How did Medieval European river passenger transport develop?

Upvote:2

Upstream the boats were usually towed by men or animals on the river bank. In Russia, people in this trade were (later?) known as Burlaks, but similar jobs existed in other countries too, notably on the rivers in Germany.

Punting was quite common on short river sections where towing was not possible.

Upvote:5

River transport was used very much already in the Neolithic and Ancient times. Fast, cheap, quite reliable. It was used both for goods and travelers.

  1. What developed in late Middle Ages was a trans-european waterway transport service economy. This is only true for northern Europe. Southern Europe does not have many navigable rivers, plus, its navigation economy was tied in the Mediterranean sea, and the "Mediterranean transport service economy" was never out of business even after the fall of the Roman Empire.
  2. I'm not an expert on this but conveniences were poor. Just sit in the barrel, Joe.
  3. No sails for river navigation. That's a crazy idea that would get you crushed against the river edges pretty quickly. Just rowing was used.

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