The Berlin-Spandau Ship Canal, or Berlin-Spandauer Schifffahrtskanal in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, is a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It was built between 1848 and 1859 to a plan created by Peter Joseph Lenné, and was formerly known as the Hohenzollern Canal or Hohenzollernkanal. The long canal links the River Havel north of

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smallest borough by population, but the fourth largest by land ...

to the

River Spree Spree may refer to: Geography * Spree (river), river in Germany Film and television * ''The Spree'', a 1998 American television film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace * ''Spree'' (film), a 2020 American film starring Joe Keery * "Spree" (''Numbers ...

near the Hauptbahnhof in

. Because it joins the River Havel upstream of the river lock at Spandau, it provides a more direct route from the River Spree to the

Oder–Havel Canal The Oder–Havel Canal is a German canal built between 1908 and 1914, originally known as the Hohenzollern Canal, mostly replacing the Finow Canal. Together with Hohensaaten-Friedrichsthaler Wasserstraße, the ''Oderhaltung'' and the ''Schwedter ...

. The

Westhafen The Westhafen (German for ''West Harbor'') is Berlin's largest inland port, located in the district of Moabit. The Westhafen has an area of 430.000 square meters and it is divided into two parallel harbor basins. It is connected to the Spree and ...

, Berlin's largest port with an area of 173,000 m² (42.75

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

s), lies on the Berlin-Spandau Ship Canal some from its eastern (River Spree) end. The

Westhafen Canal The Westhafen Canal, or Westhafenkanal in German, is a canal in Berlin, Germany. The long canal connects with the Westhafen inland port and the Berlin-Spandau Ship Canal at its eastern end, and with the River Spree in Charlottenburg at its wes ...

and

Charlottenburg Canal The Charlottenburg Canal, or Charlottenburger Verbindungskanal in German, is a canal in Berlin, Germany. With a former length of , the canal was built between 1848 and 1859, and originally connected the River Spree, in Charlottenburg, with the ...

also connect the port to the River Spree further downstream in Charlottenburg. On August 26, 2013, author

Wolfgang Herrndorf Wolfgang Herrndorf (12 June 1965 in Hamburg – 26 August 2013 in Berlin) was a German author, painter, and illustrator. Life and career In 2002, his debut novel ''In Plüschgewittern'' was published by Zweitausendeins. Despite the protagonist ...

committed suicide by gunshot to the head on the banks of the canal following a long illness.

Gallery

File:Karte der Berliner Wasserstraßen.png, Map of waterways in the Berlin region File:Promenade Berlin-Spandauer-Schifffahrtskanal.jpg, Information board on the promenade File:Berlin-Spandauer Schifffahrtskanal, Schiff bei Kanaleinfahrt.jpg, Barge entering the canal from the River Spree by the new Hauptbahnhof

References

{{Berlin-struct-stub Canals in Berlin Buildings and structures in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf Buildings and structures in Mitte Buildings and structures in Spandau Federal waterways in Germany Canals opened in 1859 CBerlinSpandau