Buczyniec slipway
Ships on rails.
Wojciech Pędzich — CC BY 3.0 · Wojciech Pędzich — CC BY 3.0 · remigjush — CC BY-SA 3.0 pl · Wojciech Pędzich — CC BY 3.0 · Lollencja — CC BY-SA 3.0 pl · remigjush — CC BY-SA 3.0 pl
The Elbląg Canal is a waterway in Warmia-Masuria, northern Poland, about 80 km long, linking Lake Drużno near the city of Elbląg with Lake Jeziorak to the south. The Buczyniec slipway, its best-known stop, lies about 24 km in a straight line south-east of Elbląg. The canal was built in the mid-19th century under the engineer Georg Steenke to carry timber and goods. Its biggest challenge was a height difference of nearly 100 m between the lakes, which he solved with a rare system of «slipways»: boats are carried on rail carriages over dry land, up and down grassy slopes, hauled by cables driven by huge water wheels, with no engine at all. The system still works today and is a national historic monument of Poland. Visitors can ride tour boats in season and pass over the slipways in a unique experience, or watch ships being hauled across the grass, and visit the engine house and small museum at Buczyniec. Boat trips usually run from May to September and are best booked ahead. Watching the slipways from outside is free, and quiet forests and lakes surround the canal.
Ships on rails.
Drive the cables.
Over the slipways.
Buczyniec, Warmia-Masuria, Poland
Usually May to September.
Yes, from outside.