Augustow Canal

The Augustow Canal was cut between 1824 and 1839 to link the Neman with the Vistula system and give a route to the Baltic that avoided the Prussian tariffs on the lower Vistula, an engineering scheme of locks, weirs and cut channels through forest and lake country. Its eastern section lies in Belarus near Grodno and has been restored, with the lock at Nemnovo, a four-chamber structure, working again and boat trips running through it. The towpath is used for walking and cycling, kayaks are hired for the channel and the Neman, and the surrounding forest and river landscape is protected. The canal continues west into Poland.

History

In 1821 Prussia imposed high duties on Russian goods in transit, and the Polish minister Franciszek Ksawery Drucki-Lubecki planned a waterway from the Narew and Biebrza to the Neman and on to the Baltic at Ventspils, avoiding the Prussian port of Danzig. Surveys began in 1823, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Ignacy Prądzyński and the Russian engineer Reeze, and between 1823 and 1839 the canal was built to designs by Prądzyński, Jan Chrzciciel de Grandville Malletski and Jan Paweł Lelewel, though the final section to Ventspils was abandoned after the uprising of 1830-1831; railways overtook it in the later 19th century, it carried only timber from 1852, and after repairs in the early 1920s it became a tourist route for the first time (Wikipedia, Augustów Canal).

The main sights

• The Nemnovo locks - the restored four-chamber lock in operation.
• The cut channel - the canal running through forest and lake.
• Kayaking - the paddling on the canal and the Neman.
• The towpath - the walking and cycling route along the bank.

When to go

May to September, when the locks operate and boats and kayaks are hired; the canal is closed and frozen in winter. Weekends are busiest. Boat trips through the lock run to a schedule.

Things to know

Only a section of the canal lies in Belarus and the rest continues across the frontier. Lock operation and boat trips run to set times. Facilities are limited to the lock area. Kayak hire needs arranging in advance in high season.

Nearby

Grodno lies southeast; the Neman runs alongside.

Key facts