Morris Canal Society Hosts Speaker This Friday on Poland's Restored Inclined-Plane Canal

Published on May 14, 2019

Elblag Canal Uses the Same Technology

Canal Society of New Jersey will host a speaker from Poland who will talk about the restored Elblag Canal, which was constructed using the same inclined plane technology employed by the historic Morris Canal here in Morris County and North Jersey. The talk, which is free and open to the public, will start at 7:30 p.m., Friday at Morris County Cultural Center, 300 Mendham Road, Morristown. Join the group at 7 p.m. for refreshments and friendly conversation.

Elblag Canal in Poland uses the same inclined plane technology used in the Morris Canal. A speaker will talk about the process of refurbishing the canal in Poland on Friday evening in Morristown.

Cezary Wawrzynski from the Office of the Ostrada Commune, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in northeastern Poland, will tell the in-depth story of the restoration effort between 2011-2015 as well as discuss the inclined plane technology. Elblag Canal, which is currently used mostly for recreation, is considered a technological monument and has been named one of the Seven Wonders of Poland and it is one of Poland's official national Historical Monuments, which is overseen and maintained by the National Heritage Board of Poland.

Wawrzynski has traveled to New Jersey to visit the historic remains of the Morris Canal. He also represents the Association of Municipalities of the Elblag Canal, which is currently is writing an application to have the canal entered onto the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Located in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, the canal covers approximately 50-miles of waterway which runs south from Lake Druzno -- connected by the River Elblag to the Vistula Lagoon -- to the River Drweca and Lake Jeziorak. It can accommodate small vessels up to 50 tons displacement.

For more information on the organization, visit Canal Society of New Jersey or their Morris Canal webpage.