Oder–Havel Canal

canal, Germany

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Article History

Oder–Havel Canal, German waterway northeast of Berlin, linking the Havel and Oder rivers. It is 52 mi (83 km) long, 108 ft (33 m) wide, and 6 1/2 ft deep, and is navigable for vessels of up to 1,000 tons. Originally called the Hohenzollern Canal, it was built in 1908–14 to carry traffic between Berlin on the Havel and the Baltic Sea port of Stettin (Szczecin, Pol.) at the mouth of the Oder. It declined in importance until 1945 but then revived with the growth of a chemical industry at Schwedt, on the eastern part of the canal near the Polish border.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.