The Dnieper–Bug Canal (alternatively the Dnepr-Bug Canal), or the Dneprovsko-Bugsky Canal, is the longest inland ship canal in

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. It connects the Mukhavets River (a tributary of the

Bug River The Bug or Western Bug is a major river in Central Europe that flows through Belarus (border), Poland, and Ukraine, with a total length of .Pina River (a tributary of the

Pripyat River The Pripyat or Prypiat is a river in Eastern Europe. The river, which is approximately long, flows east through Ukraine, Belarus, and into Ukraine again, before draining into the Dnieper at Kyiv Reservoir. Name etymology Max Vasmer notes in h ...

). It is managed by Dneprobugvodput. The canal was originally named the Royal Canal (), after the

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

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, and as Stanisław August Poniatowski (), was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuani ...

(), who initiated its construction. It forms an important part of the transportation artery linking the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

and 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 ...

. The total length of the canal system from Brest to

Pinsk Pinsk (; , ; ; ; ) is a city in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Pinsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. It is located in the historical region of Polesia, at the confluence of t ...

is , including the long artificial waterway. The canal system comprises: * the western slope from Brest to Kobrin * a stretch of the Mukhavets River with regulated water-level * a summit pound * the eastern slope, stretch of the canal * a stretch of the Pina River with regulated water-level The

drainage area A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, th ...

of the canal system totals .

History

Origins

Canal building flourished in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

in the late 18th century. Yet many of the early canals are no longer in active service, having been superseded by railroads and highways. The Dnieper–Bug Canal after several enlargements still provides a convenient inland waterway. Until the 18th century there was a

portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

between Kobrin and

as it was a part of the important long-distance

trade route A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over land or water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a singl ...

from the

to the

. The names of the Voloka River and the village of Mukhovloki near Kobrin reflect the existence of the ancient portage. People have settled along the

route since ancient times due to the importance of the ( Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks).

Proposal and design

In the mid-17th century, Jerzy Ossoliński, Crown Court Treasurer of the

was the first to suggest the idea of upgrading the

to 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 ...

with locks. The work started 120 years later. In 1770, the canal was planned by the prominent cartographer Franciszek Florian Czaki.

Construction and operation

The canal was built in 1775-1784 during the reign of

, the last king of the

. Originally it was named Kanał Królewski (), after the Polish king, since he was the initiator of the project. Additional work was carried out starting in 1837 by the Russian Empire and completed around 1846–1848. To supply the canal system with water, mainly the

canal pound A canal pound (from impound), reach, or level (American usage), is the stretch of level water impounded between two canal locks. Canal pounds can vary in length from the non-existent, where two or more immediately adjacent locks form a canal lock# ...

, Beloozerski and Orekhovski

watercourse A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

s were started in 1839 and completed in 1843. The number of movable

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 between Brest and

reached 22. As a result, the canal became navigable for bigger vessels, in particular

steamers Steamer may refer to: Transportation * Steamboat, smaller, insular boat on lakes and rivers * Steamship, ocean-faring ship * Screw steamer, steamboat or ship that uses "screws" (propellers) * Steam yacht, luxury or commercial yacht * Paddle st ...

, at any time from spring till autumn. In 1847, the Kanał Królewski was renamed the ''Dneprovo-Bugski Canal''.

Decline and abandonment

After the construction of the railway along the canal in the late 19th century the canal was used mostly for

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

, exported to western countries. During World War I, the canal was not in use.

Reconstruction

During the 1920s, it was partly rebuilt anew for the Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy (), better known as the ''Pinsk Flotilla''. The Flotilla was the inland branch of the Polish Navy operating in the area of the Pinsk Marshes between the Polish-Bolshevik War and

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 ...

. During the 1920s, two locks were built. In 1940, the Soviet authorities initiated a large-scale reconstruction of the canal. A long stretch of the canal was built near Kobrin to straighten the old canal. Eight locks were built replacing movable

s. Navigation on the Dnieper–Bug Canal is interrupted by

s on the rivers Mukhavets and Bug near

Brest, Belarus Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk and Brest-on-the-Bug, is a city in south-western Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the Polish town of Terespol, where the Bug (river), Bug and Mukhavets rivers meet, making it a border town. It serves as ...

, the border town. That is the only place that, for the time being, makes the navigation from Western Europe to

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

through inland waterways impossible. The waterways from the German-Polish border (

Oder River The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through west ...

, through the Warta, Brda and

Noteć The Noteć (; , ) is a river in central Poland with a length of (7th longest) and a basin area of .Bydgoszcz Canal,

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 ...

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 ...

Bug River The Bug or Western Bug is a major river in Central Europe that flows through Belarus (border), Poland, and Ukraine, with a total length of .Mukhavets River, Dnieper–Bug 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 ...

), thus connecting north-western Europe with the Black Sea.

Decline and renewal

Recently the dam in the Bug, making it impossible for ships to pass, has led to considerable neglect of the most western part of the Mukhavets; some of the locks have been filled in and Brest Harbor can only be reached by vessels approaching from the east. More recently efforts have been undertaken to restore the canal to a class IV inland waterway of international importance. In 2003 the Government of the Republic of Belarus adopted an inland water transport and sea transport development program to rebuild the Dnieper–Bug Canal shipping locks to meet the standards of a class Va European waterway. According to the Belarus government,Report regarding rebuilding CanalArchived version
/ref> four sluice dams and one shipping lock have been rebuilt which allow for the passage of vessels long, wide with a draught of . It is expected that reconstruction will continue over the next few years.

Footnotes

External links

2008 report on the canal

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dnieper-Bug Canal Transport in Belarus Canals in Belarus Canals opened in 1784