History Main / SwanBoats

Swans, especially the European mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') have appeared in literature and mythology for centuries. These birds are usually depicted as beautiful and graceful. They are also frequently used as a symbol of love (due to their tendency to mate for life in most cases) and, since usually white, innocence and purity. Black swans, native to Australia, are also popular, though more often associated with evil (though usually ''elegant'' evil) due to the prevalence of GoodColorsEvilColors.

* Swan boats can be seen along the Han River in Seoul, particularly in the Gangnam District.
* In central Europe, there is a popular ride commonly seen at fairs and in amusement parks, called simply "swans". It's a large merry-go-round with seats that look like white swans and sometimes completed with a parasol. The swans can fly up and down. It's popular with kids and couples in love.
* Victorian swan boats were inspired by an opera. Robert Paget searched for a way to conceal the machinery and human driver of his new invention: foot-powered paddleboat he invented in 1877. When he recalled seeing Wagner's opera ''Lohengrin'', he got the idea of covering the boat with giant swans carved from wood.

* King UsefulNotes/LudwigIIOfBavaria had a golden swan boat in the Venus Grotto in Linderhof Palace. He liked to be rowed across the lake in the boat as Music/RichardWagner's music was played for him, particularly the swan-themed ''Theatre/{{Lohengrin}}'' (which he loved so much that his most famous castle, Neuschwanstein, was decorated with swan motifs. ''Everywhere'').

* Literature/MiddleEarth

* King Ludwig II of Bavaria had a golden swan boat in the Venus Grotto in Linderhof Palace. He liked to be rowed across the lake in the boat as Richard Wagner's music was played for him.

* In the medieval legend of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_of_the_Swan "Knight of the Swan,"]] a mysterious knight rides in a boat pulled by swans when he comes to rescue a DamselInDistress. Music/RichardWagner's ''Lohengrin'' is based on this legend.

-->--'''Ellis''', ''Videogame/Left4Dead2''

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' For the legalization of gay marriage across the USA and a gallery, Bryan Konietzko drew [[spoiler: Korra and Asami]] riding together in a [[MixAndMatchCritter turtle-duck]] version in Republic City titled, "Turtle-Duck Date Night" to raise money for a LGBTQ suicide helpline. WordOfGod even states the idea came from Ueno (see below).

* Boats shaped like or decorated with swans have been used as a tourist attraction all over the world: Walt Disney World[[https://waltdatedworld.com/id42.htm]] (ride now closed); Boston[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_Boats_%28Boston,_Massachusetts%29]]; Lake Bled, Slovenia[[http://www.sloveniaforyou.com/InfoBled.htm]]; New Vrindavan[[http://www.chakra.org/announcements2/DevotionalAug05_10.html]], West Virginia; Tokyo[[http://sakurazukalori.deviantart.com/art/Tokyo-Swan-boats-252430014]]; Asbury Park[[http://onlineathens.com/stories/082811/liv_877795346.shtml]] and Sea Bright[[http://www.flickr.com/photos/23956233@N04/4048207155/]], New Jersey; Lake Beira[[http://londonlanka.blogspot.com/2010/08/ride-white-swan.html]], Sri Lanka; Muenster[[http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23844148/ns/world_news-weird_news/t/true-love-swan-swan-shaped-boat-reunite/]], Germany; Willow Grove[[http://www.amusementparknostalgia.net/pix/3/wg129.jpg]], Pennsylvania; Orlando, Florida[[http://www.cityoforlando.net/parks/lake-eola-park/]]

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': The Amazons have swan boats and ''swan spaceships'' meant to evoke their ties to Aphrodite, beauty and commitment to never killing.