The Sankta Maria II car ferry in Oberbillig offers locals, commuters and tourists the opportunity to travel to neighboring Wasserbillig/Luxembourg. It is the only way for motorists to cross the river between Trier and Wellen and saves a long detour.
FERRY TIMES OF THE "SANKTA MARIA" CAR FERRY
TOP CHEAP - WATER CHEAP
| Mon - Fri | 06:30 - 20:00 |
| Sat, Sun and public holidays | 09:00 - 20:00 |
The car ferry "Sankta Maria" can also be reached by telephone on the following number: 0172 -3 15 61 26
For fees for using the ferry, please see the Fee statute of the local municipality of Oberbillig or the homepage of Municipality of Oberbillig
To the ferry
Historically, the history of Oberbillig is closely linked to Wasserbillig on the opposite side of the Moselle. Until 1871, Oberbillig belonged to the Luxembourg parish of Wasserbillig, although separated by the Moselle. Oberbillig only belonged to Prussia and Wasserbillig to the Netherlands as a result of the agreements made at the Congress of Vienna (1815) and a border treaty concluded at Kleve on October 7, 1816. 200 years later, one place is in Luxembourg, the other in Germany. Although the two places have been separate for 200 years, they get along very well.
The good cooperation and the good human relationship also made it possible that the ferry "Sankta Maria" was purchased more than 50 years ago. The Moselle ferry connects the German community of Oberbillig with its neighboring community in Luxembourg, Mertert-Wasserbillig, thereby relieving the burden on the "Wellen/Grevenmacher" commuter bridge. The ferry, which is operated jointly by the municipalities of Oberbillig and Mertert/Wasserbillig, is used by around 143,000 people with almost 66,000 cars, 1,600 motorbikes and motorbikes and 19,500 bicycles on an annual average. This ferry was replaced due to age.
The world's first all-electric car ferry for inland waterways was christened on November 25, 2017 in Oberbillig with a large turnout of the population. With the purchase of a modern, electricity-powered ferry (the first of its kind in Germany), the age-related high maintenance costs of the current ship are avoided, around 14,000 liters of diesel are saved every year and exhaust and noise emissions are also significantly reduced. The new ferry also offers more space and can therefore transport even more people with their vehicles.
The Moselle communities of Oberbillig and Wasserbillig together invested around 1.6 million euros in this project, which was funded by the European Union with a good 660,000 euros from INTERREG V A Greater Regions funds.
The "Sankta Maria II" thus replaces the 50-year-old "Sankta Maria". On November 21, 2017, the "Sankta Maria II", built by the specialist companies Formstaal GmbH & Co. KG and Ostseestaal GmbH & Co. KG in Stralsund, was handed over to the owner in Oberbillig on the Moselle. Since December 10, the 3 skippers Dieter Feldmann, Martin Schreiner and Velibor Gacik have been working on the world's first electrically operated inland ferry - and thus a completely emission-free and significantly quieter workplace. With the new ferry, the maintenance of the traditional connection between the municipalities of Oberbillig and Mertert/Wasserbillig was ensured for the coming decades.