Historical facts about the Finowkanal

The Finowkanal is the oldest navigable artificial waterway in Germany. It has connected the Havel with the Oder for more than 400 years and was one of the most important transport links in the Mark Brandenburg for a long time.

In 1603, Elector Joachim Friedrich Wilhelm gave the order to connect the Havel with the Oder at Liebenwalde via the Finow river. In 1609, after only four years of construction, a stretch of 22.6 km from the Havel to the village of Schöpfurth was completed under extremely difficult conditions. This involved passing through 5 locks. The political situation at the time, permanent financial bottlenecks and setbacks in the construction work did not allow regular shipping traffic to begin on the Finowkanal, which was 38.62 km long and had 11 locks, until 1620. As a result of the devastating Thirty Years’ War, this striking hydraulic engineering structure fell into disrepair very quickly. In 1692, the Elector ordered investigations into whether a connection between the Havel and Oder would be feasible.

From 1743, the canal was restored by decree of Frederick II with a modified route and more stable locks. The canal was navigable again in 1749. In the period that followed, constant lock repairs and alterations were necessary. The Finowkanal developed into one of the most important German inland waterways and determined the rapid economic development of the Finow Valley as the cradle of “Brandenburg-Prussian industry” until the 20th century. Even today, numerous cultural and historical sights from this industrial age can be discovered along its banks. However, the capacity of the waterway was soon exhausted.

In 1914, the economically more effective Oder-Havel Canal was opened for inland shipping. The Finowkanal lost its importance. For years, it served primarily to regulate the water balance and accordingly only the most necessary maintenance measures were carried out.