The canal was designed between 1825 and 1844 by Georg Steenke, carrying out the commission given by the King of Prussia. Construction began in 1844. The difference in height over a section of the route between the lakes was too great for building traditional locks; an ingenious system of inclined planes based on those used on the Morris Canal was employed instead, though the canal includes a few locks as well. There were originally four inclined planes, with a fifth added later, replacing five wooden locks. Built under the name Oberländischer Kanal and situated in the Kingdom of Prussia, it was opened on the 29 October 1860. Since 1945 the canal is now in Poland. After wartime damage was repaired, it was restored to operation in 1948 and is now used for tourism. The canal underwent renovation between 2011 and 2015 and is now again open to navigation.
The inclined planes
The four original inclined planes are, in order from the summit level downwards, Buczyniec with a rise of 20.4 m and a length of 224.8 m, Kąty with a rise of 18.83 m and a length of 225.97 m, Oleśnica with a rise of 21.97 m and a length of 262.63 m and Jelenie with a rise of 21.97 m and a length of 263.63 m. The fifth incline is Całuny Nowe with a rise of 13.72 m. It was built to replace five wooden locks close to Elbląg. They were constructed from 1860 to 1880. The canal worked independently of other waterways and as a result the boats were designed within the limits of the inclines. The boats had a maximum length of 24.48 m, a maximum width of 2.98 m and a maximum draught of 1.1 m, they carried loads of about 50 tonnes. The inclines all consist of two parallel rail tracks with a gauge of 3.27 m. Boats are carried on carriages that run on these rails. The inclines rise from the lower level of the canal to a summit and then down a second shorter incline to the upper canal level. The first part of the main incline and the short upper incline were both built at a gradient of 1:24. A carriage is lowered down the incline to counterbalance an upward moving carriage. Once the downward moving carriage has reached the summit and started down the main incline its weight helps pull up the upward moving carriage. This allowed the slope of the incline for this section to be built at a higher gradient of 1:12.
