Prague Steamboat Company

Prague Steamboat Company (Czech: Pražská paroplavební společnost, a.s.) provides regular sightseeing cruises in the lower Vltava river.

The person who played a very important part in establishing the company was František Dittrich (who later became a mayor of Prague).

The first years were not easy mainly due to the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, however, two decades later the company flourished in the economic boom that began in 1884.

The economic crisis combined with competition from bus line transport, the construction of the Vrané Dam and other factors nearly led PPS to bankruptcy in 1936.

After the Iron Curtain collapsed the company got its independence back and within a few years it was able to adapt itself to a market economy when it became part of the EVD group (Evropská vodní doprava, s.r.o.