Gliwice Canal

Gliwice Canal
Barge on the Gliwice Canal
Country	Poland
Specifications
Length	41.6 km (25.8 miles)
Geography
Direction	West
Start point	Gliwice
End point	Kędzierzyn-Koźle
Beginning coordinates	50°19′53″N 18°37′52″E
Ending coordinates	50°21′33″N 18°08′27″E

Lock in Rudziniec village.

The Gliwice Canal (Polish: Kanał Gliwicki, German: Gleiwitzer Kanal) is a canal connecting the Oder (Odra) River to the city of Gliwice in the Silesian Voivodeship (Upper Silesian Industrial Region), Poland. Also known as the Upper Silesian Canal (Kanał Górnośląski, Oberschlesischer Kanal), it was built from 1935 to 1939 and replaced the Kłodnicki Canal.

Structure

The canal starts at the port of Gliwice and descends to Kędzierzyn-Koźle on the Oder. The canal passes through Opole Voivodeship and Silesian Voivodeship in Poland.

The canal is approximately 41.6 kilometres (26 mi) long; its maximum depth is 3.5 metres (11 ft); canal width is 38 metres (125 ft); the maximum allowed speed for ships on the canal is 6 kilometres per hour (4 mph); and the difference in the height of the water levels at 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:

1. in Łabędy district of Gliwice
2. in Dzierżno district of Pyskowice
3. in Rudziniec village
4. in Sławięcice district of Kędzierzyn-Koźle
5. in Nowa Wieś village
6. in Kłodnica district of Kędzierzyn-Koźle

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.

The Erenforst area is located in the Upper Silesian region of Poland, about 50 kilometers south of the city of Wroclaw. The area is now known as Kędzierzyn-Koźle. The Adolf Hitler Canal connected the Oder River to the industrial region of Upper Silesia. The canal was built by the Nazis during World War II to transport coal from Silesia to Berlin and other parts of Germany.

The exact location of the work camp where the 500 Jewish POWs (prisoners of war) were sent to repair the canal is not known. However, it is likely that the camp was located in the vicinity of the canal, perhaps near the town of Kędzierzyn-Koźle. The camp was probably a small, temporary camp that was set up to house the POWs while they worked on the canal.

The flood that destroyed the canal occurred in 1945, shortly before the end of World War II. The flood was caused by the collapse of a dam on the Oder River. The floodwaters destroyed the canal and the work camp, and many of the POWs were killed.

The exact number of POWs who died in the flood is not known. However, it is estimated that several hundred POWs were killed. The flood was a tragedy, and it is a reminder of the harsh conditions that POWs faced during World War II.

Here are some additional details about the Adolf Hitler Canal:

The canal was 120 kilometers long and 15 meters wide. It was built by forced labor, including POWs and concentration camp inmates. The canal was never completed, and it was only partially operational during World War II. The canal was destroyed by the flood in 1945, and it was never rebuilt.

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 of material are shipped each year through the canal (mostly coal). The Polish government is considering modernizing the canal.

External links

• Kanał Gliwicki on official pages of RZGW Gliwice Archived 2016-03-08 at the Wayback Machine (in Polish)
• Kanał Gliwicki - serwis informacyjny Archived 2013-06-09 at the Wayback Machine (in Polish)
• Barką do Kędzierzyna - Kanał Gliwicki (in Polish)