Images of the Suez Canal flowing through the desert and the Panama Canal weaving its way through dense jungle in Central America are known worldwide, however few people are familiar with Poland’s most famous man-made waterway, which is perhaps one of the oldest in Europe.
The Augustów Canal (Kanał Augustowski) was already flowing through dense primeval forest and meadows, while its younger sisters the Suez and Panama were still just a blueprint. The canal is a living relic to Europe’s turbulent history that has seen empires rise and fall. It was built in the early nineteenth century and its raison d’etre was to bypass taxes at a time when the Polish kingdom was squeezed between two of Europe’s most powerful empires; Prussia and Imperial Russia.
Augustów Canal is maturing into one of the most attractive canals in Europe. Flowing through the Puszcza Augustowska, Poland’s largest forest complex, you can easily canoe down this route during spring and autumn, and are more likely to come into contact with wildlife rather than other humans, as you paddle along the waterways. The canal does not form a continuously straight route with regular banks – it is unique in that it flows through a variety of lakes, some large, some small, and that it continues its way through the royal town of Augustów and eventually onto the Biebrza National Park, forming part of the famous papal canoe route.
The canal adjoins several nature reserves which form part of Natura 2000, a network of ecologically protected areas, which means that there is no disturbance from barges or mechanical water traffic. The lock keepers’ cottages, probably some of the most attractive in Europe, are listed buildings and are located deep in the forest.
The canal is now settling down into old age with grace and beauty; it has been through war and destruction and now is the time to enjoy and explore it. There is however one final hurdle, or some may say ‘opportunity,’ to overcome as with most things in life: the canal is approximately 100 kilometres long and has 18 locks along its entire length; however three locks and about 2 kilometres of the canal are located in Belarus, and form the only border crossing in Europe which has been specially created for canoeists. This border is presently tightly controlled and a visa is required to travel further along the canal, however this may change at some point in the future. Belarus may eventually join the EU, which would mean that one could paddle all the way from Augustów to the Baltic via Belarus and Lithuania, and the canal will once again receive the international recognition that it deserves, and may even become listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)
