Svarte Rudolf was built as a steamship in 1927 in the Netherlands (S/S Duurswald). As a cargo ship, it has sailed both the world’s oceans and Finland’s inland waters.
As a restaurant ship, Svarte Rudolf began operations in its original form in the 1980s in Eastern Finland. In 1994, it found its home in Turku, on the banks of the Aura River, where it was transformed into one of the Nordic region’s most elegant restaurant ships with its hardwood interiors.
Today, Svarte Rudolf is one of the most recognizable silhouettes along the Aura River.
Svarte Rudolf’s rickshaws imported from India attracted attention in Turku traffic in the 1990s and even made it to the lighter segments of YLE news. Rickshaw taxi customer transports proceeded in quite cheerful spirits.