellow funnel with a black top. Its name appears in light capitals on a dark panel on the forward hull. It now carries 980 passengers and is out of service since 2002.

Built in 1926 by Sulzer Frères in Winterthur, the Helvétie was the third of the CGN's large steamers after La Suisse and the Simplon. In 1975–1977 its steam engine was replaced by diesel-electric units taken from the tug Goliath, and part of the old machinery was bought by Nyon for the Musée du Léman. It was decommissioned in May 2002 and classified as a historic monument by the canton of Vaud in 2011.

The name Helvétie is the French form of Helvetia, the neo-Latin name for Switzerland. The ship carried passengers on Lake Geneva from 1926 and was rebuilt in 1975-1977 with diesel-electric machinery taken from the Danube tug Goliath. Since 2002 it has been out of service, and in 2012-2013 it was moored in front of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne as a temporary exhibition room during building work.

The vessel is currently moored at the Ouchy quay near the Olympic Museum and can be viewed from outside when accessible. Visitors can admire its classic shape and hull details from the shore or dock while enjoying the lakeside setting.

The Helvétie's original three-cylinder steam engine was sold to the town of Nyon for scrap value and has been displayed at the Musée du Léman since the 1975-1977 conversion. The diesel-electric machinery that replaced it came second-hand from the paddle tug Goliath of the Austrian Danube shipping company DDSG.