Gliwice Canal
The Gliwice Canal (Polish: Kanał Gliwicki, German: Gleiwitzer Kanal) is a canal connecting the Oder (Odra) River to the city of Gliwice in Silesian Voivodeship (Upper Silesian Industrial Region), Poland. Also known as the Upper Silesia Canal (Kanał Górnośląski, Oberschlesischer Kanal), it was built from 1935 to 1939 and replaced the Kłodnicki Canal.
Structure
The canal length is approximately 41.6 kilometres (26 mi); maximum depth is 3.5 metres (11 ft); canal width is 38 metres (125 ft); allowed speed for ships is 6 kilometres per hour (4 mph), and the difference in height in water levels between its ends is 43.6 metres (143 ft). It has six locks. The canal is accessible from 15 March to 15 December (270 days a year).
Locks:
- in Łabędy district of Gliwice
- in Dzierżno district of Pyskowice
- in Rudziniec village
- in Sławięcice district of Kędzierzyn-Koźle
- in Nowa Wieś village
- in Kłodnica district of Kędzierzyn-Koźle
The canal starts in Kędzierzyn-Koźle on the Oder and ends in the port of Gliwice. The canal passes through Opole Voivodeship and Silesian Voivodeship in Poland.
The water in the canal comes from the Kłodnica River as well as lakes and reservoirs such as Dzierżno Duże and Dzierżno Małe.
History
The Gliwice Canal was originally built in the Province of Upper Silesia within Germany. Because the Klodnitz (Kłodnicki) Canal had become obsolete, it was decided in 1934 that construction of a new canal was more feasible than modernization of the older Klodnitz Canal, which closed in 1937. The new canal, known as the Gleiwitz Canal (German: Gleiwitzer Kanal, was built from 1935-1939 and opened for service in 1941. On 8 December 1939, it was renamed the Adolf Hitler Canal (Adolf-Hitler-Kanal), in honor of Adolf Hitler, during the inauguration ceremony by Rudolf Hess. There were also plans to make it a part of the Danube-Oder-Canal project. After World War II, the canal and the surrounding territories (see Regained Territories) were placed under Polish administration according to the 1945 Potsdam Conference.
About fifty people are employed in maintaining the canal. About 700 000 tonnes[1] of material are shipped each year through the canal (mostly coal). The Polish government is considering modernizing the canal.
Notes
References
- This article incorporates information from the revision as of 20 October 2007 of the equivalent article on the Polish Wikipedia.
- Kanał Gliwicki on official pages of RZGW Gliwice (Polish)
- Kanał Gliwicki - serwis informacyjny (Polish)
- Barką do Kędzierzyna - Kanał Gliwicki (Polish)
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Coordinates: 50°21′34″N 18°08′25″E / 50.3594°N 18.1404°E