Finow Canal

Finowkanal in Niederfinow

The Finowkanal ( FIK ) is a 32 km long so-called other inland waterways of the Federal Government in the State of Brandenburg, in the West at Zerpenschleuse from the Oder- Havel Canal, a stretch of the federal waterway Havel - Oder Waterway ( HOW), branches and to the east below the boat lift Niederfinow at Liepe discharges into the waters of the Oder Berger HOW. Responsible for managing the Water and Shipping Authority Eberswalde.

The Finowkanal is the oldest artificial waterway in Germany, which is still in operation. The channel is a listed building.

First Finowkanal

The first Finowkanal was built from 1605 to 1620 and was the first artificial connection between two German power fields ( Havel and Oder). The Elector Joachim Frederick issued the order in 1603 to join the River Havel in love forest on the river Finow with the Oder. Already in 1609 the connection of love forest to Finow including the construction of five locks was completed by Finowfurt. Due to acute shortage of money was the expansion of the canal, now in the route of the Hohenzollern Canal sluggishly under the Elector Johann Sigismund (1608-1619) and Georg Wilhelm (1619-1640) ahead.

As a result of the Thirty Years' War, the canal was almost completely destroyed and the individual channel sections fell into disrepair. The Finowkanal fell into oblivion.

Second Finowkanal

As of 1743, the canal was made ​​by decree of Frederick II again. He brought economic boom to the region and allowed the settlement metalworking industry in the 18th century. The channel has called the development of the Finowtals, even the " märkische Wuppertal ," determined.

The total length of the channel was to its construction about 43 km, it was to overcome a height difference of 38 meters. The locations of the ten locks were based on the locations of the first Finow channel. The dimensions of the ships ( 26.67 m long, 3.11 m wide), the locks were adapted in the form of boiler. On June 16, 1746 second Finowkanal for was opened to traffic.

From 1747 to 1753 the canal was extended to the east, there were seven stages channel built. In the 19th century, the construction of larger locks had become necessary because the traffic was greatly increased. In the years 1841 to 1850 an average of 14,000 boats and 53,000 raft of timber had been smuggled, from 1845 onwards were also made smuggling night. From 1874, then the construction of a second parallel lock each channel stage was begun.

At a length of 29.7 km, a height difference of 36 meters is offset by twelve locks: lock Ruhlsdorf ( at km 59.2 ), Leese Brück ( 61.1 km ), Count Brück ( 63.3 km ), Schöpfurth ( km 67, 5) Heegermühle (km 71.0 ), Wolfswinkel (km 72.9 ), Drahthammer (km 73.9 ), copper hammer ( 75.9 km ), Eberswalde (km 77.9 ), Ragöse ( 81.0 km ), Stecher (km 84.4 ), Liepe (km 88.9 ). The lock Eberswalde is the oldest operable lock in the Mark Brandenburg waterways, it was completed in 1831.

Until the development of the waterways in 1874 there were between the locks and Schöpfurt Heegermühle still Steinfurter lock and between the locks Stecher and Liepe the Niederfinsche lock. They were built as a wooden boiler locks.

1898 and 1899 attempts were made with electric trains on the ship Finowkanal between the city gate and the lock Ragöser by the former company Siemens & Halske. We tested two systems: the system and the system Köttgen Lamb. Köttgen saw before, to let go of an electric motor on a rail while Lamb proposed a moving to a cable permanently installed engine. The experience gained from these experiments incorporated later in the construction of Treidelbahn on the Teltow Canal and also in the lock staircase Niederfinow.

Finowmaß

The so-called Finowmaß was with a length of 40.2 m, a width of 4.60 m and a depth of 1.40 m to a standard in shipbuilding. It was the first German Binnenschiffmaß. The canal locks were designed to fit the exactly two ships of this measure in the locks. Clearly visible are the offset lock gates.

20th century and the present

With the built in 1914 during the Great navigable waterway Berlin -Stettin Oder- Havel Canal to the Finowkanal lost rapidly in importance. The modern channel can accommodate larger ships, has much fewer locks and is therefore more economical. Only a few companies that lay directly on Finowkanal were still controlled. The west subsequent Long junk was separated in 1925. In 1972 the commercial ship traffic on the canal came to a complete standstill.

The Finowkanal is currently an important aspect of the tourism industry in the region and attraction for water tourists and day trips from Berlin. Through the expansion of Treidelweges Finowfurt to the ship Niederfinow to a hiking and biking trail blossomed the Finowkanal again since about 2000. Can be driven on the channel between Zerpenschleuse and Liepe. By Water tourism initiative Nordbrandenburg (WIN AG), a newly established counties Barnim, Upper Havel and Ostprignitz -Ruppin and the cities of Eberswalde, Oranienburg, Neuruppin and Templin, is scheduled to make the Long junk until 2013 navigable again. The plan is to build two lift bridges in Zerpenschleuse, on the B 109 and the forest road, and the opening of the submerged sluice at the mouth of the Oder- Havel Canal.