Hydromonuments
Photo by Piotr Piznal
Weir (a hydrotechnical device) in Widuchowa at the beginning of the Western Odra. Built in 1914. It was designed to direct water to a new (dug) Eastern Odra riverbed and securing the Western Odra riverbed against excessive erosion. Photo. Piotr Rosiński
A great project of the Lower Odra regulation from 1899
In the nineteenth century, the area of Międzyodrze looked different. The site was separated by many arms and branches of river, and the whole area was often flooded. The great design of the Lower Odra regulation from 1899 (“To improve the outflow on the Lower Odra”, the Odra Regulation Board, Szczecin Construction Office) led to huge construction works here in 1906-1937.
Water sluice from 1912 near Gryfino. photo. Piotr Piznal
Hydrotechnical works
The Eastern Oder was assigned the task of discharging the river water and the material deposited by it to Lake Dąbie by the shortest route. For this purpose, the weir on Mogilnica (the eastern branch of the Odra River between Zatonia Dolna and Ognica) was liquidated, and Mogilnica itself was developed as the main riverbed. Next, an 11.5-kilometer ditch was made from the Odra river below Widuchowa to Regalica (now Stara Regalica) near Gryfino (Przekop Marwicki).
Water sluice from 1913 near Gartz. The building is made of reinforced concrete, without a threshold, with walls faced with clinker bricks. The bridge was renovated in 1959-1960 and in 2016. Photo: Łukasz Ławicki
Gryfino-Gartz and Ustowo-Klucz excavations
In the final section, the ditch crossed Regalica, cutting off its meander, used as a barge anchorage (currently the mouth of the Warm Channel in Gryfino). The cross-section of the Oder above this ditch was also slightly increased. The initial section of the West Odra was also simplified by making a 2-kilometer ditch from Widuchowa in the north-east direction, building a weir at its beginning. In order to concentrate the flow in the main channel, all side arms of the East Oder were closed. In order to enable navigation between the East and West Odra, two shipping routes were built through Międzyodrze. The first, between Gartz and Gryfino, with two shipping locks for 400-ton vessels, the second, between Ustowo and Klucz, by deepening the Skośnica canal. Above Widuchowa, the third connection Schwedt – Ognica was built for 600-ton vessels.
The mechanism for operating the gate of the shipping chamber lock from 1913 near Gartz. The lock gates were opened manually by one person using a ladder rod driven by a toothed gear (cup). photo. Lukasz Ławicki
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A long list of hydrotechnical facilities
In the years 1906-1937, a total of 33 km of excavations, 177 km of embankments and 129 hydrotechnical structures were made here, including 36 large ones (currently entered in the register of monuments):
– 2 chamber locks – shipping (for 400-ton vessels)
– 18 chamber and utility locks (for small vessels, used mainly for agricultural purposes)
– 6 overbanks (to direct large water into the polders of Międzyodrze, with a level lower than the crest of the embankment)
– 5 embankment culverts (for gravitational drainage of water from Międzyodrze polders)
– 4 pumping stations (to lower the water level in Międzyodrze polders)
– 1 weir (in Widuchowa, 78 m long, used to divert water into two river beds)
Pumping station from 1926 near Gartz. photo. Lukasz Ławicki
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Taming the terrain and returning to natural conditions
Since the 1930s, the lowering of the groundwater level has made it possible to use Międzyodrze for agricultural purposes (mainly grazing animals). In the long term, however, this project turned out to be too costly to operate, mainly due to poor gravitational drainage and the related costs of water drainage by pumping stations. From the Second World War until today, no renovation works have been carried out on the internal hydrographic network, and the technical equipment, last renovated in the 1960s, is being destroyed.
As a result, the area of Międzyodrze began to return to its original appearance as a result of secondary succession. Meadows and pastures are overgrown with reed vegetation and dense willow thickets, which over time transform into wet alluvial forests.
The creation of a national park in Międzyodrze may be a chance for a “new life” for these unique hydrotechnical structures.
Chamber and shipping lock. photo. Piotr Rosinski
Chamber and shipping lock from 1926 at the entrance to the West Odra near Staffelde. photo. Lukasz Ławicki
The mechanism for operating the gate of the shipping chamber lock from 1913 near Gryfino. photo. Piotr Piznal
The main source of the article on the website: Urbański M. 2004. Międzyodrze – ziemia pozyskana. Gryfiński Kwartalnik Historyczny 7: 47–64.