Baťa Canal () is a navigable

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

on the Morava river in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. The water canal was built during 1934-38 and today it serves mainly for recreational cruises.

History

Reasons for building the canal were two: an attempt to increase the level of

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

after the Morava river was

regulated Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

and as an initial phase of long planned but never realized Danube-Oder-Canal. The immediate reason for the construction was the need to transfer

lignite Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered the lowest ...

from mine in

Ratíškovice Ratíškovice is a municipality and village in Hodonín District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 4,000 inhabitants. Geography Ratíškovice is located about northeast of Hodonín and southeast of Hodonín. It lie ...

to the

Otrokovice Otrokovice (; ) is a town in Zlín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It is known as an industrial centre. Administrative division Otrokovice consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population ...

power plant. Both were owned by

Bata Shoes The Bata Corporation (known as Bata, and in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, known as Baťa, ) is a multinational footwear, apparel and fashion accessories manufacturer and retailer of Moravian (Czech) origin, headquartered in Lausanne, Switzer ...

(''Baťovy závody'') and the company was the main investor (the rest was paid for by the state). Construction started on October 16, 1934 and finished during autumn 1938. The canal was financed by Jan Antonín Baťa in cooperation with the Czechoslovak state.

Technical details

The route is 51.8 km long, of which 27 km fall to the Morava river, 1 km to the

Dřevnice The Dřevnice is a river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Morava River. It flows through the Zlín Region. It is long. Etymology The name of the river has its root in the Czech word ''dřevo'' (i.e. 'wood'). The name is derived fro ...

river and 24 km is artificial canal. The difference in water levels is 18.6 m. In total 33 bridges spanned over the canal. The canal had 14

canal lock A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a chamber in a permanently fixed position i ...

s. Some parts of the technical infrastructure were quite unique at the time of construction.

Canal today

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the canal was severely damaged and only partially repaired (repairs lasted until 1949). Its use for transportation declined, and in 1972, it was officially abandoned. In 1995, the route was reopened for sightseeing tours. After repairs, 13 canal locks are now accessible. The canal became the most popular tourist destination of the region. It is also used for transportation of industrial goods, and plans exist to extend it downstream to the border of

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Literature

* ''Baťův kanál – od myšlenky k nápadu'', collection of authors, Povodí Moravy, 2018, .

External links

Canal website
(cz, en)

(cz)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bata Canal Canals in the Czech Republic Zlín District Uherské Hradiště District Hodonín District Buildings and structures in the South Moravian Region Buildings and structures in the Zlín Region Canals opened in 1938