The Incredible Magdeburg Water Bridge in Germany

Apr 23, 2011 18 comments

The Magdeburg Water Bridge is a navigable aqueduct in Germany that connects the Elbe-Havel Canal to the Mittelland Canal, and allows ships to cross over the Elbe River. At 918 meters, it is the longest navigable aqueduct in the world.

The Elbe-Havel and Mittelland canals had previously met near Magdeburg but on opposite sides of the Elbe. Ships moving between the two had to make a 12-kilometer detour, descending from the Mittelland Canal through the Rothensee boat lift into the Elbe, then sailing downstream on the river, before entering the Elbe-Havel Canal through Niegripp lock. Low water levels in the Elbe often prevented fully laden canal barges from making this crossing, requiring time-consuming off-loading of cargo.

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Construction of the water link was started as early as in the 1930s but due to the World War 2 and subsequent division of Germany the work remained suspended till 1997. The aqueduct was finally completed and opened to the public in 2003.

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[via Wikipedia]

Comments

  1. You really should have included
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falkirk_Wheel

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    Replies
    1. its awwesome! eos

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    2. There is a similar water bridge on the Grand Canal in China. To see:
      http://www.czzzb.cn/czgk/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=1729

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  2. It´s funny. Last week there was a radioshow on Deutschland Funk, where they talked about the canals in East-Germany. Lots of the water ways were built for too much money. And the traffic to Berlin is less than the politics aspected. Even for that this fantastic brigde was built.

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  3. THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING BRIDGE WHICH TOLANI MADE ME TO SEE IN MY LIFE

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  4. Ser super!
    aber... Wie viel kostet es?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You mean, "sehr super". "Sehr" means "very". "Ser" doesn't mean anything. I lived in Baden Baden for a year at 9yo and have been fluent ever since. I suspect you're not even German!

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    2. A letter was left out..big deal. And who cares if they're German or not?

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  5. Great.A human marvel.

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  6. It's in the movie Hannah.

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  7. This is a wonderful idea great job

    ReplyDelete

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