360
M. Gor˛ aczko and K. Kubiak-Wójcicka
the Iława Lake District. It connected the larger lakes of the region and the cities
located on them (Iława, Ostróda) with the seaport in Elbl˛ ag. Its main part was the
Elbl˛ ag Canal, built-in 1844–1860. Starting from the second half of the nineteenth
century, the modernization of waterways began. The upper section of the Oder was
then canalized between Ko´ zle and Brzeg Dolny (works were completed in 1922).
The lower Vistula was regulated within the Prussian partition (from Ciechocinek
to Gda´ nsk) with the estuary (the ditch near ´
Swibno). The Vistula-Oder waterway
was thoroughly modernized along with the construction of several new dams on the
Note´ c River and reconstruction of locks on the Bydgoszcz Canal and construction
of the Górnonotecki Canal, which connected the Bydgoszcz Canal with the Gopło
Lake, enabling water transport of agricultural and raw materials from the Kuyavia
and Greater Poland region. Just before the First World War, a new Oder-Havel Canal
was built, the most important connection of Poland’s waterways with the West European network. Despite the many hydrotechnical investments carried out, this period
was remarked by a decrease in the importance of inland waterway transport in favor
of an increasingly fast-developing railway transport. The interwar period turned out
to be too short-lived to cause a significant improvement in the condition of obsolete shipping infrastructure in Poland. In addition, the most important waterways
of the country were crossed by borders with countries that were politically and
economically in conflict (German Reich, Free City of Gda´ nsk, USSR). As a result,
the interwar period brought regression in inland water transport. For example, the
Vistula transports in the best years were comparable to those from before the partitions. The remainder of these times is the Gopło-Warta Canal (present ´
Slesin Canal
completed only in 1950) and a number of unrealized canal projects, headed by the
Central Canal, which was to connect the Upper Silesian Basin with the Vistula River
near Bydgoszcz. This concept soon fell, replaced by the construction of the HerbyGdynia coal railway in the years 1925–1933. From the point of view of the use of
waterways, the establishment of new borders of Poland after the Second World War
should be considered very beneficial. Almost all of the Vistula and Oder basins were
in its area, and 7 of the 9 largest Polish cities had access to waterways. The most
important industrial district of Upper Silesia was connected with the waterways to
ports in Gda´ nsk and in Szczecin. After 1945, several major investments were made
that had a direct or indirect impact on improving the conditions for inland waterway
transport.
These include:
– the completion of the construction of the ˙
Zera´ n Canal connecting the Vistula River
in Warsaw with the Narew (1953),
– the construction of the Ł˛ aczany Canal (1958) consisting a part of the waterway
connecting O´ swi˛ ecim with Kraków,
– construction of the dam on the Oder River in Brzeg Dolny (1959),
– construction of the dam on the river Narew in D˛ ebe and the creation of the Zegrze
Reservoir (1963),
– construction of a dam on the Vistula in Włocławek and creation of the Włocławek
Reservoir (1970).
M. Gor˛ aczko and K. Kubiak-Wójcicka
the Iława Lake District. It connected the larger lakes of the region and the cities
located on them (Iława, Ostróda) with the seaport in Elbl˛ ag. Its main part was the
Elbl˛ ag Canal, built-in 1844–1860. Starting from the second half of the nineteenth
century, the modernization of waterways began. The upper section of the Oder was
then canalized between Ko´ zle and Brzeg Dolny (works were completed in 1922).
The lower Vistula was regulated within the Prussian partition (from Ciechocinek
to Gda´ nsk) with the estuary (the ditch near ´
Swibno). The Vistula-Oder waterway
was thoroughly modernized along with the construction of several new dams on the
Note´ c River and reconstruction of locks on the Bydgoszcz Canal and construction
of the Górnonotecki Canal, which connected the Bydgoszcz Canal with the Gopło
Lake, enabling water transport of agricultural and raw materials from the Kuyavia
and Greater Poland region. Just before the First World War, a new Oder-Havel Canal
was built, the most important connection of Poland’s waterways with the West European network. Despite the many hydrotechnical investments carried out, this period
was remarked by a decrease in the importance of inland waterway transport in favor
of an increasingly fast-developing railway transport. The interwar period turned out
to be too short-lived to cause a significant improvement in the condition of obsolete shipping infrastructure in Poland. In addition, the most important waterways
of the country were crossed by borders with countries that were politically and
economically in conflict (German Reich, Free City of Gda´ nsk, USSR). As a result,
the interwar period brought regression in inland water transport. For example, the
Vistula transports in the best years were comparable to those from before the partitions. The remainder of these times is the Gopło-Warta Canal (present ´
Slesin Canal
completed only in 1950) and a number of unrealized canal projects, headed by the
Central Canal, which was to connect the Upper Silesian Basin with the Vistula River
near Bydgoszcz. This concept soon fell, replaced by the construction of the HerbyGdynia coal railway in the years 1925–1933. From the point of view of the use of
waterways, the establishment of new borders of Poland after the Second World War
should be considered very beneficial. Almost all of the Vistula and Oder basins were
in its area, and 7 of the 9 largest Polish cities had access to waterways. The most
important industrial district of Upper Silesia was connected with the waterways to
ports in Gda´ nsk and in Szczecin. After 1945, several major investments were made
that had a direct or indirect impact on improving the conditions for inland waterway
transport.
These include:
– the completion of the construction of the ˙
Zera´ n Canal connecting the Vistula River
in Warsaw with the Narew (1953),
– the construction of the Ł˛ aczany Canal (1958) consisting a part of the waterway
connecting O´ swi˛ ecim with Kraków,
– construction of the dam on the Oder River in Brzeg Dolny (1959),
– construction of the dam on the river Narew in D˛ ebe and the creation of the Zegrze
Reservoir (1963),
– construction of a dam on the Vistula in Włocławek and creation of the Włocławek
Reservoir (1970).