paddlesteamers.info  :  The Internet's leading website for Side-Wheeled Paddle Steamers 

Szoke Tisza  (ex- IV Karoly, later Sas, St Imre, Felszabadulas)

Szoke Tisza in November 2007 before she was largely dismantled and sunk in situ. Photo by kind courtesy of Zsolt Szabo

Built in 1917 by Ganz-Danubius at Budapest
Length : 77.4 m, breadth : 7.7 m (15.3 m overall)
Engines : Three cylinder diagonal

Renamed Sas in 1919 and St Imre in 1930
In Austria from 1944 to 1947
Renamed Felszabadulas in 1950
Rebuilt with extra cabin accommodation in 1958 at Ujpest Ship Repair Yard
1973-75 : in service for the SZOT Trade Union as a holiday ship
Withdrawn in 1976
Moved to Szeged for use as a discotheque with the name Szoke Tisza in 1978
In 2000, sold for nominal sum of 1 florin by the city of Szeged to the MAHART Tiszyacht ship repair yard at Szeged as she would not have her safety permit renewed.
Bought by the Europe Rendezvényiroda Kft, an operator of Danube cruise vessels in 2005 with a view to a return to operational service on long distance cruises
As the contracted requirement to begin renovation by the end of December 2006 had not been met, the ship's ownership reverted to Tiszayacht.
Superstructure scrapped in late 2012 after melting ice in late February 2012 caused her hull to crack and her to sink at her shallow moorings
Hull including engines remained mostly submerged in 2015 with nothing happening following the liquidation of the scrap merchant handling the wreck
Ownership of her remains was transferred to the Navy Foundation in December 2017 and her hull partially raised in October 2019
In a further operation to save the ship, her hull was moved further towards the shore in early 2020.
In January 2024 a contract was awarded to the SAM shipyard at Komarom to build a replica of the vessel incorporating certain parts of the original ship. 
The replica is planned to be a static floating museum and attraction in central Budapest

More Photos by kind courtesy of Zsolt Szabo :

Szoke Tisza in November 2007
Szoke Tisza in 2009
Engines
Aboard the ship

Above : The remains of the ship after being hauled out of the water are seen in March 2022 in a photo kindly supplied by Zsolt Szabo.