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, original_owner = , engineer =
Franz von Brenkenhoff Franz Balthasar Schönberg von Brenkenhoff (1723-1780) was a Prussian secret financial adviser. He was the head of the Netze District, Nadnotecki District and the builder of the Bydgoszcz Canal. Life The von Brenkenhoff family, originating from ...
, date_began = 1773 , date_use = 14 June 1774 , date_completed = 1775 , date_extended = 1904 , date_closed = , date_restored = , len_ft = , len_in = , len_m = 57 , len_note = , beam_ft = , beam_in = , beam_m = 9.5 , beam_note = , start_point =
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
, , start_note = , end_point =
Nakło nad Notecią Nakło nad Notecią (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Nakel an der Netze) is a town in northern Poland on the river Noteć with 23,687 inhabitants (2007). It is the seat of Nakło County, and also of Gmina Nakło nad Notecią, situated in the Kuya ...
, , end_note = , branch = Old Bydgoszcz Canal , branch_of = European Waterway E70 , connects_to =
Warta The river Warta ( , ; german: Warthe ; la, Varta) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly north-west to flow into the Oder, against the German border. About long, it is Poland's second-longest river within its borders after the Vistula, a ...
river , locks = 6 , length_mi = , length_km = 24.77 , length_note = , elev_ft = , elev_m = , elev_note = 22.5 m discrepancy , status = , navigation_authority = Bydgoszcz Canal (german: Bromberger Kanal) 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 ...
, 24.7 km long, between the cities of
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
and Nakło in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, connecting
Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...
river with
Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...
river, through Brda and
Noteć Noteć (; , ) is a river in central Poland with a length of (7th longest) and a basin area of .Warta The river Warta ( , ; german: Warthe ; la, Varta) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly north-west to flow into the Oder, against the German border. About long, it is Poland's second-longest river within its borders after the Vistula, a ...
river which itself ends in Oder). The level difference along the canal is regulated by 6
locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...
. The canal was built in 1772–1775, at the order of Frederick II, king of
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
(after annexation of western Poland by
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
in First Partition of Poland). Bydgoszcz Canal has been listed on the
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as Cuiavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship or simply Kujawsko-Pomorskie, or Kujawy-Pomerania Province ( pl, województwo kujawsko-pomorskie ) is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divide ...
Heritage List, Nr.A/900/1-27, on 30 November 2005.


Location

The route of the Bydgoszcz Canal finds its way through an ancient valley about 2 km wide, surrounded by steep edges: * on the north, the Krajeńskie Lake District banks are 25 to 40 m high; * on the south the upper slopes of
Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...
basin are 10 to 15 m high. The area was created about 12,000 years ago by a divide between the basins of Oder and Vistula rivers. The canal starts in downtown Bydgoszcz, flowing through the western part of the city, it then crosses Bydgoszcz district on 7 km and ends at
Nakło nad Notecią Nakło nad Notecią (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Nakel an der Netze) is a town in northern Poland on the river Noteć with 23,687 inhabitants (2007). It is the seat of Nakło County, and also of Gmina Nakło nad Notecią, situated in the Kuya ...
. The Bydgoszcz Canal is a key element of the Vistula-Oder River Waterway (294.3 km long), which in turn is part of the international E-70 waterway, connecting
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
(
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
) and the Atlantic Ocean to Klaipeda (
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
) and the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
. Its main intended role comes as being a component of this east–west navigable shipping route. The Vistula-Oder waterway runs through the Brda River (tributary of the Vistula river), linked to the Bydgoszcz canal: two water locks are located in the city. Further sections of the waterway runs via the canal to Nakło nad Notecią through 14 water locks. In Nakło, the waterway uses
Noteć Noteć (; , ) is a river in central Poland with a length of (7th longest) and a basin area of .Warta The river Warta ( , ; german: Warthe ; la, Varta) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly north-west to flow into the Oder, against the German border. About long, it is Poland's second-longest river within its borders after the Vistula, a ...
rivers, before reaching the Oder river. Several large harbors and berths are available en route:
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
, Nakło,
Ujście Ujście (german: Usch) is a town in Piła County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, northwestern Poland, with 8,134 inhabitants (2011). Although there was already a stronghold here in the 7th century, Ujście was founded in the 12th century. From t ...
,
Czarnków Czarnków (german: Scharnikau, before 1939: Czarnikau) is a town in Poland in Czarnków-Trzcianka County in Greater Poland Voivodeship. As of December 2021, the town has 10,279 inhabitants. The town lies on the Noteć river. Because there are m ...
,
Krzyż Wielkopolski Krzyż Wielkopolski (german: Kreuz (Ostbahn)) is a town in Poland, with 6,176 inhabitants (2019) in the Czarnków-Trzcianka County, Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is an important railroad junction, with two major lines crossing there - the Berli ...
,
Gorzów Wielkopolski Gorzów Wielkopolski (; german: Landsberg an der Warthe) often abbreviated to Gorzów Wlkp. or simply Gorzów, is a city in western Poland, on the Warta river. It is the second largest city in the Lubusz Voivodeship with 120,087 inhabitants (Decemb ...
and
Santok Santok (german: Zantoch) is a village in Gorzów County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Santok. Geography It is located at the confluence of the Noteć and Warta rive ...
.


History


First projects

Assumptively, navigation between Brda and
Noteć Noteć (; , ) is a river in central Poland with a length of (7th longest) and a basin area of . * in 1827, an anchor was found where stands today Grunwaldzka Street; * in 1840, a large remains of a ship and a docking installation were unearthed near the village of Łochowo. The Vistula and Oder rivers were only apart, considering the situation of their tributaries (Noteć and Brda rivers): the junction of both hydrographic basins seemed unavoidable. First plans were established as soon as technical and political opportunities appeared. Discussions to link Noteć and Brda rivers first occurred in the 16th century during the Polish-Brandenburg talks and were renewed in the 1630s by king
Władysław IV Vasa Władysław IV Vasa; lt, Vladislovas Vaza; sv, Vladislav IV av Polen; rus, Владислав IV Ваза, r=Vladislav IV Vaza; la, Ladislaus IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV of Poland (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of ...
.


Polish project

In the 1750s,
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 ...
schemes were very popular: first realizations were already completed in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
or
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 ...
, while in Poland, Prince
Michał Kazimierz Ogiński Michał Kazimierz Ogiński ( – ) was a Polish nobleman, politician, musician, composer and military officer. Biography He began his political career at the age of 18, when he became the Field Writer of Lithuania, a mid-level position in the a ...
supported the construction of the
Oginski Canal The Oginski Canal is a canal in Belarus which connects Yaselda River and Shchara River. Its length is 54 km. Its construction was started in 1765 by prince Michał Kazimierz Ogiński Michał Kazimierz Ogiński ( – ) was a Polish nobleman ...
, and the
Dnieper–Bug Canal , image = Селішча._Дняпроўска-Бугскі_канал._Водападзел_(15).jpg , image_caption = , original_owner = , engineer = , other_engineer ...
was completed at the end of the 18th century. Nearby Bydgoszcz, works started east of Rynarzewo, run by Mr Małachowski, landlord in
Łabiszyn Łabiszyn (german: Labischin, 1940-45: Lüderitz) is a small town in Żnin County, in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland, with 4,403 inhabitants (2004). It is located on the Noteć river near Żnin, on the border between the historic r ...
: in the 1770s, trenches were excavated and usable as a portion of a navigable canal in the area. One of the first major projects under consideration by King
Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarch ...
was a channel linking Noteć and Brda rivers via
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
. Main aims to be achieved were facilitating Polish goods exports to Western Europe, as well as commercial exploitation of forest resource (neglected so far), while weakening the quasi-monopoly of the then-Prussian city of
Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
. Politically, the opposition to this concept was the fact that such a canal could in fact increase the power of the
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
. On 9 July 1766, during a meeting of the Committee of the Crown Treasury, a plan was presented by artillery captain and royal geographer
Franciszek Florian Czaki Franciszek Florian Czaki (Csaky de Kerestszegh) (died in 1772) – a famous cartographer, engineer, captain of the Polish artillery, Hungarian by nationality. One of the most prominent cartographers of the last Polish king Stanisław August Pon ...
. He proposed to build the canal where Noteć river was the closest to Bydgoszcz. It was planned to be long, wide and deep. The level difference () between Brda and Noteć rivers was compensated by six water locks. Construction would have been carried out by a private company, which would then have received the right to collect taxes in return. Approval for building this project was not given by the
Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...
, due to the political turmoils of the time (1768):
Bar Confederation The Bar Confederation ( pl, Konfederacja barska; 1768–1772) was an association of Polish nobles (szlachta) formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia (now part of Ukraine) in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish ...
, then First Partition of Poland. In retrospect, the project was not devoid of technical defects, especially in under-estimating the requirement of water resources that could be found locally (streams and
wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
s).


Completion of the Prussian project

The Prussian project was born after the first partition of Poland. Lands where flowed Vistula, Brda and Noteć rivers were all under the control of the Kingdom of Prussia and Frederick the Great took specific interest in this situation. The Prussian project was worked out by several personalities: Frederick the Great, of course, but also politician Franz von Brenkenhoff, engineer Hermann Jawein or Minister of Foreign Affairs Ewald Friedrich Hertzberg. Assumably, during his journey through the lands occupied by Prussia, Hermann Jawein was the first to identify the potential of the local hydrographic system, in particular meadow resources, which could be obtained after draining Bydgoszcz canal valley. In February 1772, this idea was brought to the attention of governor Franz von Brenkenhoff, who, once having investigated the situation on the spot, went to talk king of Prussia Frederick II into approving the project. Many benefits were expected from the completion of the canal: * creating an alternate trading pole (after Gdańsk); * improving transport and communication within the newly expanded
Province of Brandenburg The Province of Brandenburg (german: Provinz Brandenburg) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1945. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg ...
; * revitalizing central Noteć valley; * colonizing the Brda and Noteć rivers. The canal design was shaped in spring of 1772. It hinged on a classic solution: the draining and re-routing of the ancient
urstromtal An ''urstromtal'' (plural: ''Urstromtäler'') is a type of broad glacial valley, for example, in northern Central Europe, that appeared during the ice ages, or individual glacial periods of an ice age, at the edge of the Scandinavian ice sheet and ...
. Initially, plans comprised the use of water supplies from: * Ślesińskiego Lake (now '' Stawy Kardynalskie '' in
Ślesin Ślesin is a town in Konin County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 3,324 inhabitants (2004). In partitioned Poland it belonged to the Russian-controlled Congress Kingdom from 1815; it returned to Poland when the country regained its in ...
) near Nakło; * streams flowing from the ''Lake District'' north of Bydgoszcz; * the drainage of swamps. Further researches showed, however, that the amount of water would still be neither sufficient nor regular. Hence the decision to use most elevated water flows from the Noteć river, which required the construction of a specific ditch from Rynarzewo to Lisi Ogon. The required support of Noteć waters caused the canal location to be located more to the south than originally planned. The work began in spring 1773, with a man power of 8,000 workers coming from
Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...
,
Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
,
Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
,
Dessau Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...
and
Czechia The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Cz ...
. After one year, all the water locks were completed. The canal official opening took place on 14 June 1774, but works continued until 1775. 2000 workers died from
dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
and
fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...
, the rest was ordered to settle in three colonies on Osowa Góra premises. The new waterway was long, with 10 wooden locks: 9 in Bydgoszcz and one in Nakło nad Notecią. At the same time as the completion of the Bydgoszcz Canal, the water supply channel (''Górnonotecki Canal'') was achieved: long, it brought Noteć water (picked up near Rynarzewo) to the canal (near the location of the village Łochowo). It was now possible to ferry goods through inland waterway from Vistula, Bug, San and
Narew The Narew (; be, Нараў, translit=Naraŭ; or ; Sudovian: ''Naura''; Old German: ''Nare''; uk, Нарва, translit=Narva) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland, which is also a tributary of the river Vis ...
rivers to
Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...
, thus bypassing
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
. Apart from the short ''Kanał Jagielloński'' (1483), Bydgoszcz canal was then the oldest artificial waterway completed on Polish lands; at the time, it was called ''The miracle work of time''. It was followed by other similar realizations: the
Dnieper–Bug Canal , image = Селішча._Дняпроўска-Бугскі_канал._Водападзел_(15).jpg , image_caption = , original_owner = , engineer = , other_engineer ...
(1784) or the
Oginski Canal The Oginski Canal is a canal in Belarus which connects Yaselda River and Shchara River. Its length is 54 km. Its construction was started in 1765 by prince Michał Kazimierz Ogiński Michał Kazimierz Ogiński ( – ) was a Polish nobleman ...
(1783).


First operational period (1774-1792)

The first period of use of the canal was difficult, since Prussia did not allocate funds to maintain equipment and construction (removing sand, vegetation or strengthening the banks). Between 1789 and 1792, a reconstruction of a Bydgoszcz lock (''Śluza Miejska '') failed. Hampered by such technical difficulties, waterway traffic never increased dramatically: in the 1775, 1373 barges used the canal, but only 1319 in 1786. In 1792, after a failure to ferry grain from Vistula river to western Prussia, the authorities pushed on funding a modernization of the canal. Since its inception, an insufficient amount of water has been a significant problem to operate the Canal. The highest section, between ''Osowa Góra'' and ''Józefinki'', was particularly affected: the main reason was that the water supply channel (''Górnonotecki Canal'') did not provide the amount of water expected. In this situation, an extension of the ''Kanał Górnonotecki'' was performed (1793-1794), so as to reach Dębinek.


First renovation (1792-1806)

The first reconstruction of the canal was performed by Ernst Conrad Peterson, a land drainage and later canal inspector. Between 1795 and 1801, he had 9 locks and 3
weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
s rebuilt with brick material. The lock at Nakło East was the first renovated, leading to an extension of the canal by one kilometer, while one of the locks in Bydgoszcz was removed (between today's locks IV and V). All the rebuilt locks had the same dimensions: by . They were the first locks in Prussia constructed with bricks (previously sandstone was used). Ernst Conrad Peterson had trees planted on the banks of the canal (between locks I and VI), where is today the ''Old Bydgoszcz canal natural park'' ( pl, Planty nad Kanałem Bydgoskim), and brought settlers who were in charge of managing the banks of the Canal at Osowa Góra. In 1805, he also had the city lock (''Śluza Miejska '') rebuilt with wood: the chamber was then long and deep. These structures are still preserved today, along the old canal section (locks IV ''Wroclawska'', V ''Black Path'' and VI ''Bronikowski'').


From 1806 to 1875

Once Bydgoszcz incorporated Polish territory (
Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...
's period), repairs and maintenance of the canal kept on. In the area of Dębinek, a new
weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
was built so as to bring waters from Noteć river to the Górnonotecki Canal and a new lock in Nakło-West was constructed. Works of Ernst Conrad Peterson were of such high quality, that for decades the canal carried on its operations without any additional extensive repair, except for the replacement of 15–20 years old wooden lock elements. From 1840 to 1852, two new massive granite-brick locks were built: ''Śluza Prądy'' and Osowa Góra lock. Both were locks of larger sizes, by . Till 1861, three locks were removed, thanks to the canal bottoming out. In 1841, a stone bridge over Bydgoszcz Canal was erected downtown: ''
Władysław IV Vasa Władysław IV Vasa; lt, Vladislovas Vaza; sv, Vladislav IV av Polen; rus, Владислав IV Ваза, r=Vladislav IV Vaza; la, Ladislaus IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV of Poland (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of ...
Bridge'', which has been demolished in 1971 during Marshal Ferdinand Foch Street extension. Between 1858 and 1862, shipping traffic on the canal reached 4000 boats yearly.


Investments from 1875 to 1905

After 1870, Europe witnessed a significant acceleration of inland navigation: railways were still expensive, and transport of bulk cargo by water was still considered the most profitable means. This movement was multiplicated by the use of steam engines. On Bydgoszcz Canal, steam ships appeared after 1885: approximately 500 000 tons of cargo were transported each year. Since the beginning of the operations on the canal, development of water transport had always been limited by a shortage of the volume of water. Improvement occurred in 1878–1882, after the realization of the upper canalization of Noteć at
Gopło Gopło is a lake in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland, near the city of Gniezno. It gives its name to the protected area called Gopło Landscape Park. In early Middle Ages, the shores of Lake Gopło were home to a West Slavic ...
lake section, and the re-construction of parts of the Górnonotecki Canal. In 1876, Brda river regulation started in Bydgoszcz, together with the construction of a 50-ha wood harbour in the area of Brdyujście district (today's Bydgoszcz rowing track). Two weirs and two locks were built at the time: ''Śluza Brdyujście'' and ''Śluza Kapuściska''. With a significant increase of traffic on the canal, necessary works were performed, streamlining locks operations and saving canal's meagre water resources. In 1884, downtown lock (''Śluza Miejska'') was rebuilt, with its original trapezoidal shape and its unique operating process. After a successful exploitation of the lower Brda river and the upper canal of Noteċ in fall of 1879, years between 1878 and 1882 witnessed large investments towards the Bydgoszcz Canal and the Vistula-Oder rivers waterway, which allowed: * removing the last wooden lock (1889) * rebuilding the lock at Nakło East (1887-1889); * piercing a watercourse for the Brda river at Kapuściska district (1897); * enlarging Bydgoszcz harbour (1903-1905) by removing a weir and a lock (''Śluza Kapuściska'') and by erecting a
roller dam A Roller dam is a type of hydro-control device specially designed to mitigate erosion. They are most often used to divert water for irrigation but the largest and most notable examples are used to ease river navigation. The world's first roller ...
at Brdyujście.


Second renovation (1906-1915)

In 1904, Berlin approved an ambitious project available for large ships, called the ''Central Canal'', aiming at linking Rhine and Vistula rivers through
German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
. An important part of this project comprised the reconstruction of the Vistula-Oder waterway -and the Bydgoszcz Canal- to allow barges up to 400 tons. On 1 April 1905 a special bill on waterways was passed, while at the same time rumors reported that the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
had planned to build a competitive waterway between Vistula and the
Warta The river Warta ( , ; german: Warthe ; la, Varta) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly north-west to flow into the Oder, against the German border. About long, it is Poland's second-longest river within its borders after the Vistula, a ...
rivers. Studies started in 1906. Soon, it appeared that new locks and pools for such large barges would be impossible to accommodate at the eastern entry of the canal. In consequence, it was decided to dig a new -long canal section on the district of Okole (in Bydgoszcz) and to build two new, larger locks. Work was carried out between 1910 and 1913 to complete on Bydgoszcz premises: * a new city lock (''Śluza Miejska ''); * a new ''Śluza Okole''; * a new ''Śluza Czyżkówko''; * a renovated ''Queen Jadwiga bridge'' on Królowej Jadwigi Street with higher clearance. In addition, all other locks were remodeled, the canal deepened and 7 new locks installed on
Noteć Noteć (; , ) is a river in central Poland with a length of (7th longest) and a basin area of . The new waterway was put into service on 1 April 1915: the hydrotechnical achievement doubled the navigation capacity of the channel back in 1873. Full operations along the Vistula-Oder waterway were then halted by the outbreak of
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. A long canal section of that time, together five locks, remained preserved as a storing area. Eventually, city authorities decided to transform this portion into fish ponds with plantations, called the ''Park on Bydgoszcz Canal''; it is today a Polish natural reserve sector.


Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
and occupation

At the end of WWI, Bydgoszcz Canal and part of the Vistula-Oder Waterway were located within the boundaries of the newly reborn
Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...
. The economic importance of the canal had declined, annual traffic reports were lower than those at the end of the 19th century: 196 000 tons in 1920 and 1927, while in 1900, 598 000 tons had been ferried. Even worse, during the 1930s, traffic dropped down to 100 000 tons. One of the main reason for this fall in activity was the high customs duties on Polish goods imposed by the German side. Indeed,
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
was, as before the first World War, the predominant importer of Polish goods: wood, mostly, was sold to the west, whereas seeds and fertilizer were imported to Poland. Shipping companies were flourishing at the time, e.g. the '' Lloyd Bydgoski, Bromberger Schleppschiffahrt, Towarzystwo Akcyjne'', which operated from its seat in
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
. In particular, waterway provided ferry to 94 000 tons of cargo between the western Reich territory and
East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
(1938). Till the start of the Second World War, several schemes planned to re-vitalize waterways across Poland, to no avail: * In the 1920s, a project of building a canal to link
Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
with the Vistula River at Bydgoszcz or Toruń was considered, so as to save money on
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...
transport, which was the Nr.1 export raw material of Poland at that time. In 1925, engineer Tadeusz Tillinger developed a plan for a long channel joining
Gopło Gopło is a lake in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland, near the city of Gniezno. It gives its name to the protected area called Gopło Landscape Park. In early Middle Ages, the shores of Lake Gopło were home to a West Slavic ...
lake to Vistula at the level of Łęgnowo (Bydgoszcz district), where a railway station was to connect to the inland port. * In 1928, the ''Society for the Propaganda of Construction of Roads and Waterways in Poland'' ( pl, Towarzystwo Propagandy Budowy Dróg i Budowli Wodnych w Polsce ) supported a project of a waterway from Upper Silesia to the area of
Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...
, called ''Central Canal'' or ''Coal Canal''. The channel was supposed to start from
Katowice Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popul ...
river harbour and run through
Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ; german: Tschenstochau, Czenstochau; la, Czanstochova) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (admin ...
,
Radomsko Radomsko is a city in southern Poland with 44,700 inhabitants (2021). It is situated on the Radomka river in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been in Piotrków Trybunalski Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the county seat ...
,
Piotrków Trybunalski Piotrków Trybunalski (; also known by #Etymology, alternative names), often simplified to Piotrków, is a city in central Poland with 71,252 inhabitants (2021). It is the second-largest city situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Previously, it wa ...
,
Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...
,
Łęczyca Łęczyca (; in full the Royal Town of Łęczyca, pl, Królewskie Miasto Łęczyca; german: Lentschitza; he, לונטשיץ) is a town of 13,786 inhabitants () in central Poland. Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the county seat of the ...
,
Koło Koło (; during the German occupation called ''Wartbrücken'' in 1940–41, ''Warthbrücken'' in 1941–45) is a town on the Warta River in central Poland with 23,101 inhabitants (2006). It is situated in the Greater Poland Voivodship (since 19 ...
, Gopło lake and
Gniewkowo Gniewkowo (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Argenau) is a town in Inowrocław County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland with a population of 7,301 (2005). It is located within the historic region of Kuyavia. Location Gniewkowo is located ...
to join Vistula river below Torun. The water route was long, passing through 39 locks. In addition, between Częstochowa and Łódź was planned a very complex system of mechanical dry locks. * Another colossal project envisaged the realization of a long canal dedicated to coal cargo, running parallel to the left bank of the Vistula river, from the port of Myslowice, via
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
to
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
. However, it meant bypassing many cities located on the left bank, like
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
,
Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to the ...
, Wloclawek or
Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...
. The project also planned to build a gigantic hydroelectric power plant in Fordon, where channel water would flow into the Vistula River. After the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Bydgoszcz canal was damaged by Polish sappers in September 1939. During the war, the canal was heavily used for the transport of bulk goods, since railroads were dedicated to the transport of war material. Among the never-achieved plans of the Nazi authorities was the so-called ''Bydgoszcz bypass'': a channel running from ''Śluza Osowa Góra'' and connecting directly with the Vistula river via the north of Fordon district. Bydgoszcz canal did not suffer from the war, if one excludes several acts of vandalism committed by
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
soldiers that have been fiercely parried by Stanisław Marian Tychoniewicz, then head of Bydgoszcz State Water Council.


Post war period

After World War II, no thorough modernization of Bydgoszcz Canal facilities have been performed, albeit it was at the time the second artificial waterway in economic terms (after the
Gliwice Canal The Gliwice Canal ( pl, Kanał Gliwicki, german: Gleiwitzer Kanal) is a canal connecting the Oder (Odra) River to the city of Gliwice in the Silesian Voivodeship (Upper Silesian Industrial Region), Poland. Also known as the Upper Silesian Canal ...
built in the 1930s) in the country. In 1972, of canal were covered and two locks were razed due to the extension of Marshal Ferdinand Foch Street. In 1951, the state-owned ''Bydgoszcz Shipping company'' ( pl, Żegluga Bydgoska) was established, managing inland ports located along the Vistula-Oder waterway: Bydgoszcz,
Ujście Ujście (german: Usch) is a town in Piła County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, northwestern Poland, with 8,134 inhabitants (2011). Although there was already a stronghold here in the 7th century, Ujście was founded in the 12th century. From t ...
,
Krzyż Wielkopolski Krzyż Wielkopolski (german: Kreuz (Ostbahn)) is a town in Poland, with 6,176 inhabitants (2019) in the Czarnków-Trzcianka County, Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is an important railroad junction, with two major lines crossing there - the Berli ...
,
Kostrzyn nad Odrą Kostrzyn nad Odrą (literally Kostrzyn upon Oder) (; german: Küstrin ) is a town in Gorzów County, Lubusz Voivodeship in western Poland, close to the border with Germany. Geography The town is situated within the historic Lubusz Land (''Ziemia ...
and Poznan. Post-war transport of freight traffic on the Canal reached its peak in the 1970s, but after 1980, it quickly collapsed. As far as canal investments are concerned, only the section of Brda river witnessed a modernization in 1970, together with Bydgoszcz shipping port facilities (new quay and set up of five massive cranes). In the 1990s, revitalization of the Bydgoszcz Canal began: * between 1992 and 1996, the ''Old Bydgoszcz canal natural park'' portion had three locks restorated; * in 2005, Bydgoszcz Canal and its hydrotechnical equipment were registered on the
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as Cuiavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship or simply Kujawsko-Pomorskie, or Kujawy-Pomerania Province ( pl, województwo kujawsko-pomorskie ) is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divide ...
Heritage List; * in 2006, the ''Bydgoszcz Canal Museum'' was established; * in the years 2008–2012, the eastern part of the closed channel (downtown Bydgoszcz) was modernized. In addition, regarding environmental concerns, between 2006 and 2012, canal
sewage treatment Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding envir ...
plant on Prady district was demolished and dredging of bottom sediments was carried out within Bydgoszcz city premises.


Overall characteristics

The total length of Bydgoszcz Canal is , of which are located in Oder river basin and in Brda river basin (part of Vistula basin). The level discrepancy is managed by six water locks. The canal exits Bydgoszcz city territory through Osowa Góra lock and reaches Nakło premises at ''Józefinki'' lock. The width of waterway varies from to , its depth from to , depending on the damming level. The channel is accessible to boats with a carrying capacity of 400 t and a draft of 1.5 to 1.6 m. Navigation period is from April to November. Bydgoszcz canal is supplied with water from two main sources: * the '' Kanał Górnonotecki'', providing water from the upper areas of Nakło city. This channel receives supply from the town of Dębinek, via a 600m long two-branches duct; * small streams and brooks within
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
area (e.g. ''Struga Młyńska'', ''Potok Prądy'', ''Potok Kruszyński''). Water overflow in the canal use two streams: * an eastward one, towards
Brda river The Brda (; german: Brahe) is a river in northern Poland, a tributary of the Vistula. It has a total length of 245 km and a catchment area (all within Poland) of 4,665 km2. * five baffles segments - wall across the flow, downstream of a fall, creating a water cushion on the upstream; *
towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport ...
s on both sides, used by
hauler Haulage is the business of transporting goods by road or rail between suppliers and large consumer outlets, factories, warehouses, or depots. This includes everything humans might wish to move in bulk - from vegetables and other foodstuffs, to cloth ...
s; * a
weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
to drain excess water at ''Śluza Józefinki''; * a siphon above the Okole lock, carrying out water into the Flis river; * the Górnonotecki Canal built in 1878-1882 used to supply water to the highest point of Bydgoszcz canal and allowing traffic for small boats units ( long); * in Dębinek, the so-called ''Bydgoszcz meadows over the Noteć'' ( pl, Bydgoskie Łąki Nadnoteckie), a specific pool receiving flowing waters of the Noteć river and directing part of them for Bydgoszcz Canal. This area is delimited by five chambers (equipped with locks) and two weirs (Dębinek and Łochowo weirs).


Locks

Along its length, Bydgoszcz canal controls six
lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...
s managing its navigation flow. The variations of water level of these locks range from at ''Śluza Józefinki'' to at ''Śluza Okole'' and ''Śluza Czyżkówko'', both equipped with dedicated tanks. Four locks are located on the eastern segment of the route, within Bydgoszcz territory, since the canal reaches its highest point about 2 km west of the city limits, where Vistula and Oder river basins divide. On a long section, water level is raised by . In its heyday, this short canal portion was called the '' Brda Stairs''. Passed these 4 locks, the way westward runs on at its highest water level: on the past, barges were hauled on this section by
burlak A burlak ( rus, бурла́к, p=bʊrˈlak) was a towpath puller in Russian Empire. Overview The exact origin of the word is unknown. Different versions include old middle-German ''bûrlach'' (working team with fixed rules, artel), or Tatar ''b ...
s. Further west, the path joins
Nakło nad Notecią Nakło nad Notecią (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Nakel an der Netze) is a town in northern Poland on the river Noteć with 23,687 inhabitants (2007). It is the seat of Nakło County, and also of Gmina Nakło nad Notecią, situated in the Kuya ...
via two locks that lower the water level by . ''Śluza Okole'' lock and ''Śluza Czyżkówko'' lock are the most recent locks, built between 1910 and 1915, when the canal underwent a thorough modernization to allow 400t-tonnage barges navigation. Both are long and wide. Locks on Bydgoszcz Canal Along the long section of the ''Old Bydgoszcz Canal'', in Bydgoszcz (Okole district), one can find three additional locks, which are now used as
weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
s. They are listed as heritage technology sites, part of the ''Old Bydgoszcz canal natural park'' on Nakielska street. Locks on the section of the Old Bydgoszcz canal Two locks of the Old Canal have been demolished in 1970 (''Śluza II Św. Trójcy'' and ''Śluza III Grunwaldzka''), during the extension works of western end of Marshal Ferdinand Foch Street.


Impact on the society


Cargo activity (1774–1912)

First traffic on the Bydgoszcz Canal started with two lime boats in their way to Bydgoszcz in June 1774. At that time, the city was only 500 inhabitants strong: The construction of the canal was a real game changer in the development of the city. Initially, there were as many sailing boats as wood rafts. The main flow of traffic was westwards: about 60% of traffic in the first half of the 19th century and up to 80% between 1872 and 1912. From 1870 to 1900, around 85% of the traffic was performed by wood rafting, to
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 ...
,
Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...
and central
German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
. In 1800, Bromberg had 4500 inhabitants, growing to 14,000 in 1849. At its inception (beginning of the 19th century), the Bydgoszcz Canal could accept 200-tons cargo boats, but Prussian authorities allowed only 40 tons of tonnage per boat. Things changed a bit and at the end of the 19th century, the average capacity of boats on the canal was 130 tons and 200 tons in 1905. However, channel capacity was always limited by its shallow depth and the associated danger of shoals. In 1885, the first steam-engine boats appeared, plying between Warsaw,
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,
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
,
Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
and
Elbląg Elbląg (; german: Elbing, Old Prussian: ''Elbings'') is a city in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland, located in the eastern edge of the Żuławy region with 117,390 inhabitants, as of December 2021. It is the capital of Elbląg County. ...
. Wood rafted through the canal, of which the vast majority was
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
, originated mostly from the
Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...
(75%), but also from Galicia (12%),
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
(5%) and
Tuchola Forest The Tuchola Forest, also known as Tuchola Pinewoods or Tuchola Conifer Woods, (the latter a literal translation of pl, Bory Tucholskie; csb, Tëchòlsczé Bòrë; german: Tuchler or Tucheler Heide) is a large forest complex near the town of Tuch ...
(6%). Almost the entire transport of wood was channeled into central Germany:
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 ...
,
Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...
,
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
,
Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
and lands over the
Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
and
Havel The Havel () is a river in northeastern Germany, flowing through the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a right tributary of the Elbe and long. However, the direct distance from its source to its mo ...
. As far as traffic is concerned, peak activity for Bydgoszcz canal had stretched on a 40-year period, from 1870 to 1910.


Economy

The immediate impact of the Canal on the environment was the drainage of wetlands, marshes and peatlands, which facilitated the development of agriculture. The second and more basic importance of Bydgoszcz Canal was its role as means of communication, between basins of Oder and Vistula rivers. Till the 1980s, the canal acted as a route, playing a decisive economic role: it thus contributed to the development of Bydgoszcz,
Kuyavia Kuyavia ( pl, Kujawy; german: Kujawien; la, Cuiavia), also referred to as Cuyavia, is a historical region in north-central Poland, situated on the left bank of Vistula, as well as east from Noteć River and Lake Gopło. It is divided into three t ...
and
Pałuki Pałuki is a historic and ethnographic region lying in central Poland, part of Greater Poland neighbouring Pomerania and Kuyavia. In terms of administrative division the region lies in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodship and Greater Poland Voivodship ...
areas by flowing into Germany agricultural and natural resources from these regions. Other regions indirectly benefited from the Bydgoszcz Canal, like East Prussia, West Pomerania and central Germany (Szczecin, Berlin, Hambourg,
Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...
) from where industrial goods were exported eastward. Locally, the canal brought new investments to the city of Bydgoszcz, creating new factories, brickworks and sawmills. In 1897, Bydgoszcz counted three times more workers and sailors than
Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
, and six times more than
Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...
. Initially a city with wealth based on grain (storage and milling) imported from Poland, Bydgoszcz became at the eve of the 20th century a large center for trade and wood industry, thanks to its canal. The city was a go-between in the supply of timber and grain from the east, and machinery and industrial products from the west. The channelling of the Brda river in 1879 and the establishment of the Bydgoszcz shipping company led to the creation of an
inland port An inland port is a port on an inland waterway, such as a river, lake, or canal, which may or may not be connected to the sea. The term "inland port" is also used to refer to a dry port. Examples The United States Army Corps of Engineers publ ...
river port in Brdyujście district, accompanied with an entire fleet of factories and the so-called "East Industrial District". The availability of berths and the growing freight traffic boosted the development of commercial and manufacturing businesses in the metropolitan area. Wood industry had a leading role: in 1906, about 4.8 million m3 was supplied to Germany, accounting for 33% of the annual timber import. Wharfs were laid on several kilometers, busy with sawmills, and in Bydgoszcz was established the only Wood exchange market in the Polish
interwar In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relativel ...
period. The channel has been competing relatively well with rail and car transport for a long time. A significant reduction in freight traffic occurred only after 1965. Today, current transport through the Canal -as well as on the entire Vistula-Oder Waterway- is relatively small compared to its potential (up to several hundred thousand tons annually).


Tourism

Since the middle of the 19th century, the Bydgoszcz Canal has been used for tourism and passenger transport. During
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
, as well as after WWII, tourist ships have been plying between Bydgoszcz and Nakło nad Notecia. After a decline in the 1970s and 1980s, the importance of the Vistula-Oder waterway has risen again since the 1990s. Some towns such as
Santok Santok (german: Zantoch) is a village in Gorzów County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Santok. Geography It is located at the confluence of the Noteć and Warta rive ...
, Nakło nad Notecią or Bydgoszcz have started to build tourist infrastructure focusing on the canal theme. In Bydgoszcz, the trail created combines a natural area (most of it is part of the
Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...
network), a
national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
, a
Nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
and a landscape park. It also displays historic hydrotechnical objects and architectural monuments in the heart of the city. Moreover, the Vistula-Oder waterway is now connected, via the canal, with several other watercourses attracting tourists: the Lubuskie Water Trail, the ''Great Loop of Wielkopolska'' ( pl, Wielka Pętla Wielkopolski), the ''Kujawska Loop'' ( pl, Pętla Kujawska) and Warta, Brda or Lower Vistula rivers. In 2007, seven
voivodship A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieva ...
s lying on the path of the E70 waterway have signed an agreement on the revitalization of this water channel. In 2009, Bydgoszcz
marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
had been opened, nearby the central ''Śluza Czyżkówko'', offering berths for about 15 vessels. A water
tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
, ( pl, Bydgoski Tramwaj Wodny), has been running since 2004 every summer along the channeled Brda river in downtown Bydgoszcz. Since 2008, a Marathon run has been held on the Old Bydgoszcz Canal.


Bydgoszcz Canal Museum

The Museum of the Bydgoszcz Canal is located in a 19th-century building, in the courtyard of a Bydgoszcz Secondary School (''III Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Adama Mickiewicza w Bydgoszczy, III LO''), on the northern bank of the channel. Its creation is entirely the work of Sebastian Malinowski, a historian, teacher and social activist. The idea was born in 2004, at the occasion of the celebration of the 230th anniversary of the construction of the canal. A founding committee meeting was first held on 31 March 2005 in ''III LO'' premises, itself located since 1879 on the very area of the ''Old Bydgoszcz canal natural park''. Funders and contractors for the repair of the building were local entrepreneurs, especially Krzysztof Wiśniewski. On 29 September 2006 the museum was re-opened in a renovated room of ''III LO''. A historical-literary symposium has been held opportunely, gathering historians, scientists and writers from Bydgoszcz and the region. Sebastian Malinowski was the first custodian of the Museum from September 2006 to his premature death in February 2008. The museum pedagogical objectives are: * collecting and sharing of memorabilia related to the Bydgoszcz canal; * saving the memory of channel's creators and the people whose lives have been devoted to
Inland Navigation Inland navigation, inland barge transport or inland waterway transport (IWT) is a transport system allowing ships and barges to use inland waterways (such as canals, rivers and lakes). These waterways have inland ports, marinas, quays, and wharfs. ...
and hydrotechnics; * presenting
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
city seen from the perspective of water, and the role of the Bydgoszcz canal in Poland and in Europe; * disseminating the tradition of trade and shipping in Bydgoszcz; * explaining the history of the ''Old Bydgoszcz canal natural park''. The museum displays photographs and artefacts depicting Bydgoszcz Canal, the work, the sailing and everyday life around the channel. The exhibition items include, among others: * a copy of Christian Rode's picture ''
Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...
watching blueprint of the Bydgoszcz Canal''; * inland waterways sailors' uniforms; * an oak rowing boat from 1920, used on the Brda river and the canal until the second half of the 20th century; * items related to the work of barges. The Museum of the Bydgoszcz Canal also conducts educational activities, interactive lessons on the History of Bydgoszcz Waterways and sailing in Bydgoszcz.


See also

*
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
*
Upper Noteć Canals The Upper Noteć Canals are an aggregate of inland water channels in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. They stem from the upper part of the Noteć river (''Górna Noteć''), north of Gopło lake, and mouth at their northern point into the ...
*
Brda river The Brda (; german: Brahe) is a river in northern Poland, a tributary of the Vistula. It has a total length of 245 km and a catchment area (all within Poland) of 4,665 km2.Noteć river *
Nakielska street in Bydgoszcz Nakielska Street is an important street in Bydgoszcz, Poland. It starts from downtown settlements to the limits of the city towards Nakło nad Notecią. Location Nakielska street extends east-west, from Grunwaldzka roundabout and junction with ...
*
Marshal Ferdinand Foch Street in Bydgoszcz Marshal Ferdinand Foch Street or Focha Street is a main street of Bydgoszcz, in Downtown district ( pl, Śródmieście). Location Located in the center of Bydgoszcz, the street stretches east-west from the intersection with Gdańska Street to Gr ...
* Żegluga Bydgoska


References


External links


European Waterway E70

European Waterways

Bydgoszcz Canal Museum

Bydgoszcz Canal Museum
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*
Bydgoszcz City Revitalization Program


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Bydgoszcz parks and green areas Canals in Poland Transport in Bydgoszcz Buildings and structures in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Canals opened in 1775