Editing Saimaa Canal

{{Short description|Transportation canal in Finland}}
{{expand Finnish|date=June 2023|topic=struct}}
{{Infobox canal
|name               = Saimaa Canal
|image              = Saimaa canal at Lappeenranta Finland.jpg
|image_size         = 250px
|image_caption      = Saimaa Canal
|mapframe           = yes
|mapframe-zoom      = 7
|canal_length       = {{convert| 42.9|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}
|lock_length        =
|lock_width         =
|max_boat_length    = {{convert|82.5|m|abbr=on}}
|max_boat_beam      = {{convert|12.6|m|abbr=on}}
|max_boat_draft     = {{convert|4.35|m|abbr=on}}
|max_boat_air_draft = {{convert|24.5|m|abbr=on}}
|original_num_locks = 
|current_num_locks  = 8
|min_elev=
|max_elev=
|total_rise=
|status=
|navigation_authority=
|former_names=
|present_owner=
|original_owner=
|engineer=
|other_engineer=
|date_approved  =
|date_began     = 1845
|date_use       =
|date_completed = 1856
|date_extended  =
|date_closed    =
|date_restored  =
|xfield2=
|xvalue2=
|direction= 
|start_point = lake [[Saimaa]], [[Finland]]
|end_point   = [[Gulf of Finland]] near [[Vyborg]], Russia
|begin_coord = 
|end_coord   = 
|branch=
|branch_of=
|connects_to=
|module = 
}}
[[File:Saimaakanal-en.svg|thumb|275px|Course of the canal]]

The '''Saimaa Canal''' ({{langx|fi|Saimaan kanava}}; {{langx|sv|Saima kanal}}; {{langx|ru|Сайменский канал}}) is a [[transport]]ation [[canal]] that connects lake [[Saimaa]] with the [[Gulf of Finland]] near [[Vyborg]], Russia. The canal was built from 1845 to 1856 and opened on 7 September 1856 ([[Old Style]]: 26 August 1856).
It was overhauled and widened in 1963–1968.

A system of [[inland waterway]]s and canals in the 120 interconnected lakes of the south-central and south-east part of Finland ([[Finnish Lakeland]]) are reached through the canal. The network of deep channels in Lake Saimaa with at least a draught of {{convert|4.2|m|abbr=on}} covers {{convert|814|km|abbr=on}}. The deep channels extend all the way to [[Kuopio]] in Central Finland. The canal is closed in the winter.<ref name=saima-kanal-oppnas-den-24-juni>{{cite web |url=https://valtioneuvosto.fi/sv/-/1410829/saima-kanal-oppnas-den-24-juni?languageId=en_US |title=Saimaa Canal open as of 24 June |date=2024-06-24 |publisher=Government of Finland |access-date=2025-02-02 }}</ref>


==Topography==
The canal begins near [[Lauritsala]], [[Lappeenranta]], Finland, at coordinates ({{coord|61|04|43|N|028|16|24|E|region:FI-ES_type:waterbody|display=inline}}) and ends in [[Vyborg]], Russia, at coordinates  ({{coord|60|48|38|N|028|44|13|E|region:RU_type:waterbody|display=inline}}), connecting Lake [[Saimaa]] and the [[Vyborg Bay]]. On the way, it connects [[Lake Nuijamaa]], on the Finnish–Russian border at coordinates ({{coord|60|57|6|N|28|34|33|E|region:FI-ES_type:waterbody|display=inline}}), and three smaller lakes in Russia.

===Dimensions===
* Length: {{convert|42.9|km|abbr=on}}
** Finnish part: {{convert|23.3|km|abbr=on}}
** Russian part: {{convert|19.6|km|abbr=on}}
* Width: from {{convert|34|to|55|m|abbr=on}}
* Total lift from the [[Gulf of Finland]] to Lake [[Saimaa]]: {{convert|75.7|m|abbr=on}}
* The "Saimax" specification, in analogy to [[Panamax]], specifies the maximum size and required equipment. The maximum dimensions allowed for a ship transiting the canal are:
** Length: {{convert|82.5|m|abbr=on}}
** [[Beam (nautical)|Beam]] (width): {{convert|12.6|m|abbr=on}}
** [[Draft (hull)|Draft]]: {{convert|4.35|m|abbr=on}}
** Height of mast: {{convert|24.5|m|abbr=on}}
** Other requirements include for example that trading vessels must have two VHF radios and an [[automatic identification system]] (AIS).
* 217 boundary pillars between Canal Rented Zone and main territory of Russia.

===Locks===
There are a total of eight locks on the canal, raising the water level by some {{convert|250|ft|abbr=on}}: the upper three locks in the Finnish part of the canal, and the lower five locks situated on the Russian side of the border:

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+Locks on the Saimaa Canal<ref name="ftia-locks">{{cite web|url=https://vayla.fi/web/en/waterways/canals-and-bridges/the-saimaa-canal/information-on-the-saimaa-canal-locks|title=Information on the Saimaa Canal locks|accessdate=2020-03-15|publisher=[[Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency]]}}</ref>
! {{abbr|No.|Number}} !! Name !! Old name !! Meters !! Feet !! Coordinate !! Country
|-
| 1 || Brusnichnoye || Juustila || {{convert|10.0|m|ft|disp=table|0}} || {{coord | 60.810667 | 28.737316 | region:RU_type:waterbody | display=inline}} || Russia
|-
| 2 || Iskrovka || Särkijärvi || {{convert|11.4|m|ft|disp=table}} || {{coord | 60.832155 | 28.73661 | region:RU_type:waterbody | display=inline}} || Russia
|-
| 3 || Tsvetochnoye || Rättijärvi || {{convert|5.5|m|ft|disp=table}} || {{coord | 60.881817 | 28.650756 | region:RU_type:waterbody | display=inline}} || Russia
|-
| 4 || Ilistoye || Lietjärvi || {{convert|10.2|m|ft|disp=table}} || {{coord | 60.893306 | 28.622904 | region:RU_type:waterbody | display=inline}} || Russia
|-
| 5 || Pälli || || {{convert|11.7|m|ft|disp=table}} || {{coord | 60.907227 | 28.615179 | region:RU_type:waterbody | display=inline}} || Russia
|-
| 6 || Soskua || || {{convert|8.3|m|ft|disp=table}} || {{coord|61|02|23|N|028|24|02|E|region:FI-ES_type:waterbody|display=inline}} || Finland
|-
| 7 || Mustola || || {{convert|7.3|m|ft|disp=table}} || {{coord|61|03|45|N|028|18|59|E|region:FI-ES_type:waterbody|display=inline}} || Finland
|-
| 8 || Mälkiä || || {{convert|12.4|m|ft|disp=table}} || {{coord|61|04|15|N|028|18|14|E|region:FI-ES_type:waterbody|display=inline}} || Finland
|}

Mälkiä Lock has the highest lift ({{convert|12.4|m|abbr=on|disp=comma}}), Tsvetochnoye Lock has the lowest ({{convert|5.5|m|abbr=on|disp=comma}}).

===Bridges===
The canal crosses 
* 12 motor vehicles bridges:
** 6 of them in Finland – 3 movable and 3 immovable
** the other 6 in Russia – 4 movable and 2 immovable 
* 2 railroad bridges (one on the each side of the border), both of them are immovable.

==History==
[[File:Сайменский канал 0005.jpg|thumb|right|Saimaa Canal in 1903, photo by [[Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky|Prokudin-Gorskii]]]]
The canal, inaugurated in 1856, was built between the cities of [[Lappeenranta]] and [[Vyborg|Viipuri]] (now part of Russia), both of them then in the autonomous [[Grand Duchy of Finland]] in the [[Russian Empire]].

In the [[Moscow Peace Treaty (1940)|Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940]], Finland ceded the [[Karelian Isthmus]] and Vyborg to the [[Soviet Union]]; control of the canal was divided and traffic ended.

Finland obtained a 50-year [[Concessions and leases in international relations|lease]] on the Soviet part of the canal and [[Maly Vysotsky Island]] (Ravansaari) in 1963. Finland constructed a deeper {{convert|42.9|km}} canal, which opened in 1968. The annual rent during this lease increased only once.

In 2010, Finland obtained a second 50-year lease from Russia, starting in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/13597| title=Russian-Finnish agreement on the lease of Saimaa Canal ratified |website=President of Russia |date=20 Nov 2011 |access-date=27 April 2019}}</ref> Maly Vysotsky was not included in the new lease. Negotiations in 2008 had raised the annual rent from {{€|290,000|link=yes}} to {{€|1.22&nbsp;million}}, with revisions every 10 years. The new agreement went into effect on 17&nbsp;February 2012.

Regulations pertaining to maritime rules and employment of canal staff fall under Finnish jurisdiction; in all other cases Russian laws apply. Passports are required at the international boundaries, but [[Russian visa]]s are not required for just passing through the canal.

The canal is as of 2024 open for traffic despite the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|Ukraine War]].<ref name=saima-kanal-oppnas-den-24-juni/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|Saimaa Canal}}
*[https://vayla.fi/en/transport-network/waterways/canals-and-bridges/the-saimaa-canal Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency: Saimaa Canal]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Canals in Finland]]
[[Category:Canals in Russia]]
[[Category:Karelian Isthmus]]
[[Category:Finland–Soviet Union relations]]
[[Category:Canals opened in 1856]]
[[Category:Transport in Vyborg]]