The Dortmund–Ems Canal is a long canal in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

between the inland port of the city of

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

() and the

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

Emden Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...

. The artificial southern part of the canal ends after at Herbrum lock near Meppen. The route then takes the river Ems for to Oldersum lock. From there, the canal continues along a second artificial segment of . This latter section was built because inland ships at the time of the construction of the canal were not built for the open sea, which they would have faced at the Dollart and the entry to the sea port of Emden. It is connected to the Ems-Jade Canal from Emden to

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

History

The canal was opened in to reduce demand on the railway network, which could not cope with the transport of products from the

Ruhr area The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...

. Also, the canal was supposed to make coal from the Ruhr area more competitive compared to imported English coal. Furthermore, the steel industry in the eastern Ruhr area needed to import ore from abroad. The canal was attacked numerous times during

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 ...

due to its strategic importance. During June through August 12th 1940 a series of raids culminating in a raid by 49 and 83 Squadrons damaged the aqueducts that crossed the River Elbe - putting the canal out of commission for short periods. Operation Garlic, an attack in September 1943 by 617 Squadron RAF (the "Dambusters") was unsuccessful and costly. The squadron attacked it again in September 1944 using Tallboy "earthquake" bombs breaching it and causing considerable damage. In August of 1944, 571 squadron attacked it with

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its airframe was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or " ...

s, dropping mines into the canal. It was repaired after the conflict.

Description

The best known building of the Dortmund-Ems canal is the Henrichenburg boat lift in

Waltrop Waltrop ( is a town in the Recklinghausen (district), district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Datteln-Hamm Canal, approximately 15 km east of Recklinghausen and 15 km north-west of Dortmund. ...

, which enabled a ship to bridge a difference in height of . It operated until 1962, and was then replaced by a new elevator and a lock. Today it houses the Westfälisches Industriemuseum. Some kilometres to the north, the canal reaches the city of Datteln, which lies at the crossroads of four canals: * Datteln-Hamm Canal * Wesel-Datteln Canal * Dortmund–Ems Canal * Rhein-Herne Canal The old route of the canal crosses the rivers

Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. ...

, Stever and Ems on bridges. These bridges are built with large arches, and the bridge over the Lippe lies above the river. After the Second World War, the canal had to be widened. Those parts that were above ground level could not easily be widened, and therefore a new route was constructed between Olfen and

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

. It lies parallel to the old route, and new river crossings were also built. The old route was closed for shipping. is a 350 km long official

long-distance cycling route Long-distance cycling routes are designated cycling routes in various countries around the world for bicycle tourism. These routes include anything from longer rail trails, to national cycling route network A national cycling route network is a ...

next to the canal.

Towns along the canal

- Datteln - Olfen -

Lüdinghausen Lüdinghausen (Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Lünkhusen'' or ''Lünksel'') is a town in Coesfeld (district), district of Coesfeld in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the Dortmund-Ems Canal, approx. 25 km s ...

- Senden - Hiltrup -

- Dörenthe - Hörstel - Bevergern -

Rheine Rheine () is a city in the district of Steinfurt (district), Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base. Geography Rheine is on the river Ems (river), Ems, about north of Münster ...

- Hesselte - Lingen - Geeste - Meppen - Haren -

Papenburg Papenburg (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Papenbörg'') is a city in the district of Emsland, Lower Saxony, Germany, situated at the river Ems. It is known for its large shipyard, the Meyer-Werft, which specializes in building cruise liners. Ge ...

- Düthe - Heede - Lehe - Aschendorf - Oldersum -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dortmund-Ems Canal Canals in Lower Saxony Münster (region) Dortmund Federal waterways in Germany Canals opened in 1899 1899 establishments in Germany