History
Genesis
The Gliwice Canal is the result of several decades of design work aimed at modernizing the ageing Kłodnica Canal, which had remained unchanged since its construction at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. Technological progress, reflected in the emergence of modernised hydraulic structures, vessels of increasingly larger structure, as well as the introduction of steam propulsion, made the old canal increasingly inefficient for transport and uneconomic in general. Thus, the first serious plans for modernization were drawn up as early as in the 1880s. Over time, it became clear that it is not the modernization of the old canal that is required and sufficient. What was decided as the only correct and economically justified solution, was the construction of an entirely new waterway. In 1920s a several quite interesting project taking advantage of the newest hydro-technical constructions were drawn up, including switching to boat lifts instead of standard locks. The economical crisis that forced the reductions of costs led to the choice of a concept and the construction of the canal in the form we know today.
1933
The decades-long dilemma concerning the construction was resolved by a cabinet decision issued by the Chancellor of the Third Reich, A. Hitler, on September 22, 1933, ordering the immediate construction of the Upper Silesian Canal. At the same time, the era of proposing its erection, providing concept plans and parameters, capacity number of locks equipment etc. has ended. On December 5, 1933 in “Haus Oberschlesien” Gliwice hotel the very first meeting concerning the construction was held. Among the invited guests, the Reich Ministry of Transport, a representative of the Ministry of Economy and Labour, the director of the Wrocław Office for Regulation of the Odra River, the head of the Water Construction Office in Gliwice, representatives of the Union of Mining and Metallurgical Industrialists, and of the German Reich Railways were present. The second meeting was called in the middle of the same month. There, a final project along with its estimated costs were accepted.
Thus, on November 10, 1933 the first works began. Although restricted at first, they were set in full motion in the second half of this month, when the first group of 800 workers were hired. At first, the route of the canal was laid out, expropriations were carried out, and the area was cleared of buildings. Due to the mass unemployment caused by the economic crisis, much of the work took the form of public works, with minimal use of machinery and construction equipment.
1934
The pace of the work is evidenced by the fact that the first kilometre of the canal bed on the section between the villages of Miedary and Blachownia was filled with water as early as 1934. In December of the same year, the first steel elements were installed, marking the outline of the lock chambers for the first built lock no. V “Dzierżno” (“Sersno”, later “Stauwerder”).
In the middle of the April 1934 the canal was renamed from the Upper Silesia Canal (ger. Oberschlesischer Kanal) to Adolf Hitler Canal, and on May 14 1934 r., a ceremony was held to lay the cornerstone for the canal construction.
PRESENT
History
1935 - 1938
The construction of the 41.2 km-long canal was divided into eleven separate construction tasks. These were autonomous projects, within which not only earthworks (excavations, embankments, and mounds) were carried out, but also the construction of locks, installation of mechanical and electrical equipment, and the building of social facilities for lock personnel, etc. Separate directorates were established for the construction of the port in Gliwice and the Dzierżno Duże reservoir, each responsible for its completion.
It is worth noting that although the route of the new and old canal intersected multiple times – even overlapped in some sections, forcing the need of dismantling some of the old locks, work was carried out in a way ensuring the navigable and suitable character of freight transport on the of the Gliwice-Koźle waterway.
The construction of the canal incorporated many innovative solutions that had previously been used only sporadically. For example, instead of the previously used stone and concrete for the lock chamber walls, steel sheet piles were implemented; moreover, the implementation of two systems helped to save water during lock operation. The latter was particularly important due to the limited water supply from the Kłodnica and Drama rivers. All locks were equipped to allow water flowing between chambers during parallel lockage (with a barge ascending in one chamber and descending in the other). This allowed to save nearly half of a chamber’s water volume. In the case of the Dzierżno lock, this amounts to approximately 4,500 m³. The second water-saving system involved pumps the transferred water from the lower section back to the upper section. The significance of both systems becomes clear when one considers that filling a single chamber of the Dzierżno lock would lower the water level in the canal section between the Łabędy lock and the Dzierżno lock by 2 cm, while during peak freight traffic the number of lockages approached 100 per day. In post-war world, due to much lower freight traffic, the inter-chamber gates were no longer used, while the pumps operated only at Dzierżno from the mid- to late 1980s.
1935 - 1938
Of particular note is the siphon culvert for the Kłodnica River beneath the Gliwice Canal, commonly referred to as the Kłodnica Siphon. It is located approximately 800 meters before the Nowa Wieś lock (when heading from Gliwice). This is a collision-free crossing of two watercourses, differing from the more commonly encountered aqueducts. Here, the water of the Kłodnica River flows through three pipes buried beneath the bed of the Gliwice Canal, taking advantage of the fact that the outlet of the siphon is lower than its inlet. It is the only hydraulic structure of this size in Poland. A little-known fact is that on the Gliwice Canal another siphon culvert still operates – this time for the Liski Stream (Niezdrowice – 16.750 KM of the Gliwice Canal). In Poland, another existing siphon culvert is that of the Flis Stream under the Bydgoszcz Canal near the Okole Lock.
The construction site served as a form of a testing ground as well. While the use of clay to seal the canal bed and prevent water loss through seepage was unsurprising, the experimental sealing of a 200-meter section of the canal bed with asphalt (at 11.700 KM) was an absolute novelty.
Over time, significant amounts of construction equipment and machinery were concentrated at the site. Transport was carried out using trains with steam and diesel locomotives running on temporary narrow-gauge tracks. Nevertheless, avoiding delays relative to the schedule, which had aimed for full completion by mid-1939, was not entirely possible.
1939 - 1941
Thus, during the annual Odra River Day conference held in Gliwice, 1940 was set as a more realistic completion date. Ongoing in many areas, particularly at the Łabędy lock and the Gliwice port, work was complicated by a series of heavy rains and floods, which caused significant damage – even to completed sections. By the end of September 1939, the canal construction was included on the list of economic projects of key importance for national defence. The level of works completion advancement is evidenced by the fact that the first barge passed through the Kłodnica only on November 30, 1939. For that purpose, lock with manual drives was used, as the electric power had not yet been connected. Despite these circumstances, the authorities in Berlin decided to ceremonially open the canal in the presence of high-ranking officials, including Rudolf Hess.
The removal of flood damage and final finishing works continued until mid-1940, after which freight traffic proceeded fairly regularly and smoothly. On July 15, 1941, Bytom, Chorzów, Zabrze and Gliwice experienced unusually heavy rainfall, which soon extended to the Odra River. According to measurements taken in Rudziniec, in 18 hours the precipitation exceeded one-third of the annual rainfall. Losses caused by floodwaters moving through the canal bed, particularly in Dzierżno, Sławięcice, and Nowa Wieś areas, resulted in a six-month shut-down of the canal.
PRESENT
History
1942-1945
Traffic on the canal was otherwise intense and mostly uninterrupted. A detailed and precise system of lockage was implemented, allowing the maximum use of the canal’s capacity, especially locks.
The Soviet Army offensive including the Gliwice Canal lasted until March 1945. During the fighting, the canal and locks were not significantly damaged. Retreating German forces blew up 14 of the 20 bridge crossings. When the canal came under Soviet administration, the canal infrastructure initially escaped dismantling only because the canal was still intended to serve the victors for the removal of “war booty”. The Koźle port was systematically looted, while in the Gliwice port, equipment was loaded and removed both from the port and the industrial district.
The administration of the canal was handed over to Polish authorities only in mid-June 1946. An inspection revealed that during a year of Soviet administration, the condition of the locks and other facilities had significantly deteriorated. Although some locks were partially without electrical equipment and power supply, navigation was still possible using manual drives. By the end of 1949, the original capacity of the canal had been restored, and most repair works were completed.
The 1970s saw particularly heavy freight traffic on the Gliwice Canal. The volume of lock operations became so high that a pumping station at the Dzierżno Lock had to be commissioned.
The political changes and economic crisis of the 1980s led to the decline of inland navigation, and the Gliwice Canal was almost deserted. Without proper care, it gradually degraded over time.
Today
In recent years, efforts have been made to modernize the locks and weirs. The work has been divided into three stages, with the final task being the dredging and restoration of the canal’s necessary depth. After several years of inactivity, coal transport from the Gliwice port to the Wrocław CHP plant resumed in 2017. The Gliwice Canal has also been recognized as an attractive route for recreational boating. Passenger ships and motorboats have appeared, and cruises are becoming increasingly popular. Several canal structures have also participated multiple times in the annual “Industriada” event, highlighting the canal’s historical and industrial significance.
PRESENT
Sources:
“Dzieła hydrotechniki w Polsce - Kanał Górnośląski (Gliwicki)” – Miron Urbaniak, 2015, KSIĘŻY MŁYN Publishing House.
www.kanalgliwicki.net
Photos from private collections.
1, 2, 3, 8,10 - Janusz Niemczuk
4,5,6,7,9 - Leonard Seichter