The Augustów Canal (, , ) 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 ...

built by the Congress Kingdom of Poland in 19th century in the Augustów Voivodeship (present-day

Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in northeastern Poland. The name of the voivodeship refers to the historical region of Podlachia (in Polish, ''Podlasie''), and significant part of its territory corresponds to th ...

of northeastern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and Grodno Oblast of western Belarus). 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, sometimes called a "watershed canal" or just "summit 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. Typical ...

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

Vistula River The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra ...

through the Biebrza River – a tributary of the

Narew River The Narew (; ; or ) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland. It is a tributary of the river Vistula. The Narew is one of Europe's few braided rivers, the term relating to the twisted channels resembling braided h ...

, and the

Neman River Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms Lithuania–Russia border, the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its s ...

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

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea 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 bound ...

to the south through the Oginski Canal,

Daugava River The Daugava ( ), also known as the Western Dvina or the Väina River, is a large river rising in the Valdai Hills of Russia that flows through Belarus and Latvia into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. The Daugava rises close to the source of ...

, Berezina Canal and

Dnieper River The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called 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. Approximately long, with ...

. It uses a post-glacial channel depression, forming the chain of Augustów lakes, and the river valleys of the Biebrza, the Netta, the Czarna Hańcza 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 Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

introduced repressively high customs duties for the transit of

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

goods through its territory, which hindered access of traders to the Baltic seaports through the Vistula River. In 1822, Congress Poland was granted measures of commercial autonomy from Russian Empire'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-controlled Congress Poland with the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

seaport of

Ventspils Ventspils () 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 is situated on the Venta River and ...

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

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

against Russia 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,

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

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

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, 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

Ignacy Prądzyński Ignacy Prądzyński (; 20 July 1792– 4 August 1850) was a Polish military commander, general of the Polish Army and an engineer. A veteran of the Napoleonic Wars, he was one of the most successful Polish commanders of the November Uprising a ...

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. At the same time, the Reeze's group worked on the Biebrza river and the smaller rivers of Lososna, Tatarka and Polilia. In the years 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

seaport of

(). 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

against

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the Polish-Soviet War caused some damage to the canal, but it was rebuilt by the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 weirs. 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 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- Belorussian SSR 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 The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic 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 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

performed no repairs on the portion of the canal within the Belorussian SSR. The Belarusian 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 Augustów is a town in north-eastern Poland. It lies on the Netta River and the Augustów Canal. It is the seat of Augustów County and of Gmina Augustów in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Augustów has an area of , and as of June 2022 it has a popul ...

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, by the Voivode's decision the entire length of the Suwalki Augustów Canal 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 Czarna 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 World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Geography

The canal utilizes a postglacial depression and numerous valleys in the

Masurian Lake District The Masurian Lake District or Masurian Lake Land () is a lake district in northeastern Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpath ...

that were shaped by the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

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 g ...

. Many of the surrounding hills are parts of

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

s 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. When a glacier retreats, there is a space left over between the retreating glacier and the piece that stayed intact which holds leftov ...

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 The Biebrza (, ', ') 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,

Czarna Hańcza The Czarna Hańcza, Chornaya Hancha () is the largest river of the Suwałki Region of north-eastern Poland and the Sapockin region of north-western Belarus. It is known for having large postglacial boulders. Originating near Lake Hańcza (the ...

, 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 water 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

. The canal was used to transport the flour, salt, grain, chalk, gypsum, etc. In

a large port was built in addition to a number of tow paths 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 e ...

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 Hańcza River, and it provided a link with the

to the south through the Oginski Canal,

, 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)

Niemen river watershed

'' Augustów Lock to

'' (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 (, ) is one of several categories of objects of cultural heritage in Poland, objects of cultural heritage (in the singular, ''zabytek'') in Poland. To be recognized as a Polish historic monument, an object must be declared suc ...

''), 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. Дзісько і інш. — 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