ElblÄ…g Canal
The Uplands channel, also Oberland channel or channel Elbing - called Osterode (Polish Elblaskie Canal ), located in the uplands of the Polish Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It was built in 1844-1860 under the direction of the royal Prussian Commissioner of City Planning Georg Steenke from Königsberg ( Prussia). Employee in the construction of the Elblag canal engineers were Severin and Carl Lentze, which was mainly as a designer of the Vistula bridge in Dirschau known and later participated in the construction of the Suez Canal.
The Uplands channel connects several lakes, including the Geserichsee and cities in East Prussia from Ilawa ( German: German Eylau ) about Ostróda ( Osterode ) to Elbląg ( Elbing ) to the Vistula Lagoon. The length of the channel is 129.8 km to Iława, wherein the portion of Elbląg - Ostróda with which the channel is usually identified, is 82 km long.
A special feature of today's tourist attraction and the five rolling mountains, on which the ships to deal with the difference in height of 99 meters on rail cars to be transported over land apply. They are designed as funiculars, which are driven by water wheels. The duct system is considered as a technical monument and is a listed building.
- 3.1 utilization
- 3.2 Tourism
- 4.1 Literature
- 4.2 External links
- 4.3 footnotes
Architectural History
Already in 1789 resulted in a plan, the East Prussian Oberland because of its rich timber deposit on a shorter shipping route to connect to the Baltic coast. The timber transport on the Schiffweg on the Drewenz to Thorn, on the Vistula, the Nogat and the Kraffohlkanal the Vistula Lagoon lasted more than six months, and was therefore unprofitable. 1803 presented the country's building officer Eytwelin before the project of a channel with the bypass of Thorn, whose construction was not realized. 1825, the project was picked up again and decided the construction of the Prussian state parliament. First, the engineer from Marie Severin Werder was intended as a site manager, but already failed in the planning phase.
1836 began the actual planning by Georg Steenke, was built under his direction in 1833 the Seckenburger channel in the Nemunas River valley. Employees were the engineers and Severin Carl Lentze, which was mainly as a designer of the Vistula bridge in Dirschau known and later participated in the construction of the Suez Canal. Steenke first laid down the canal path and considered first hydro-technical solutions. In the realm of legend, however, that he heard the then Prussian King Friedrich III. suggested already this year, to bridge the difference in height of almost 100 meters on the 9 km long canal route from Buchenwald ( Buczyniec ) by Kiss field ( Całuny ) to set up a boat trip over mountains with inclined planes. Instead Steenke had an initial 20 -locks provided, which was too expensive and more effective solution required. For this reason, he made several trips, including to Belgium, Holland and Bavaria, to inspect the latest hydro-technical facilities.
After construction begins five -locks were completed south from Drużno in the period 1844-1850. 1850 Steenke made a trip to the U.S. to inspect the hydro-technical facilities on the Morris Canal in New Jersey, where, besides chamber locks 23 inclined planes were with a cart on which the ships were transported, furnished. Steenke considered this solution to be too ineffectual and constructed instead with his staff Severin and Lentze levels with peaks that made the chamber locks unnecessary and meant a technical innovation. The construction of the four inclined planes in Buchenwald, Kanthen, Schönfeld and Hirschfeld was 1860 completed, so that the channel on August 31, 1860 was officially inaugurated and traveled, despite the opposition of Steenke, in the region between Kiss field and the previous five -locks Drużno wanted to replace it with another inclined plane. Only in the period 1874-1881, the fifth inclined plane in Kiss field, which was driven by a more modern water turbine was built.
In the period 1921-1931 there was a modernization of the channel by changing the locks, weirs and security gates were built and the wooden structures were in the locks replaced by concrete.
The inclined planes
In addition to two conventional descent structures with locks used on a partial section of 9.5 km five Rollberge to overcome the difference in height of 99.5 m above sea level. NN to 0.3 m above sea level. NN. Each Rollberg is equipped with a funicular railway, which transported the boats with the help of rail cars to the next channel section. The funiculars are each equipped with a machine house where the cable drum stands. The drive of the cable drum via a reduction gearing by an undershot water wheel. Built later Rollberg of Całony Nowe ( New Kiss field) has an electric drive whose power is supplied by a water turbine.
Data of inclined planes
- Height refers to the height difference to be overcome until the following channel section
- Distance denotes the channel section to the beginning of the next inclined plane
Power units the Rollberge
Reduction gearbox and rope drum in the machine house of Kąty
Sheaves for the deflection of the steel cable at the end of the rolling mountain in Kąty
Economic importance of the channel
Utilization
The construction of the Elblag canal, a faster and more profitable transport of certain agricultural products for export of the Oberland was associated, such as wood, animal skins and long wooden pine from Taberbrück ( Tabórz ) that were in demand as masts in shipbuilding. After commissioning of the channel in 1860, a day passed about twelve to twenty ships of the canal. Steenke listed in 1862 in his diary that as many as 57 ships were in a day. Since the construction of a railway line from 1893 was a gradual decline in capacity utilization. During 1913, 107 486 tons of goods were transported on the canal in weight, there were 69 481 tonnes in 1920 only, in 1925 34,951 tons, while the transport volume in 1927 increased again to 49 778 tonnes.
Tourism
The canal was a destination soon after start-up due to its technical features and the idyllic landscape. Already in 1864, before the construction of the fifth inclined plane, Bernhard Olbert traveled from heimatkundlichem interest the channel and published a description of his journey.
1901 Robert Dorr described in a guidebook about the area around Elbing the beginnings of tourism, where travelers were riding first as passengers on the cargo ships:
" ... These floating on the canal steamers belonging to the company A. Zedler. It is advantageous if you previously asks exactly, and also the captain of the chosen vessel asks that he takes the necessary food and drinks for the passengers, because the ships are used to transport goods. Later, we begin the journey by 5 clock in the morning, driving for example by steamship Bertha, initially on the Elbing River and then over the Drużno. [ ... ] Goes even further by driving water into a channel via which has a way to tow on one side, running on the wall with willows. Behind the ramparts extend wide reed and rush surfaces. Such a landscape is enough to Kleppe, where the first inclined plane shows up in New Kiss field. Then the next inclined planes, called by the natives mountains on wheels come in deer, Schönfeld, Kanthen and Buchenwald. "
It was only in 1912 started the professional tourism trip with ships owned by Adolf Tetzlaff from Osterode. While the channel was initially used mainly for school and business trips under heimatkundlichem or technical aspect, more and more individuals were added, so that the tourist incentive was increased by the construction of guest houses and organized trips with tours of the area. The tourism business proved to be in the years after the First World War as lucrative, so the fleet of cruise ships has been extended. Example, it was in 1927 commissioned in MS. Consul record with a length of 30 m and a width of 4.25 m 185 people and reached a top speed of 25 km / h In 1920 came a competing company, the shipping company Munter from Saalfeld.
During the Second World War the Marine has been set on the channel. In 1948 she was but at the instigation of the shipowner Tetzlaff ( 1888-1952 ) resumed after a railway repair shop had produced as a substitute for the destroyed drive the inclined plane in Buchwalde a new one. Nevertheless, tourism, little attention has been paid on the canal in the following years. This situation did not change until after 1992, when the city Ostróda took over the operation of the channel and the protection of the ecosystem in the channel environment.
The channel is again scheduled moderately traveled by cruise ships, in particular the inclined planes are a tourist attraction and are traversed annually by more than 30,000 passengers (as at 1999) with an increasing trend since then. The operation rests in the winter months from late September to 1 May.
Due to renovation, the channel can be 2013 and 2014 operating only part of the journey.