The Elblag Canal, also called the Elblag-Ostroda Canal, is a 150-years-old canal in Poland that runs from Elblag to Ostroda. At over 80 km in length, it is the longest navigable canal still in use in Poland. It is also one of the most interesting canals in Europe. Elblag Canal’s uniqueness arises from its peculiar choice of engineering to tackle a particularly difficult section of the route where the water level rises by 100 meters. This particular section is located between Druzno Lake and Piniewo Lake, a distance of about 10 km. Because the difference in height was too large, it was impractical to build traditional locks. Instead, an ingenious system of inclined planes was employed where the boats are lifted out of the water and placed into tracks and dragged across dry lands.

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