Masurian Canal

The Masurian Canal (German: Masurischer Kanal,[1] Polish: Kanał Mazurski,[2] Russian: Мазурский Канал[3]) is a 50.4-kilometre-long (31.3 mi) abandoned canal in eastern Europe. Planned by Germany to connect Königsberg (Kaliningrad) and Mauersee (Lake Mamry) in East Prussia, construction of the canal was paused for the World Wars and hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic, before being abandoned.

Masurian Canal
The lock at Leśniewo with its Reichsadler recess
Specifications
Locks10
Total rise110.7 metres (363 ft)
StatusAbandoned
History
Date of act14 May 1908
Construction beganApril 1911
Geography
Start pointŁyna, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia
End pointLake Mamry, Poland
Beginning coordinates54.5012°N 21.1955°E / 54.5012; 21.1955
Ending coordinates54.1910°N 21.6524°E / 54.1910; 21.6524
Route map
 Łyna River
 Druzhba Lock 1
 Druzhba Lock 2
 Kostromino Lock
 Marinovka Lock
 Ozerki Lock
 Poland–Russia border
 Długopole Lock
 Bajory Lock
 Piaski Lock
 Lake Rydzówka
 Leśniewo Lower Lock
 Leśniewo Upper Lock
 Lake Mamry

History

Proposals for a canal connecting the Masurian Lakes area with the Baltic Sea at Königsberg existed from the 18th century, when other canal schemes to connect the Masurian Lakes were enacted by Johann Friedrich Domhardt.[4] An early proposal would have had a canal from Lake Ryńskie to the sea making substantial use of river navigations, and another plan was to have a canal leave Lake Mamry north via Węgielsztyn. A further plan for a canal was proposed in 1849, and a survey was drawn up by 1862. This plan would have used inclined planes as on the nearby Elbląg Canal. Failure to acquire consent from landowners was one reason this proposal did not come to fruition.[4]

In 1890, hydraulic engineer August Hess—who had previously designed the Aller Canal—revised the plans to replace the inclined planes with locks, publishing The Masurian Shipping Canal in East Prussia (German: Der Masurische Schiffahrtskanal in Ostpreußen) in 1892.[5] Two years later, engineer Otto Intze published his Expert Opinion on the Utilization of Considerable Water Power for Industrial Purposes Through the Masurian Shipping Canal (German: Gutachten über die Nutzbarmachung erheblicher Wasserkräfte für industrielle Zwecke durch den Masurischen Schiffahrtskanal) which recommended the installation of hydroelectric power stations at the locks.[6]

By 1898 the Landtag approved the land purchase of 200,000 ℳ.[4] On 14 May 1908, authorisation was given to construct a 50.4-kilometre (31.3 mi) navigable waterway between Königsberg and Lake Mamry in the German Reich.[lower-alpha 1][4][7] The canal, planned to make use of the Pregolya and Łyna rivers upstream of Königsberg and a canal from Allenburg (now Druzhba) to Mamry, would drop approximately 110.7 metres (363 ft) from the lakes to the river.[4][8][9][10]

A second phase of construction would have seen an extension to the Narew valley which would have provided an onward connection to Warsaw.[8][10]

Construction

After authorisation of the canal, the works were divided into two schemes; the first was from the Łyna to the Gerdauen–Nordenburg railway line, and the second was from the railway line to Lake Mamry.[11] The contract for construction was given to Philipp Holzmann and Dyckerhoff & Widmann, and construction began in April 1911.[11]

Construction was halted at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914; the canal was described as being "far from complete"[8] with only two locks having been started.[4] In September 1914, engagements of the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes took place near the canal works.[12]

When construction recommenced after the war, completion was planned for 1940.[4][11] Many navvies came from west Germany and had accommodation in barracks near the works; some of these later settled in Druzhba. Local men were also employed, which stimulated local economy.[13] In 1921, it was again suggested that the canal could be used for hydroelectric power, with a recognised capacity of up to 20,000,000 kilowatt-hours (72,000,000 MJ).[14] The following year, hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic again put works on hold.[4] At this point, construction of most of the locks had begun, with one at Allenburg complete.[11]

Construction recommenced in 1934, using local and forced labour,[4] with a proposed completion of May 1941 and a projected total cost of 19,500,000 ℛℳ.[11] In 1936, the lock at Kostromino was reported to have been complete.[15]

The outbreak of the Second World War again halted construction; the cut was complete but many of the locks along the waterway remained unfinished.[10] Navvies were subsequently employed to construct Adolf Hitler's nearby Wolf's Lair and the Mauerwald base of the OKH;[4][16] a legend suggests that the canal's real purpose was to serve a secret U-boat facility at Mauerwald.[16][17]

Works were finally abandoned in 1942.[4] The Polish–Soviet border agreement of August 1945 divided the course of the canal, with 20.43 kilometres (12.69 mi) assigned to Poland and 29.97 kilometres (18.62 mi) to the USSR.[4][18] After the Second World War, many of the mechanisms at the locks and weirs were looted.[19]

Route
The dry abandoned canal bed in the Russian section

The canal begins at a fortified junction with Lake Przystań, a bay on the west side of Lake Mamry, at approximately 116.4 metres (382 ft) AMSL.[20] Heading west, the canal was crossed by a road bridge and a railway bridge carrying the Kętrzyn–Węgorzewo line. The first lock, Leśniewo Upper Lock, is that with the greatest rise. Beyond the second lock, Leśniewo Lower Lock, the first cut ends and the waterway makes use of Lake Rydzówka for 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) of its route. The canal heads north from the lake on another cut, through Piaski Lock, the only completed lock on the Polish side of the canal. Passing the Marszałki forest, the canal drops through locks at Bajory Małe and Bajory Wielkie. Beyond the locks the canal was crossed by the narrow gauge railway between Barciany and Krylovo. The last lock on the Polish side, Długopole Lock, had the lowest rise of any on the canal. Adjacent to the lock was a watchtower, now administered by the Polish Teachers' Union.[21]

North of the Poland–Russia border, the dry canal bed heads north-west and was crossed by the Zheleznodorozhny–Krylovo railway; the bridge is now demolished. The route passes through forest and the lost village of Wikrowo. The first lock in Russia is Ozerki Lock, beyond which is a railway bridge defended by anti-tank obstacles. After the next lock, near the village of Marinovka, the canal passes the Mauenwalde estate before heading west and reaching a lock at Kostromino. At Druzhba, two locks drop the canal to the level of the Łyna (approximately 5.1 metres (17 ft) AMSL[20]); after the village, the canal enters a sweeping curve to the north to join the river.[21]

Specifications

The cut was dug to a specification of 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) depth, a maximum beam of 13 metres (43 ft). The beam at waterline (i.e. the breadth of the canal from bank to bank) was 23 metres (75 ft).[18] The canal alternated between cuttings and embankments, with some earthworks reaching 15 metres (49 ft) high. The channel was lined with 20 centimetres (7.9 in) of stone to prevent leakage. Where the canal was cut through marshy ground, it was further strengthened with reinforced concrete.[9] In inhabited areas such as villages and farms, the channel was secured with barbed wire and fencing.[9]

The minimum-curve radius was designed to be 400 metres (1,300 ft) to allow Finowmaß-specification vessels (i.e. those measuring 40.2 by 4.6 metres (132 ft × 15 ft) and capable of navigating the Finow Canal) to navigate bends at full speed. At these locations, the channel was widened by 3–4 metres (9.8–13.1 ft).[9]

Locks

Ten locks were constructed on the canal, with chambers made of reinforced concrete using the Torkret injection method.[15] These were placed in one of three categories based on the pressure caused by the hydraulic head above the lock:[22]

  1. Category 1 – locks with a rise less than 8 metres (26 ft) (Długopole Lock, Marinovka Lock, Druzhba Lock 1, and Druzhba Lock 2)
  2. Category 2 – locks with a rise of 8–12 metres (26–39 ft) (Piaski Lock, Bajory Lock, and Kostromino Lock)
  3. Category 3 – locks with a rise greater than 12 metres (39 ft) (Leśniewo Upper Lock, Leśniewo Lower Lock, and Ozerki Lock)

These categories dictated the power systems used to drive the mechanisms of the gates, the need for side pounds (groups 2 and 3 only) to reduce water consumption when lockaging, and the type of lock gate used.[22] Those extant gates show that they were constructed of steel;[19] three different gate designs were employed—double mitre gates, vertically-lifting gates, and flat-folding gates. Operation was primarily electromechanical via a chain drive and rack and pinion gear (mitre gates) or a counterweighted drum motor system (vertical gates). The locks had the ability to be manually operated if necessary.[23]

The superstructure of the upper lock at Leśniewo features a recess for the Reichsadler of the coat of arms of the Third Reich.[24]

At the abandonment of works, the locks were in varying states of completion.[19]

Lock name[19]ImageDistance from Łyna[22]Distance from Lake Mamry[22]Rise/fall[22]LocationCountry[lower-alpha 2]Coordinates[25]
Druzhba Lock 1[lower-alpha 3]1.2 km (0.75 mi)49.2 km (30.6 mi)6.9 m (22 ft 8 in)[lower-alpha 4]Druzhba, Pravdinsky DistrictRussia54.4936°N 21.1973°E / 54.4936; 21.1973
Druzhba Lock 2[lower-alpha 5]2.2 km (1.4 mi)48.2 km (30.0 mi)8 m (26 ft 3 in)Druzhba, Pravdinsky DistrictRussia54.4881°N 21.2107°E / 54.4881; 21.2107
Kostromino Lock[lower-alpha 6]8 km (5.0 mi)42.4 km (26.3 mi)12 m (39 ft 4 in)Kostromino, Pravdinsky DistrictRussia54.4732°N 21.2950°E / 54.4732; 21.2950
Marinovka Lock[lower-alpha 7]14.4 km (8.9 mi)36 km (22 mi)7.5 m (24 ft 7 in)Marinovka, Pravdinsky DistrictRussia54.4367°N 21.3651°E / 54.4367; 21.3651
Ozerki Lock[lower-alpha 8]19.8 km (12.3 mi)30.6 km (19.0 mi)15.5 m (50 ft 10 in)Ozerki, Pravdinsky DistrictRussia54.3980°N 21.4012°E / 54.3980; 21.4012
Długopole Lock[lower-alpha 9]32.3 km (20.1 mi)18.1 km (11.2 mi)6.5 m (21 ft 4 in)Bajory Wielkie, Gmina SrokowoPoland54.3062°N 21.4948°E / 54.3062; 21.4948
Bajory Lock[lower-alpha 10]35.8 km (22.2 mi)14.6 km (9.1 mi)10.5 m (34 ft 5 in)Bajory Małe, Gmina SrokowoPoland54.2786°N 21.5231°E / 54.2786; 21.5231
Piaski Lock[lower-alpha 11]40.9 km (25.4 mi)9.5 km (5.9 mi)11.1 m (36 ft 5 in)[lower-alpha 4]Guja, Gmina WęgorzewoPoland54.2520°N 21.5789°E / 54.2520; 21.5789
Leśniewo Lower Lock[lower-alpha 12]45.4 km (28.2 mi)5 km (3.1 mi)16.2 m (53 ft 2 in)[lower-alpha 4]Leśniewo, Gmina SrokowoPoland54.2128°N 21.5881°E / 54.2128; 21.5881
Leśniewo Upper Lock[lower-alpha 13]49.1 km (30.5 mi)1.3 km (0.81 mi)16.5 m (54 ft 2 in)[lower-alpha 4]Leśniewo, Gmina SrokowoPoland54.2084°N 21.5937°E / 54.2084; 21.5937

Footnotes
  1. In 1945, following the Second World War, Königsberg was renamed Kaliningrad and is now part of Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast; since 1945 Lake Mamry has been within Poland
  2. since 1945
  3. Polish: Śluza Drużba I; German: Mündungsschleuse Allenburg (English: Allenburg Estuary Lock)
  4. The depths of the uppermost three locks would have been affected by seasonal fluctuation of the Masurian Lakes levels, and the lowest by seasonal fluctuation of the Łyna. The rise of the upper locks vary up to 0.6 metres (2 ft 0 in) and the lowest by 1.3 metres (4 ft 3 in)[22]
  5. Polish: Śluza Drużba II; German: Bahnhofschleuse Allenburg (English: Allenburg Station Lock)
  6. Polish: Śluza Kostromino; German: Schachtschleuse Groß Allendorf (English: Greater Allendorf Lock)
  7. Polish: Śluza Marinowka; German: Schleuse Wilhelmshof (English: Wilhelmshof Lock)
  8. Polish: Śluza Ozierki; German: Schachtschleuse Georgenfelde (English: Georgenfelde Lock)
  9. Polish: Śluza Długopole; German: Schleuse Langenfeld (English: Langenfeld Lock)
  10. Polish: Śluza Bajory; German: Schachtschleuse Bajohren (English: Bajohren Lock)
  11. Polish: Śluza Piaski; German: Schachtschleuse Sandhof (English: Sandyard Lock)
  12. Polish: Śluza Leśniewo Dolne; German: Unterschleuse Fürstenau (English: Fürstenau Lower Lock)
  13. Polish: Śluza Leśniewo Górne; German: Oberschleuse Fürstenau (English: Fürstenau Upper Lock)

References
  1. Gazetteer of Poland: M-Z. Defense Mapping Agency. 1988. p. 661.
  2. Calvert, Roger (1963). Inland Waterways of Europe. G. Allen & Unwin. p. 173.
  3. Ageenko, Florence (2022). Slovarʹ sobstvennyh imën russkogo jazyka Словарь собственных имён русского языка [Dictionary of proper names of the Russian language] (in Russian). ЛитРес. p. 443. ISBN 9785041971564.
  4. Stachowski, Krzysztof. "Historia Kanału Mazurskiego" [History of the Masurian Canal]. Kanal Mazurski: 100 lat historii [Masurian Canal: 100 years of history] (in Polish). Archived from the original on 14 February 2015.
  5. Muhlbrecht, Otto (1893). "Deutsche Literatur" [German literature]. Allgemeine Bibliographie der Staats- und Rechtswissenschaften [General bibliography of political science and law] (in German). Buchhandlung für Staats- u. Rechtswissenschaft. 25–28: 134. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  6. Intze, Otto (1894). "Gutachten über die Nutzbarmachung erheblicher Wasserkräfte durch den Masurischen Schiffahrtskanal" [Expert opinion on the utilization of considerable water power for industrial purposes through the Masurian Shipping Canal]. Digitalisierte Sammlungen der Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  7. Turnock, David (2006). The economy of East Central Europe 1815–1989 : stages of transformation in a peripheral region (1st ed.). London: Routledge. p. 111. ISBN 9781134678761.
  8. Peace Handbooks: Germany, no. 37-42. Foreign Office. 1920. p. 36. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  9. "Ustroystvo Mazurskogo kanala i yego gidrotekhnicheskikh sooruzheniy" Устройство Мазурского канала и его гидротехнических сооружений [Arrangement of the Masurian Canal and its hydraulic structures] (PDF) (in Russian). Kaliningrad Archives. 2017. p. 54. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  10. Turnock, David (2006). The economy of East Central Europe 1815–1989 : stages of transformation in a peripheral region (1st ed.). London: Routledge. p. 219. ISBN 9781134678761.
  11. Stachowski, Krzysztof (September 2011). "100 lat Kanału Mazurskiego". Odkrywca (in Polish). Instytut Badań Historycznych i Krajoznawczych sp. z o.o. 9 (152): 64. ISSN 1505-6104.
  12. "Schlacht an den Masurischen Seen". geoportost.ios-regensburg.de. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  13. Schadewinkel, Otto (1975). "Erinnerungen an meine Geburts- und Heimatstadt Allenburg" [Memories of My Birth and Hometown Allenburg] (PDF). Wehlauer Heimatbrief. p. 8. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  14. "The Electrical Journal". The Electrical Journal. 1921: 590. 1921. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  15. "Die Arbeiten der Reichswasserstraflenverwaltung im Jahre 1936" [The Work of the Reich Waterway Administration in 1936] (PDF). Bautechnik [Construction Technology]. 12 February 1937. p. 77-78. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  16. Grehan, John (2021). "3: Oberkommando des Heeres Mauerwald". Hitler's Wolfsschanze The Wolf's Lair Headquarters on the Eastern Front – an Illustrated Guide. Havertown: Pen & Sword Books Limited. ISBN 9781526753144.
  17. "Schleuse" [Sluices]. Mauerwald 30 Undestroyed Bunkers [Mauerwald 30 Undestroyed the bunker] (in German). Archived from the original on 7 August 2010.
  18. "Ustroystvo Mazurskogo kanala i yego gidrotekhnicheskikh sooruzheniy" Устройство Мазурского канала и его гидротехнических сооружений [Arrangement of the Masurian Canal and its hydraulic structures] (PDF) (in Russian). Kaliningrad Archives. 2017. p. 53. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  19. Stachowski, Krzysztof. "Obiekty hydrotechn" [Hydrotechnical objects]. Kanal Mazurski: 100 lat historii [Masurian Canal: 100 years of history] (in Polish). Archived from the original on 14 February 2015.
  20. "Ustroystvo Mazurskogo kanala i yego gidrotekhnicheskikh sooruzheniy" Устройство Мазурского канала и его гидротехнических сооружений [Arrangement of the Masurian Canal and its hydraulic structures] (PDF) (in Russian). Kaliningrad Archives. 2017. p. 55. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  21. Stachowski, Krzysztof. "Przebieg kanału" [Channel course]. Kanal Mazurski: 100 lat historii [Masurian Canal: 100 years of history] (in Polish). Archived from the original on 14 February 2015.
  22. "Ustroystvo Mazurskogo kanala i yego gidrotekhnicheskikh sooruzheniy" Устройство Мазурского канала и его гидротехнических сооружений [Arrangement of the Masurian Canal and its hydraulic structures] (PDF) (in Russian). Kaliningrad Archives. 2017. p. 56. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  23. "Ustroystvo Mazurskogo kanala i yego gidrotekhnicheskikh sooruzheniy" Устройство Мазурского канала и его гидротехнических сооружений [Arrangement of the Masurian Canal and its hydraulic structures] (PDF) (in Russian). Kaliningrad Archives. 2017. p. 57. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  24. "Leśniewo – locks over the Mazurian Canal". Warmia-Masuria Film Fund. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  25. "1937 – Messtischblatt – nemeckaja topografičeskaja karta Vostočnoj Prussii" 1937 – Messtischblatt – немецкая топографическая карта Восточной Пруссии [1937 – Messtischblatt – German topographic map of East Prussia]. www.prussia39.ru (in Russian). Prussia39. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
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