Between Elbląg and Ostróda, boats cross lakes, locks and five inclined planes. Nineteenth-century water power still moves complete vessels over railway tracks.
The navigation season and opening hours below come from the waterway authority. A newer navigation notice can temporarily change them.
Cruises are linear journeys. Check where the boat starts, how the return bus works and whether you need to reach Jelenie independently.
Buczyniec to Jelenie. The shortest route that still lets you experience the full land-transfer cycle several times.
Buczyniec and Elbląg connected by all five inclined planes and the reed-lined Lake Drużno.
Ostróda to Elbląg: lakes, two locks, five inclined planes and more than eleven hours on the historic waterway.
The route is not a single trench. A cruise moves from an urban river into a bird reserve, over dry hills, through forest lakes and finally across two locks.
Open the detailed interactive map →A vessel remains afloat until it settles over a submerged railway carriage. The carriage supports the hull and then crosses the hill on rails.
The carriage waits below the surface. The boat moves between its side frames without being lifted by a crane.
As the rails rise, the hull is supported by the carriage structure and leaves the water together with it.
Steel cables connect the carriages to the hauling machinery. One carriage rises while the other moves in the opposite direction.
Four inclined planes use a water wheel. Całuny, completed later, uses a Francis turbine.
| Inclined plane | Track length | Level difference | Drive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buczyniec | 490,30 m | 20,62 m | water wheel |
| Kąty | 404,00 m | 18,88 m | water wheel |
| Oleśnica | 479,00 m | 24,20 m | water wheel |
| Jelenie | 433,00 m | 21,99 m | water wheel |
| Całuny | 352,00 m | 13,83 m | Francis turbine |
This is an independent educational guide. Dimensions and operating information are linked to their sources; seasonal details should always be confirmed immediately before travel.
Practical information last reviewed: