be, Аўгустоўскі канал , image = Bulwar w Augustowie.JPG , image_caption = Augustów Canal in Augustów , original_owner = , engineer =

Ignacy Prądzyński Ignacy Prądzyński (; 1792–1850) was a Polish military commander and a general of the Polish Army. A veteran of the Napoleonic Wars, he was one of the most successful Polish commanders of the November Uprising against Russia. Ignacy Prądz ...

, other_engineer = Jan Chrzciciel de Grandville Malletski
Jan Paweł Lelewel , date_act = , date_began = 1823 , date_use = , date_completed = 1839 , date_extended = , date_closed = , date_restored = , length_mi = 62.88 , start_point =

Biebrza Biebrza ( lt, Bebras, '' be, Bobra'', ''german: Bober'') is a river in northeastern Poland, a tributary of the Narew river (near Wizna), with a length of and a basin area of 7,092 km2 (7,067 in Poland).Dębowo, Poland , end_point = Neman River near
Sapotskin, Belarus , connects_to = Bystry Canal , locks = 18 , original_num_locks = , lock_note = , elev_ft = , elev_note = , status = Open , navigation_authority = Regional Water Management Authority in Bialystok (RZGW Białystok) The Augustów Canal ( pl, Kanał Augustowski, , be, Аўгустоўскі канал) is a cross-border

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 flo ...

built by the Kingdom of Poland (being in a personal union with the Russian Empire) in the 19th century in the present-day Podlaskie Voivodeship of northeastern

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 populou ...

and the

Grodno Region Grodno Region ( pl, Grodzieńszczyzna) or Grodno Oblast or Hrodna Voblasts ( be, Гродзенская вобласць, ''Hrodzienskaja vobłasć'', , ''Haradzienščyna''; russian: Гродненская область, ''Grodnenskaya oblast' ...

of north-western

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

(then the

Augustów Voivodeship Augustów Voivodeship was created in 1816 from the Łomża Department. Its capital was in Łomża until 1818, when it was transferred to Suwałki. In 1837 it was transformed into Augustów Governorate. Administrative divisions It was divided int ...

of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

). From the time it was first built, the canal was described by experts as a technological marvel, with numerous sluices contributing to its aesthetic appeal. It was the first

summit level canal A summit-level canal is an artificial waterway connecting two separate river valleys. The term refers to a canal that rises to cross a summit then falls down the other side. The summit pound is a level stretch of water at the highest part of the ...

in Central Europe to provide a direct link between the two major rivers,

Vistula River 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 ...

through the Biebrza River – a tributary of the

Narew River 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 ...

, and the Neman River through its tributary – the Czarna Hancza River, and it provided a link with the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

to the south through the

Oginski Canal The Oginski Canal is a canal in Belarus which connects Yaselda River and Shchara River The Shchara ( be, Шчара, Ščara, ; russian: Щара) is a river in Belarus, and is the left tributary of the Neman. It is in length, its catchment ar ...

Daugava River , be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna , image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png , image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava , source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia , mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic S ...

, Berezina Canal and

Dnieper River } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine an ...

. It uses a post-glacial channel depression, forming the chain of Augustów lakes, and the river valleys of the Biebrza, the Netta, the Czarna Hancza and the Neman, which made it possible to perfectly integrate the Canal with the surrounding elements of the natural environment. The reasons behind the construction of the Augustów Canal were both political and economic. In 1821 Prussia introduced repressively high customs duties for the transit of Russian Empire goods through its territory, which hindered access of traders to the Baltic seaports through the Vistula River. In 1822 the Russian Congress Kingdom of Poland was granted measures of commercial autonomy from

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. ...

's customs area. In the years 1823–1839 a waterway was constructed, bypassing the Prussian territory, intended eventually to link, via the Windawski Canal, the center of the Russian Kingdom of Poland with the Baltic seaport of

Ventspils Ventspils (; german: Windau, ; see other names) is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It ...

in the province of Kurland. This goal was relinquished due to unrest caused by the 1830–1831 November Uprising against

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and revised trade agreements with Prussia. The completed part of the Augustów Canal remained an inland waterway of local significance used for commercial shipping and to transport wood to and from the Vistula and Neman Rivers until rendered obsolete by the regional railway network.

History

Construction and operations (1821–1850)
The reasons behind the construction of the Augustów Canal were both political and economic. In 1821

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 ...

introduced repressively high customs duties for transit of

goods through its territory, in effect hindering access to their seaports for traders operating outside of Prussian territory. In 1822 the

was granted commercial autonomy from Russian Empire's customs area. The idea of Polish Minister of Economy, Franciszek Ksawery Drucki-Lubecki, was to make the new trade route independent of the Prussian seaport of Danzig (Gdańsk). In August 1822 Franciszek Ksawery Drucki-Lubecki made the order of planning a waterway from Narew and Biebrza rivers to Neman river and then to the mouth of Windau river at the Baltic Sea. The field surveys to link the basins of the Neman and Vistula were begun with the permissions of the Russian Ministry of Communications in 1823. The Russian field party was led by lieutenant-colonel Reeze from the Corps of Transport Engineers and lieutenant-colonel

from the General Quartermasters' Office of the Polish Army. Reeze and Pradzynski met in Grodno on 28 June 1823. Lieutenant-colonel Pradzynski and four officers from the engineering corps carried out the topographical survey on Polish territory concentrating mainly on the lakes near to Augustow and the river Chorna Gancha. In the same time, the Reeze's group worked on Biebrza river and the smaller river of Lososna, Tatarka and Polilia. In 1823–1839 a waterway designed by General

, French General and engineer Jan Chrzciciel de Grandville Malletski and General Jan Paweł Lelewel was constructed, including buildings and hydraulic engineering structures, intended to bypass Prussian territory and link the center of the

with the Baltic seaport of

( pl, Windawa). The building of the final "windawski" section of the waterway ( Windawski Canal), which was to connect the new trading route to Ventspils, was relinquished due to unrest caused by the 1830–1831 November Uprising against

and revised trade agreements with Prussia. Decline and abandonment (1850–1920)
During the latter half of the 19th century the rail network, such as nearby the Saint Petersburg – Warsaw Railway, started to replace the canal as the primary means of transporting goods. The channel gradually began to decline, from 1852 on it floated only forest products and from the mid-1860s the canal channel was scored. Rebirth and destruction (1920–1945)
The

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 ...

and the Polish-Soviet War caused some damage to the canal, but it was rebuilt by the Second Polish Republic during the early 1920s. Between the World Wars, the canal became a tourist attraction for the first time. It was a picturesque tourist route providing excellent sporting opportunities for canoeists, sailors and boaters.

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 opposing ...

saw the destruction of a number of locks and weirs of the canal. During the Second World War, German troops blew up three locks, about a dozen bridges and eight weir. After World War II the Polish part of the canal has been restored. Division and reconstruction (1950–2005)
The post-war redrawing of the eastern Polish border, see

Curzon Line The Curzon Line was a proposed demarcation line between the Second Polish Republic and the Soviet Union, two new states emerging after World War I. It was first proposed by The 1st Earl Curzon of Kedleston, the British Foreign Secretary, to ...

had a significant impact upon the canal. The Border Agreement between Poland and the USSR of 16 August 1945 drew a segment of the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

Belorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

border along the axis of the Kurzyniec Lock and further along the axis of the canal for an additional . During the 1950s the People's Republic of Poland rebuilt the canal from the start on the Bezbra to Tartak Lock the remaining portion in Poland was left inactive after the damage incurred from World War II. The

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

performed no repairs on the portion of the canal within the

. The Belorussian part of the canal since the partition has become a unique ecosystem, in 1970 the Sapotskinsky Biological Reserve was created to help preserve the area.Туристская энциклопедия Беларуси. Мн. Беларуская Энцыклапедыя, 2007. — 648с. According to the decision of the Polish Minister of Culture and the Arts from 21 December 1968 the Augustów Canal on the section from Augustów to the state border with the infrastructure: locks, dams, bridges, housing banks, building maintenance services, environment, landscape and plant was declared a monument of technology Class I. Then, on 9 Feb 1979, the Voivode's decision Suwalki Augustów Canal for its entire length was entered in the register of monuments. Treasured status (2005 – present)
On 8 June 2005, based on Council of Ministers Resolution No. 125/2005 of 22 May 2005 concluded the "Agreement between the Government of the Polish Republic and the Government of the Republic of Belarus on the reconstruction of the Augustów Canal section of the border." The aim of the project was to restore the canal to operable condition for tourists, provide rational water management in the Black Hańcza river valley and restore the natural ecosystem of the waterway. Another event is the recognition of the Augustów Canal as a Monument of History — Regulation of the Polish President of 15 April 2007 (Dz. U. Nr 86 poz. 572). The canal is currently a conservation protection zone proposed by Poland and Belarus for inscription onto the

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Geography

The canal utilizes a

postglacial The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...

depression and numerous valleys in the

Masurian Lake District The Masurian Lake District or Masurian Lakeland ( pl, Pojezierze Mazurskie; german: Masurische Seenplatte) is a lake district in northeastern Poland within the geographical region of Masuria, in the past inhabited by Masurians who spoke the Masu ...

that were shaped by the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

. Many of the surrounding hills are parts of moraines and many of its lakes are

moraine-dammed lake A moraine-dammed lake occurs when the terminal moraine has prevented some meltwater from leaving the valley. Its most common shape is that of a long ribbon (ribbon lake). Example of moraine dammed lakes include: *Argentina/Chile: General Carre ...

s. It is based in the long natural chain of Augustów lakes and the adjoining rivers. The qualities of the landscape made it possible to perfectly integrate the canal with its environment over its 101.20 km length. The watershed area of the canal on the Polish side of the border is 74.25 km² and on the Belarusian side, 8.42 km² for a total of 82.67 km². The canal connects seven natural

s: Necko, Białe, Studzieniczne, Orle, Paniewo, Krzywe and Mikaszewo; and 11 rivers:

Biebrza Biebrza ( lt, Bebras, '' be, Bobra'', ''german: Bober'') is a river in northeastern Poland, a tributary of the Narew river (near Wizna), with a length of and a basin area of 7,092 km2 (7,067 in Poland).Netta ''Netta'' is a genus of diving ducks. The name is derived from Greek ''Netta'' "duck". Unlike other diving ducks, the ''Netta'' species are reluctant to dive, and feed more like dabbling ducks. These are gregarious ducks, mainly found on fres ...

, Czarna Hańcza, Klonownica, Plaska (Sucha Rzeczka, Serwianka), Mikaszówka, Perkucia, Szlamica, Wolkuszanka, Ostaszanka and Neman. The natural waterways are interconnected by cuttings and hydraulic installations with locks and

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, including towpaths along the canal bank and a system of roads, bridges and buildings. A water reserve feeding the canal is provided from outside the buffer zone by the Sajno, Serwy and Wigry lakes, all within the boundaries of the protected area. Six historic sluices, Przewięź, Paniewo, Perkuć, Sosnówek, Tartak and Kudrynki, are easy to access from the green trail used by hikers and cyclists.

Economics

The Augustów Canal remained, after completion, an inland waterway of local significance that was used for commercial shipping and to transport wood to and from the

and Neman River. The canal was used to transport the flour, salt, grain, chalk, gypsum, etc. In Augustów a large port was built in addition to a number of

tow path 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 for horses to pull barges upstream. The canal was designed for the passage of vessels up to 40 m long, up to 5 m in width and capable of carrying up to 10 tons of cargo. During the latter half of the 19th century the rail network, such as nearby the Saint Petersburg – Warsaw Railway, started to replace the canal as the primary means of transporting goods. The channel gradually began to decline, from 1852 on it floated only forest products and from the mid-1860s the canal channel was scored. Starting in the late 1920s the canal became a tourist attraction for the first time. It was a picturesque tourist route providing excellent sporting opportunities for canoeists, sailors and boaters. After World War II the Polish part of the canal has been restored. Currently the canal offers numerous sightseeing and tourist attractions. Its unsurpassed beauty comes from the natural qualities of the landscape with

coniferous forest Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All exta ...

s and lakes, especially around the Biebrza and Netta Rivers, and it runs through the Augustów Primeval Forest from west to east. The biggest attraction is to navigate the waterway in a kayak, canoe, fishing boat or a motorboat. It is also possible to visit part of the canal and the Augustów lakes in a passenger ship.

Canal infrastructure

The Augustów Canal was the first

in Central Europe to provide a direct link between the two major rivers,

through the Biebrza River – a tributary of the

, and the Neman River through its tributary – the Czarna Hancza River, and it provided a link with the

to the south through the

, Berezina Canal and

. From the time it was first built, the canal was described by experts as a technological marvel, with numerous sluices contributing to its aesthetic appeal. The Augustów Canal, consisting of 18 locks and 22 sluices, is divided into two major sections: the West — from the merger of the Biebrza lock Augusta (0.0 – 32.50 km); and the East section — from lock to lock Niemnowo Augusta Belarus (32.50 – 101.20 km).

Vistula river watershed

''Biebrza River to Augustów Lock'' (0.0 – 32.50 km) }). The purpose is to establish a reserve water storage to supply the Augustów-Dębowo section of the canal. , , -

Niemen river watershed

'' Augustów Lock to Neman River'' (32.50 km – 101.20 km)

Recognition

The canal is currently a conservation protection zone proposed by Poland and Belarus for inscription onto the

. This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on 30 January 2004, in the Cultural category.UNESCO Tentative List
/ref> The canal was also named one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (''

Pomnik historii Historic Monument ( pl, pomnik historii) is one of several categories of objects of cultural heritage (in the singular, '' zabytek'') in Poland. To be recognized as a Polish historic monument, an object must be declared such by the President ...

''), as designated 16 May 2007. Its listing is maintained by the National Heritage Board of Poland.

References

External links

* *
The Augustów Canal at www.suwalszczyzna.pl
* https://web.archive.org/web/20120322230834/http://www.warszawa.rzgw.gov.pl/lewe_menu-utrzymanie_wod_i_urzadzen_wodnych-wykaz_administrowanych_obiektow-kanal_augustowski.html?skipcheck * * Блакітная кніга Беларусі: Энцыкл. / БелЭн; Рэдкал.: Н.А. Дзiсько i iнш. — Мн.: БелЭн, 1994. * * * * * * * Stanisław Konior, ''Kanał Augustowski,'' Giżycko, August 1997 {{DEFAULTSORT:Augustow Canal 1839 establishments in the Russian Empire Buildings and structures in Podlaskie Voivodeship Canals in Belarus Canals in Poland Establishments in Congress Poland International canals Tourist attractions in Podlaskie Voivodeship Canals opened in 1839