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Petofi  (ex-Szent Laszlo)

Petofi in stripped down state at Neszmely in 2007. Photo by kind courtesy of Zsolt Szabo.

Built in 1920-1926 at MTFR Shipyard, Komarom on a keel originally laid down in 1918
Length : 62.3 m, breadth : 8.0 m (15.8 m overall)
Engines : Compound diagonal

Originally due to be called Jeno Focerzeg, the political landscape had changed once she was eventually completed and she was called Szent Laszlo
Interned at Passau from 1944 to December 1946
Renamed Petofi in 1950
Rebuilt in 1960, but retained a bridge and wheelhouse amidships. A new oil fired boiler was fitted.
Associated with cruises from Budapest to the Danube bend until 1979 when she replaced Kossuth providing short cruised from Budapest
Withdrawn in 1983 and used for some time as a workers' canteen
Sent for a refit at the Boris Kidric shipyard at Apatin in Yugoslavia in 1989 with the intention of her being returned to service.
Returned to the MAHART yard at Budapest for work on the superstructure, but work stopped in 1990 due to lack of finance.
Petofi was retained by MAHART, her owners, and succesors to MTFR, with a view to reactivation at a later date (albeit with diesel power)
Although in very poor condition, she is part of the maritime museum collection at Neszmely run by the "Zoltan Society", a joint venture of Europe Rendezvényiroda Kft and Neszmely council.

Petofi in 1984 - Photo kindly supplied by Zsolt Szabo