Chapter 18
Waterways in Poland – The History,
Present State and Future
Marcin Gor˛ aczko and Katarzyna Kubiak-Wójcicka
Abstract The history of using rivers in Poland for transportation reaches medieval
times. Inland navigation utilizing primarily the two main rivers of the country –
the Vistula and the Oder – significantly contributed to the expansion and economic
growth of cities like Krakow, Warsaw, Wloclawek, Torun, Bydgoszcz, Wroclaw,
Szczecin, Elblag, as well as many smaller towns. Polish waterways reached the height
of their significance in the period from the 2nd half of the XV century to the 1st half
of XVIII century. During that period, Vistula was considered to be, economically,
the most important river in the world. The loss of independence due to Partitions of
Poland, two World Wars, increased tonnage requirements for transport vessels and
the emergence of the railroad as a competitive form of transportation can be seen
as the main causes of the stagnation, and then the following recession of the inland
water transportation within the country. The gradual process of degradation was not
stopped despite the modernization attempts (partial river engineering, construction of
new channels). Currently, the overall length of the waterways in Poland is 3655 km,
out of which 2417 km are engineered navigable rivers, 644 km channelized river
parts, 336 km are channels, and 259 km is on navigable lakes. Around 90% of that
length is being utilized by inland navigation. The Polish waterways are elements to
three international waterways: E30 – connecting the Baltic Sea with the Danube, E40
– connecting the Baltic Sea with the Black Sea and E70 – connecting the Baltic Sea
with the Atlantic Coast. The main factor, however which determines the efficiency of
the inland navigation is the compatibility between the ships’ sizes and the waterways.
Only about 6% of Polish waterways are fit for modern navigation of the international
waterway standards (categories IV and V). The remaining 94% (3441 km) of the
waterways are of the regional standards (categories I, II and III). The insufficient
consideration given to the existing navigable waterways, both in regards to their
M. Gor˛ aczko (B)
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture, UTP University of Science and
Technology, Kaliskiego 7, 85-796 Bydgoszcz, Poland
e-mail: gorgon@utp.edu.pl
K. Kubiak-Wójcicka
Department of Hydrology and Water Management, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial
Management, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Lwowska 1, 87-100 Toru´ n, Poland
e-mail: kubiak@umk.pl
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. Zeleˇ náková et al. (eds.), Management of Water Resources in Poland, Springer Water,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61965-7_18
357
Waterways in Poland – The History,
Present State and Future
Marcin Gor˛ aczko and Katarzyna Kubiak-Wójcicka
Abstract The history of using rivers in Poland for transportation reaches medieval
times. Inland navigation utilizing primarily the two main rivers of the country –
the Vistula and the Oder – significantly contributed to the expansion and economic
growth of cities like Krakow, Warsaw, Wloclawek, Torun, Bydgoszcz, Wroclaw,
Szczecin, Elblag, as well as many smaller towns. Polish waterways reached the height
of their significance in the period from the 2nd half of the XV century to the 1st half
of XVIII century. During that period, Vistula was considered to be, economically,
the most important river in the world. The loss of independence due to Partitions of
Poland, two World Wars, increased tonnage requirements for transport vessels and
the emergence of the railroad as a competitive form of transportation can be seen
as the main causes of the stagnation, and then the following recession of the inland
water transportation within the country. The gradual process of degradation was not
stopped despite the modernization attempts (partial river engineering, construction of
new channels). Currently, the overall length of the waterways in Poland is 3655 km,
out of which 2417 km are engineered navigable rivers, 644 km channelized river
parts, 336 km are channels, and 259 km is on navigable lakes. Around 90% of that
length is being utilized by inland navigation. The Polish waterways are elements to
three international waterways: E30 – connecting the Baltic Sea with the Danube, E40
– connecting the Baltic Sea with the Black Sea and E70 – connecting the Baltic Sea
with the Atlantic Coast. The main factor, however which determines the efficiency of
the inland navigation is the compatibility between the ships’ sizes and the waterways.
Only about 6% of Polish waterways are fit for modern navigation of the international
waterway standards (categories IV and V). The remaining 94% (3441 km) of the
waterways are of the regional standards (categories I, II and III). The insufficient
consideration given to the existing navigable waterways, both in regards to their
M. Gor˛ aczko (B)
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture, UTP University of Science and
Technology, Kaliskiego 7, 85-796 Bydgoszcz, Poland
e-mail: gorgon@utp.edu.pl
K. Kubiak-Wójcicka
Department of Hydrology and Water Management, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial
Management, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Lwowska 1, 87-100 Toru´ n, Poland
e-mail: kubiak@umk.pl
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. Zeleˇ náková et al. (eds.), Management of Water Resources in Poland, Springer Water,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61965-7_18
357