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The Mittelland Canal, also known as the Midland Canal, (, ) 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 countries with Poland, the Czech Republic and the Baltic Sea.

At in length, the Mittelland Canal is the longest artificial waterway in Germany.

Route

The Mittelland Canal branches off the Dortmund-Ems Canal

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.

Since the Revolutions of 1989 (fall of the Iron curtain, reunification of Germany, dissolution of the Eastern Bloc, Enlargements of the European Union), the importance of the Mittelland Canal as a link from the west to Berlin and the east has grown. The project to bridge the Elbe was therefore restarted. The Magdeburg Water Bridge opened in 2003, providing a direct link to the Elbe-Havel Canal.

In 2013, the plan to connect the channel to the Twentekanaal in the Netherlands to shorten the connection towards the Port of Rotterdam was considered to be unprofitable.

Until its closure on 1 April 2024, the Mehrum Power Station got Bituminous coal via the Canal.

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

none|750px|thumb|Panorama of the port of Braunschweig on the Mittelland Canal at Watenbüttel, Braunschweig

Structures

  • Minden Aqueduct ()
  • Magdeburg Water Bridge ()

<gallery>

Image:Midland canal.jpg|Old and new Mittelland Canal aqueducts near Minden

Image:Wasserstrassenkreuz Minden.jpg|Aerial view of aqueducts and 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