Pünte

Pünten were built from wood. They had a flat bottom and the sides sloped only slight outwards. Pünten were often fitted with a sail, although this was usually insufficient for propulsion, so that the boat was mostly hauled as well. A horse was transported on board for this purpose, which had to be put ashore when the boat came to stretches of river that required the boat to be hauled.^[1]

After centuries of decline, several pünten are again in operation in Germany in East Frisia and the Emsland. For example the Leher Pünte, the only sail-driven ferry over the navigable Ems, crosses the river near Lehe^[2] and, near the Großes Meer in the East Frisian municipality of Südbrookmerland pünten are used at two points along a cycleway.^[3]

The oldest operational hand-operated ferry in Central Europe is the pünte in Wiltshausen, which crosses the Jümme at its confluence with the Leda.