Oder-Spree Canal
| Oder-Spree Canal | |
|---|---|
 Oder-Spree Canal near Berkenbrück |
|
| Water code | DE : 58288, 58276 and 6754 |
| abbreviation | OSK |
| location | Germany: Berlin, Brandenburg |
| length | 23.9 km and 41.4 km |
| Built | 1891 |
| class | III and IV with restrictions |
| Beginning | Turn off from the Dahme near Schmöckwitz |
| Parting posture | Kersdorf (watershed) - Eisenhüttenstadt |
| The End | Confluence with the Oder near Eisenhüttenstadt |
| Descent structures |
Wernsdorf Kersdorf Fürstenwalde Eisenhüttenstadt |
| Ports | Fürstenwalde / Spree, Eisenhüttenstadt |
| inflow | Feed channel Neuhaus , Schlaube |
| Historical precursors | Friedrich Wilhelm Canal |
| Used river | Connection of the sections over the Spree |
| Kilometrage | to the mountain, to the east |
| Downhill | from the Oder to the Dahme, heading west |
| Responsible WSD | Waterways and Shipping Office Berlin |
The Oder-Spree Canal (OSK) is mainly located in the state of Brandenburg and consists of two sections. The approx. 24 km long, western section connects the Dahme over the Seddinsee near Schmöckwitz (in the southeast of Berlin ) with the Spree and flows 4 km west of Fürstenwalde , on the left side into the Fürstenwalder Spree . The approx. 41 km long, eastern section of the Oder-Spree Canal branches 20 km further upstream, on the right side of the Spree and connects it with the Oder , into which it joins in Eisenhüttenstadt (district of Fürstenberg ) at 553.4 km.
Both sections and the expanded Fürstenwalder Spree in between form an approx. 85 kilometer long section of the Spree-Oder-Wasserstraße federal waterway , for which the Berlin Waterways and Shipping Office is responsible. From Seddinsee to the Eisenhüttenstadt lock, waterway class III applies , from there to the Oder, class IV with restrictions.
course
In its 37.6-kilometer-long apex position, the Oder-Spree Canal crosses the watershed between the Elbe and Oder at Biegenbrück, and thus the one between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea . In the canal itself, the Kersdorf lock forms the watershed. Spree water is supplied to the Oder-Spree canal via the pumping station of the Neuhaus lock and the Neuhaus feeder canal in order to be able to guarantee the water level in this apex. Since 1917, water from the Oder can also be supplied through the Eisenhüttenstadt pumping station during dry periods. The height difference to the Oder of approx. 14 meters is overcome in a single step with the twin shaft lock Eisenhüttenstadt. In the west, the difference in altitude of approx. 7.8 meters to the Seddinsee is mastered in three stages, apart from the Kersdorf lock, there are those in Fürstenwalde and the Wernsdorf lock . In the further course of the Spree-Oder waterway, the Mühlendamm lock in the center of Berlin and the Charlottenburg lock have to be passed. In the lower Havel waterway to the west, there are further locks as far as the Elbe or the Mittelland Canal .
Including the Fürstenwalder Spree, the canal is 84.1 km long. The Spree-Oder waterway measures 129 km in total.
history
Friedrich Wilhelm Canal
As early as 1373, Emperor Karl IV wanted to build a canal from the Spree to the Oder. In 1558, Emperor Ferdinand I started excavations for the first construction phase from Neuhaus to Müllrose , but stopped after the Emperor's death in 1564. The construction work was completed 110 years later under the Great Elector Friedrich Wilhelm , when the second section from Müllrose to Brieskow-Finkenheerd was completed. The canal was inaugurated in 1668 and named after the Great Elector.
This Friedrich Wilhelm Canal served for 200 years, but was hopelessly overloaded with the industrialization of the 19th century.
Oder-Spree Canal
Since inland shipping continued to grow despite competition from the railways, the Prussian government decided in 1886 to build the Oder-Spree Canal, which was opened in 1891 after five years of construction.
To move the barges, a towing railway with a 900 mm gauge and a two-axle locomotive was initially offered, which reached a speed of 7 km / h with up to seven barges. However, it was not possible to achieve economic operation with this type of propulsion, so that, as on other waters, operation with tugboats prevailed.
Extensions and conversions
Since the traffic exceeded all expectations, the canal had to be widened over long stretches as early as 1895–1897 to enable encounters. Larger ship dimensions made it necessary to build second locks at the canal steps Wernsdorf, Große Tränke, Kersdorf and Fürstenberg as well as at the barrage Fürstenwalde, but also to widen the canal again.
Between the two world wars, so many goods were transported on the waterway that there were long traffic jams at the locks. The villages at the locks experienced an economic boom due to the boatmen who had to wait up to a week there. Therefore, from 1925 to 1929 the three-step lock staircase in Fürstenberg (Oder) was replaced by a significant structure, the twin shaft lock with chamber dimensions of 130 × 12 m. Furthermore, between 1940 and 1943, a junction port was established there at km 124.5, today's port of Eisenhüttenstadt .
After the Second World War, work concentrated on clearing rubble (32 bridges) and wreckage (188 vehicles) as well as bank reinforcements. Since the locks remained operational, shipping could be resumed as early as 1946 to a limited extent. In 1966, the expansion for traffic with three-person push convoys with five punctures and several straightening operations began. The canal was also an important traffic route during the GDR era. However, its importance declined after the fall of the Wall in 1989 due to the decline of the East German economy.
Selected locks have been expanded for larger ships. The north chamber of the Wernsdorf lock was completed in 2006, the north chamber of the Kersdorf lock was expanded from 2009 and opened to traffic on September 5, 2013. The Große Tränke lock formerly located between Wernsdorf and Fürstenwalde, which served as a locking lock to protect the Wernsdorf position from flooding in the Spree, had lost its purpose due to the installation of a free ark (outlet) in Wernsdorf and the Dahme flood canal , which had flooded since 1911 diverts upper Spree into the Dahme; it had been out of service since 1950 and was demolished in 2004.
literature
- Mohr: The Oder – Spree Canal and its buildings. In: Zeitschrift für Bauwesen , Volume 40 (1890), Col. 369–392, 431–468, Plate 57–65. Digitized in the holdings of the Central and State Library Berlin .
- Engelhard and Zimmermann: The construction of second locks at Wernsdorf and Kernsdorf (Spree-Oder waterway). In: Zeitschrift für Bauwesen , Volume 59 (1909), Col. 497-524, Plates 64-68. Digitized in the holdings of the Central and State Library Berlin .
- Ostmann: The expansion of the Oder-Spree Canal. In: The construction technology. 5th year, issue 43 (September 30, 1927) and issue 45 (October 14, 1927), pp. 619–622 and 651–654.
- Gordon Starcken: Boat trip over the mountain. About the history and development of the Oder-Spree Canal . Norderstedt 2016, ISBN 978-3-8334-9289-1 .
- H.-J. Uhlemann: Berlin and the Märkische waterways. DSV-Verlag, Hamburg 1994.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Lengths (in km) of the main shipping routes (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 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
- ↑ Directory E, Ser. No. 55 of the Chronicle ( Memento of the original from July 22, 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
