18 Waterways in Poland – The History, Present State and Future
361
In 2002, the construction of a waterway on the upper Vistula was completed. It
lasted from 1949 and was commenced with the construction of four large coal-fired
power plants near it (Skawina, Ł˛ eg, Nowa Huta, and Połaniec) in order to enable
coal to be transported from mines in the vicinity of O´ swi˛ ecim. However, this goal
has not been fully achieved due to the lower than expected parameters of the locks,
the narrowing of the river bed left within Krakow, also the construction of only a few
of the planned number of dams.
Summing up, it should be noted that the development of inland waterway transport
in Polish lands fell at a time when waterways did not require technical intervention
in the natural course of rivers. The striving to increase the effectiveness of this means
of transport by regulating and channeling rivers and building of large-scale shipping
channels in many regions of Europe, in particular in the Rhine and Danube basins,
fell on the nineteenth century. At that time, however, Poland was no longer an independent state, sovereign in political and economic terms. From the twentieth century
in Europe, the focus has been on the expansion of rail and road infrastructure. Poland
was not an exception in this respect compared to other European countries. While
it is true that histories have decided to exclude Poland from the pan-European trend
of modernization and expansion of waterway infrastructure in the most favorable
moment, it would be an abuse to claim that this is the main reason for marginalizing
the role of waterways in the contemporary transport system of the country.
18.3 Problematic Present – Current State of Waterways
in Poland and Their Usage
The quality of waterways and their spatial arrangement determine the possibilities of
development of inland water transport [3]. The total length of waterways in Poland
is just over 3600 km, of which the vast majority are freely flowing (about 66%) and
canalized rivers (about 18%). Waterways running within lakes constitute about 7%
of their total length, while navigation canals – around 9%. Out of the total length
of waterways in Poland, just over 90% are exploited. It is worth mentioning here
that compared to the 1960s, the length of waterways in Poland decreased by over
20%. In terms of the length of rivers, Poland ranks fifth among European countries,
behind Finland, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. Poland is characterized by a
fairly significant density of waterways, expressed as an indicator of the length of the
network per 1000 km
2 of the area. It is 11.7 km/1000 km
2 , with the European average
9.3 km/1000 km
2 . Only the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Hungary,
and Luxembourg have a higher network density index. For comparison, however,
the density of the motorway network (motorways and expressways) in Poland is
more than twice, and the railway network twenty times (about 6 km/100 km) larger
than waterways. At the same time, the main river network (including channels) of
navigational significance consists of:
361
In 2002, the construction of a waterway on the upper Vistula was completed. It
lasted from 1949 and was commenced with the construction of four large coal-fired
power plants near it (Skawina, Ł˛ eg, Nowa Huta, and Połaniec) in order to enable
coal to be transported from mines in the vicinity of O´ swi˛ ecim. However, this goal
has not been fully achieved due to the lower than expected parameters of the locks,
the narrowing of the river bed left within Krakow, also the construction of only a few
of the planned number of dams.
Summing up, it should be noted that the development of inland waterway transport
in Polish lands fell at a time when waterways did not require technical intervention
in the natural course of rivers. The striving to increase the effectiveness of this means
of transport by regulating and channeling rivers and building of large-scale shipping
channels in many regions of Europe, in particular in the Rhine and Danube basins,
fell on the nineteenth century. At that time, however, Poland was no longer an independent state, sovereign in political and economic terms. From the twentieth century
in Europe, the focus has been on the expansion of rail and road infrastructure. Poland
was not an exception in this respect compared to other European countries. While
it is true that histories have decided to exclude Poland from the pan-European trend
of modernization and expansion of waterway infrastructure in the most favorable
moment, it would be an abuse to claim that this is the main reason for marginalizing
the role of waterways in the contemporary transport system of the country.
18.3 Problematic Present – Current State of Waterways
in Poland and Their Usage
The quality of waterways and their spatial arrangement determine the possibilities of
development of inland water transport [3]. The total length of waterways in Poland
is just over 3600 km, of which the vast majority are freely flowing (about 66%) and
canalized rivers (about 18%). Waterways running within lakes constitute about 7%
of their total length, while navigation canals – around 9%. Out of the total length
of waterways in Poland, just over 90% are exploited. It is worth mentioning here
that compared to the 1960s, the length of waterways in Poland decreased by over
20%. In terms of the length of rivers, Poland ranks fifth among European countries,
behind Finland, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. Poland is characterized by a
fairly significant density of waterways, expressed as an indicator of the length of the
network per 1000 km
2 of the area. It is 11.7 km/1000 km
2 , with the European average
9.3 km/1000 km
2 . Only the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Hungary,
and Luxembourg have a higher network density index. For comparison, however,
the density of the motorway network (motorways and expressways) in Poland is
more than twice, and the railway network twenty times (about 6 km/100 km) larger
than waterways. At the same time, the main river network (including channels) of
navigational significance consists of: