Editing Mittelland Canal

{{Short description|Canal in central Germany}}
{{Infobox canal
|name               = Mittelland Canal
|image              = Mittellandkanal.png
|image_size         = 250px
|image_caption      = Course of the '''Mittelland Canal'''
|mapframe           = yes
|mapframe-zoom      = 6
|canal_length       = {{convert|325.7|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}
|lock_length        =
|lock_width         =
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|status=
|navigation_authority=
|former_names=
|present_owner=
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|engineer=
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|date_approved  =
|date_began     = 1906
|date_use       =
|date_completed = 1938
|date_extended  =
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|date_restored  =
|xfield2=
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|direction= 
|start_point = [[Dortmund-Ems Canal]] at [[Hörstel]] near [[Rheine]], [[Germany]]
|end_point   = [[Elbe River]] and [[Elbe-Havel Canal]] near [[Magdeburg]], [[Germany]]
|begin_coord = {{coord|52|16|37|N| 7|36|18|E |region:DE|display=inline}}
|end_coord   = {{coord|52|14|46|N|11|44|49|E |region:DE|display=inline}}
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{{coord|52|25|16|N|9|42|4|E |region:DE_type:river |display=title}} <!-- coords of the canal at Hannover-Vinnhorst -->

The '''Mittelland Canal''', also known as the '''Midland Canal''', ({{langx|de|Mittellandkanal}}, {{IPA|de|ˈmɪtl̩.lant.kaˌnaːl|lang|De-Mittellandkanal.ogg}}) is a major [[canal]] in central [[Germany]]. It forms an important link in the waterway network of the country, providing the principal east-west [[inland waterway]] connection. Its significance goes beyond Germany as it links [[France]], [[Switzerland]] and the [[Benelux|Benelux countries]] with [[Poland]], the [[Czech Republic]] and the [[Baltic Sea]].<ref name=bsiwg>{{cite book | first = Barry | last = Sheffield | publisher = Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson | location = [[St Ives, Cambridgeshire|St Ives]] | title = Inland Waterways of Germany | year = 1995 | isbn = 0-85288-283-1 }}</ref>

At {{convert|325.7|km}} in length,<ref name="Elwis">[http://www.elwis.de/Binnenwasserstrassen/datentabellen/WSD-Mitte.pdf Elwis database WSD Mitte] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101028072736/http://elwis.de/Binnenwasserstrassen/datentabellen/WSD-Mitte.pdf |date=2010-10-28 }} and [http://www.elwis.de/Binnenwasserstrassen/datentabellen/WSD-Ost-2005.pdf WSD Ost] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101028062546/http://elwis.de/Binnenwasserstrassen/datentabellen/WSD-Ost-2005.pdf |date=2010-10-28 }}</ref> the Mittelland Canal is the longest artificial waterway in Germany.

== Route ==
The Mittelland Canal branches off the [[Dortmund-Ems Canal]]<ref name="Elwis"/> at [[Hörstel]] (near [[Rheine]], at {{coord|52|16|37|N|7|36|18|E |region:DE|display=inline}}), runs north along the [[Teutoburg Forest]], past [[Hanover]] and meets with the [[Elbe River]] near [[Magdeburg]] ({{coord|52|14|46|N|11|44|49|E |region:DE|display=inline}}). Near Magdeburg it connects to the [[Elbe-Havel Canal]],<ref name="Elwis"/> making a continuous shipping route to [[Berlin]] and on to [[Poland]].<ref name=bsiwg/>

At [[Minden]] the canal crosses the river [[Weser]] over two [[Navigable aqueduct|aqueduct]]s (completed in 1914 and 1998, respectively), and near Magdeburg it crosses the Elbe, also with an aqueduct. Connections by side canals exist at [[Ibbenbüren]], [[Osnabrück]], Minden (two canals connecting to the Weser), [[Hanover]]-Linden, Hanover-Misburg, [[Hildesheim]] and [[Salzgitter]].<ref name="Elwis"/> West of [[Wolfsburg]], the [[Elbe Lateral Canal]] branches off, providing a connection to [[Hamburg]], and (via the [[Elbe-Lübeck Canal]]) to the [[Baltic Sea]].

==History==
[[Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H14258, Feier zur Eröffnung des Mittellandkanals.jpg|thumb|right|Opening in [[Magdeburg]] in 1938.]]
Construction of the Mittelland Canal was started in 1906, starting from [[Bergeshövede]] (municipality Hörstel) on the Dortmund-Ems Canal. The section to Minden on the Weser was opened in February 1915 and was initially named ''Ems-Weser-Kanal''. The section from Minden to Hanover was finished in the autumn of 1916. The section to [[Sehnde]] and the branch canal to Hildesheim were completed in 1928, [[Peine]] was reached in 1929, and [[Braunschweig]] in 1933. The final section to Magdeburg was opened in 1938, thus creating a direct link between Western and Eastern Germany. The branch canal to Salzgitter was opened in 1941. The planned canal bridge over the [[Elbe]], necessary to avoid low water conditions in summer, was not built due to the [[Second World War]].<ref>[http://www.wsa-minden.de/wasserstrassen/mittellandkanal/index.html Wasser- und Schifffahrtsamt Minden] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106214729/http://www.wsa-minden.de/wasserstrassen/mittellandkanal/index.html |date=2013-01-06 }} {{in lang|de}}</ref>

After partitioning of Germany following the Second World War, the Mittelland Canal was split between [[West Germany]] and [[East Germany]], with the border to the east of Wolfsburg. To provide access from the western section of the canal to Hamburg and [[Northern Germany]], avoiding both East Germany and the Elbe River's sometimes limited navigability, the Elbe Lateral Canal was opened in 1977.

After the [[reunification of Germany]], the importance of the Mittelland Canal as a link from the west to Berlin and the east was reinforced. The project to bridge the Elbe was therefore restarted, and the resulting [[Magdeburg Water Bridge]] opened in 2003, providing a direct link to the [[Elbe-Havel Canal]]. There are further plans to connect the channel to the [[Twentekanaal]] in the Netherlands to shorten the connection towards the [[Port of Rotterdam]].<ref>Euregio: „Verbindung zwischen Mittellandkanal und Twentekanal nicht wirtschaftlich“. Stand: 2013. http://www.euregio.eu/de/pressemitteilungen/verbindung-zwischen-mittellandkanal-und-twentekanal-nicht-wirtschaftlich (retrieved on October 2, 2014).</ref>

==Towns and cities==
* [[Ibbenbüren]]
* [[Osnabrück]] (via a branch)
* [[Bramsche]]
* [[Lübbecke]]
* [[Minden]]
* [[Garbsen]]
* [[Hannover]]
* [[Sehnde]]
* [[Hildesheim]] (via a branch)
* [[Peine]]
* [[Salzgitter]] (via a branch)
* [[Braunschweig]]
* [[Wolfsburg]]
* [[Haldensleben]]
* [[Magdeburg]]

[[File:BS Hafen.jpg|none|750px|thumb|Panorama of the port of Braunschweig on the Mittelland Canal at Watenbüttel, Braunschweig]]

==Structures==

*[[Minden Aqueduct]] ({{coord|52|18|12|N|8|55|54|E |region:DE|display=inline}})
*[[Magdeburg Water Bridge]] ({{coord|52|13|51|N|11|42|5|E |region:DE|display=inline}})

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Midland canal.jpg|Old and new [[Minden Aqueduct|Mittelland Canal aqueducts]] near [[Minden]]
Image:Wasserstrassenkreuz Minden.jpg|Aerial view of aqueducts and [[Weser|River Weser]]
Image:Mittellandkanal near minden germany.jpg|The canal near Minden
Image:Minden_Weser-Mittelland_Kanal_Lock_01.jpg|Mittelland Canal / River Weser Lock at Minden
Image:Wolfsburg, Volkswagenwerk -- 2009 -- 0822.jpg|Part of the original Volkswagen plant on the canal
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Mittellandkanal}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Canals in Germany]]
[[Category:Lübbecke]]
[[Category:Preußisch Oldendorf]]
[[Category:Wolfsburg]]
[[Category:Federal waterways in Germany]]
[[Category:Transport in Braunschweig]]
[[Category:Transport in Hanover]]
[[Category:Canals opened in 1938]]
[[Category:Ems basin|CMittelland]]
[[Category:Weser basin|CMittelland]]
[[Category:Elbe basin|CMittelland]]