The Havel–Oder–Wasserstraße (HOW) is a navigable waterway connecting

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

(

Havel The Havel () is a river in northeastern Germany, flowing through the States of Germany, states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. The long Havel is a right tributary of the Elbe. However, the direct distance from ...

and

Spree Spree may refer to: Film and television * ''The Spree'', a 1998 American television film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace * ''Spree'' (film), a 2020 American film starring Joe Keery * "Spree" (''Numbers''), an episode of the television show ''Number ...

) and the German-Polish border at the

West Oder River West Oder () is the western arm of the lower Oder near Szczecin, Poland along the border with Germany. It flows into the Szczecin Lagoon. The river flows through the Lower Oder Valley forming, along with the Eastern Oder (), an area called Międ ...

Friedrichsthal Friedrichsthal () is a town and a municipality in the district of Saarbrücken, of Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately 13 km northeast of Saarbrücken. Friedrichsthal (Saar) station is located on the Bingen (Rhein)–Saarbrüc ...

north of

Schwedt Schwedt (or Schwedt/Oder; ) is a town in Brandenburg, in northeastern Germany. With the official status of a ''Große Kreisstadt, Große kreisangehörige Stadt'' (major district town), it is the largest town of the Uckermark (district), Uckermark ...

. Approximately 135 km long, it is composed of the following sections: * Havel-, Scheital-, Oderhaltung and the Hohensaaten-Friedrichsthaler Wasserstraße (HFW), which are connected by the

Lehnitz Oranienburg () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel. Geography Oranienburg is on the banks of the River Havel, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin. Division of the town Oranienburg consists of ni ...

lock Lock(s) or Locked 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 entertainme ...

, * the ship's lift Niederfinow and * the West Schleuse Hohensaaten. The route between the Havel and Lehnitz lock and the peak position are together called Oder-Havel-Kanal for the Oderhaltung (Wriezener Alte Oder) section of the river, also known as the

Oderberg Oderberg () is a town in the district of Barnim, in Brandenburg in northeastern Germany. It is situated 16 km east of Eberswalde, and 27 km southwest of Schwedt, close to the border with Poland, and in close vicinity of Berlin. Overvie ...

er Gewässer. The German-Polish border forms part of the west or north Mescherin (enlargement of the total length by about 14 km) and the Berlin-Spandau shipping canal, the Berlin Westhafen on a short route with the Havelhaltung (by

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs of Berlin, boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence (geography), confluence of the Havel and Spree (river), Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smalle ...

lock above the Spreemündung). The HOW is a class IV federal waterway with restrictions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Havel-Oder-Wasserstrasse Canals in Germany Canals in Brandenburg Federal waterways in Germany Waterways in Germany Oder basin Havel basin