Elbląg Canal

Elbląg Canal (; Kanał Elbląski ; Oberländischer Kanal) is a canal in Poland, in Warmian Masurian Voivodeship, in length, which runs southward from Lake Drużno (connected by the river Elbląg to the Vistula Lagoon), to the river Drwęca and lake Jeziorak. It can accommodate small vessels up to displacement. The difference in water levels approaches , and is overcome using locks and a system of inclined planes between lakes. Today it is used mainly for recreational purposes. It is considered one of the most significant monuments related to the history of technology and was named one of the Seven Wonders of Poland. The canal was also named one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (Pomnik historii), Since 1945 the canal is now in Poland. After wartime damage was repaired, it was restored to operation in 1948 and is now used for tourism. The canal underwent renovation between 2011 and 2015 and is now again open to navigation.

The four original inclined planes are, in order from the summit level downwards, Buczyniec (Buchwalde) with a rise of and a length of , Kąty (Kanthen) with a rise of and a length of , Oleśnica (Schönfeld) with a rise of and a length of , and Jelenie (Hirschfeld) with a rise of and a length of The fifth incline is Całuny Nowe (Neu Kussfeld) with a rise of It was built to replace five wooden locks close to Elbląg. They were constructed from 1860 to 1880. The canal worked independently of other waterways and as a result the boats were designed within the limits of the inclines. The boats had a maximum length of , a maximum width of and a maximum draught of ; they carried loads of about
The inclines all consist of two parallel rail tracks with a gauge of Boats are carried on carriages that run on these rails. The inclines rise from the lower level of the canal to a summit and then down a second shorter incline to the upper canal level. The first part of the main incline and the short upper incline were both built at a gradient of 1:24 (4.2%). A carriage is lowered down the incline to counterbalance an upward moving carriage. Once the downward moving carriage has reached the summit and started down the main incline its weight helps pull up the upward moving carriage. This allowed the slope of the incline for this section to be built at a steeper gradient of 1:12 (8.3%).