Ems-Jade Canal

Ems-Jade Canal
abbreviation	EJK
location	Lower Saxony
length	72.3 km
Built	1880-1888
class	0 (approved for vehicles up to 33 m in length, 6.2 m in width and 1.7 m in draft)
Beginning	Emder harbor
The End	Wilhelmshaven ports
Descent structures	Emden, Rahe , Wiesens, Upschört, Wiesede, Mariensiel
Junctions, crossings	North Georgsfehn Canal
Outstanding structures	Boiler lock (Emden) , Kaiser Wilhelm Bridge (Wilhelmshaven)
Kilometrage	From the Ems to the Jade
Top speed.	8 km / h
Competent authority	NLWKN
Ems-Jade Canal in Wilhelmshaven

The Ems-Jade Canal (EJK) connects the Ems near Emden in East Friesland with the Jade Bay near Wilhelmshaven . It bears the main burden of the East Frisian drainage infrastructure, which makes permanent living in the region possible in the first place. The canal is operated and maintained by the Lower Saxony State Agency for Water Management, Coastal Protection and Nature Conservation (NLWKN) - Aurich operations center, on the last 5.44 kilometers before Wilhelmshaven on behalf of the federal government (Water and Shipping Directorate Northwest in Aurich), because this route is closed the so-called other federal inland waterways.

history

The Ems-Jade Canal was built between 1880 and 1888. It owes its creation to Prussia's wish to connect its naval port of Wilhelmshaven, which was an exclave in the then Grand Duchy of Oldenburg , with the Prussian East Frisia, to which Wilhelmshaven was politically part. The fast-growing city on the Jade Bay also promised to be a good market for agricultural products, building materials and peat. In addition, the canal was able to improve the drainage conditions in the higher, inner part of East Frisia, the water of which it absorbed and channeled via the Emden harbor into the Ems and via the Wilhelmshaven harbor into the Jade Bay.

The forerunner of the Ems-Jade Canal was the " Treckschuitenfahrt Canal" built between Emden and Aurich from 1798 to 1800 . For the transport of people, animals and goods, five “schools” were bought in the Netherlands , which ran between Emden and Aurich, drawn by horses , according to schedule. Halfway there, in Middelhaus, the horses were changed and refreshments were taken. The towpaths were so wide that they could also be used by carriages and landauers and for express messages from the “Reitende Post”.

Canal course and economic importance

The Ems-Jade Canal is 72.3 kilometers long and ascends from the Ems in Emden (districts Herrentor , Wolthusen and Uphusen ) through the municipalities of Ihlow , Südbrookmerland and Aurich , and then descends via Friedeburg and Sande to Wilhelmshaven to the Jadebusen . The canal has six locks and is crossed by 15 fixed and 26 movable bridges. It is only navigable for ships up to 33 meters in length, 6.2 meters in width and 1.7 meters in draft and has therefore been used almost exclusively for tourism for some time. In recent years, however, freight-intensive companies (gravel for concrete mixing plants, scrap from car recyclers, fertilizer and animal feed) have been settling on the Ems-Jade Canal. The freight volume has increased since then, especially in the western section of the canal (Aurich, Bangstede). The Ems-Jade Canal is also used by commercial passenger shipping. Trips are offered in particular from Aurich in the direction of Emden.

Particularly noteworthy is the boiler lock in Emden, built in 1886/87, which is rare in canal construction , in which the Ems-Jade Canal crosses with the Emden Stadtgraben and the Fehntjer Tief, thus establishing a connection to two canal systems, both of which have water levels around 2 meters lower lies. The lock consists of a round basin 33 meters in diameter to which four lock chambers are connected in a star shape. It was expanded in 1911–13 and renewed in 1982–89.

There is a direct connection from the Ems-Jade Canal on the eastern outskirts of Emden via the connecting canal to the Ems Lateral Canal (formerly: Dortmund-Ems Canal ). This route saves the canal shipping from having to pass through the Emden harbor on the way up the Ems .

The Rahe lock near Aurich-Rahe , which bridges a difference in height of two meters, was previously the bottleneck of the canal in terms of the use of larger ships. She was well over a hundred years old and missing. Due to the increasing economic importance and to make the canal even more attractive for tourism, the lock had to be completely renovated. Between September 2005 and July 2007 it was demolished during traffic at a cost of around 5 million euros and completely rebuilt. To make this possible in traffic, a new process was used in which nine large precast concrete parts, each weighing over 300 tons, were produced on site and then moved to the respective installation location. The old swing bridge was replaced by a new bascule bridge. For the new building, a measurement vessel with a length of 55 m and a width of 7.2 m was used.

The Aurich harbor owes its existence to the Ems-Jade Canal. A concrete plant is located there, which draws sand and gravel from the canal. The port area was completely redesigned a few years ago and a branch of the canal was brought closer to the city center. It is now considered a preferred residential area and popular destination. In addition, guided excursions to ship z. B. to Emden. Otherwise, the canal is mainly important for leisure, recreation and tourism, especially east of Aurich. Sports boaters with smaller boats can use the Ems-Jade Canal to reach almost the entire network of canals in East Frisia. Use of the canal is free for water sports enthusiasts. This is possible because the regional association “Segeln Weser-Ems” ensures free passage by paying a flat fee to the NLWKN of 11,000 euros per year. In 2019, 5,726 vehicles used the waterway. In addition to the sport boaters, rowing has also discovered the Ems-Jade Canal. There are regular races between Aurich and Emden including lock passage or porting. The EJK is also developed for tourism through the many designed cycling and walking routes that extend along its banks.

In Marcardsmoor north of Wiesmoor , the Nordgeorgsfehnkanal branches off from the EJK and connects it with the Jümme and finally with the Ems via the Leda . You can also get to Oldenburg via the Leda, the Elisabethfehn Canal and the coastal canal and then on to the Weser via the Hunte .

Between the Emden boiler lock and the Kukelorum lock in Aurich-Rahe, the Ems-Jade Canal is laid out as a high canal, which rises about two meters above the surrounding landscape and is protected from leakage by dams.

In connection with the construction of the JadeWeserPort in Wilhelmshaven, an expansion of the Ems-Jade Canal has been suggested in order to connect the new port to the European inland waterway network. Since this project is only given limited implementation possibilities, the neighboring communities have founded a working group to promote tourist use.

A whole series of buildings on the EJK are designated as architectural monuments, for example in the Friedeburg area .

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  Bascule bridge over the Ems-Jade Canal near Ihlow

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  Vetra concrete plant in Aurich harbor

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  Ems-Jade Canal near Mariensiel

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  The Wilhelmshaven trading port at the eastern end of the frozen Ems-Jade Canal

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  Historical plan with the course of the Ems-Jade Canal in Wilhelmshaven

literature

• Martin Eckoldt (Ed.): Rivers and canals. The history of the German waterways . DSV-Verlag, Hamburg 1998, ISBN 3-88412-243-6 .
• Friedrich von Seggern / Marion Wietelmann: 100 years of the Ems-Jade Canal. History and meaning of a waterway . In: Oldenburg Yearbook . tape 89 , 1989, pp. 243-272 ( lb-oldenburg.de ).

Web links

Commons : Ems-Jade-Kanal  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Information from the NLWKN canal administration at nlwkn.niedersachsen.de
• Locks in the Ems-Jade Canal and the boiler lock in Emden on nordwestreisemagazin.de
• East Frisian waterway network on nordwestreisemagazin.de
• "Tangible" landmark of East Frisia. Tourist office Aurich / Ostfriesland e. V. 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lengths (in km) of the main shipping lanes (main routes and certain secondary routes) of the federal inland waterways ( memento of the original from January 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration 
2. ↑ Directory F of the Chronicle ( Memento of the original from July 22, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration 
3. ^ Martin Wein: Bottlenecks at the road / rail interfaces . In: Wilhelmshavener Zeitung . December 5, 2009 ( wzonline.de [accessed October 30, 2016]).
4. ↑ Jana Behrends: Better use of the Ems-Jade Canal . In: Wilhelmshavener Zeitung . June 21, 2012, p. 12 ( wzonline.de [accessed October 30, 2016]).