Dnieper–Bug Canal
The Dnieper–Bug Canal, or the Dneprovsko-Bugsky Canal, is the longest inland ship canal in Belarus. It connects the Mukhavets River and the Pina River. It is managed by Dneprobugvodput.
The artificial channel dug between Kobryn and Pinsk was originally named the Royal Canal, after the King of Poland Stanisław August Poniatowski, who initiated its construction. It forms an important part of the transportation artery linking the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. The total length of the canal system from Brest to Pinsk is, including the long artificial waterway.
The drainage area of the canal system totals.
History
Origins
Canal building flourished in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the late 18th century. Yet many of the early canals are no longer in active service, having been superseded by railroads and highways. The Dnieper–Bug Canal after several enlargements still provides a convenient inland waterway. Until the 18th century there was a portage between Kobrin and Pinsk as it was a part of the important long-distance trade route from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea. The names of the Voloka River and the village of Mukhovloki near Kobrin reflect the existence of the ancient portage. People have settled along the portage route since ancient times due to the importance of the.Proposal and design
In the mid-17th century, Jerzy Ossoliński, Crown Court Treasurer of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was the first to suggest the idea of upgrading the portage to a canal with locks. The work started 120 years later. In 1770, the canal was planned by the prominent cartographer Franciszek Florian Czaki.Construction and operation
The canal was built in 1775-1784 during the reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last king of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Originally it was named Kanał Królewski, after the Polish king, since he was the initiator of the project. Additional work was carried out starting in 1837 by the Russian Empire and completed around 1846–1848. To supply the canal system with water, mainly the canal pound, Beloozerski and Orekhovski watercourses were started in 1839 and completed in 1843. The number of movable weirs between Brest and Pinsk reached 22. As a result, the canal became navigable for bigger vessels, in particular steamers, at any time from spring till autumn. In 1847, the Kanał Królewski was renamed the Dneprovo-Bugski Canal.Decline and abandonment
After the construction of the railway along the canal in the late 19th century the canal was used mostly for rafting lumber, exported to western countries. During World War I, the canal was not in use.Reconstruction
During the 1920s, it was partly rebuilt anew for the Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy, better known as the Pinsk Flotilla. The Flotilla was the inland branch of the Polish Navy operating in the area of the Pinsk Marshes between the Polish-Bolshevik War and World War II. During the 1920s, two locks were built.In 1940, the Soviet authorities initiated a large-scale reconstruction of the canal. A long stretch of the canal was straightened near Kobrin. Eight locks were built replacing movable weirs.
Navigation on the Dnieper–Bug Canal is interrupted by two weirs near the mouth of the Mukhavets at Brest which are used to raise the level of the river for the city's port. The waterways from the German-Polish border, thus connecting north-western Europe with the Black Sea.