Leipzig - longing for the sea
The history
Former times
King Friedrich August I of Saxony (1763–1827) had already initiated the planning of a water connection between Leipzig and the Saale and Unstrut rivers. However, the Napoleonic Wars of 1805 to 1815 stopped these plans, and the project was not pursued.
Saale-Leipzig-Canal
The Saale-Leipzig-Canal project begun in 1933 and discontinued in 1943, which was to connect the White Elster in Leipzig with the Saale near Leuna and thus connect Leipzig via the Saale and Elbe to the North German waterway network and via Hamburg to the North Sea. The canal was planned for ships up to 1000 tons.
Of the planned 19 kilometres, 11 kilometres were completed and filled with water in 1939, and a further 5.5 km were already partially excavated. The canal, which was supposed to flow into the Saale near Kreypau, ends near Günthersdorf (Saxony-Anhalt), approximately 10 km are missing here to the river Saale.
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