The Saimaa Canal (; ; ) is a

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

ation

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 ...

that connects lake

Saimaa Saimaa ( , ; ) is a lake located in the Finnish Lakeland area in southeastern Finland. With a surface area of approximately , it is the largest lake in Finland, and the fourth-largest natural freshwater lake in Europe. The name Saimaa likely co ...

with the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

near

Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...

, Russia. The canal was built from 1845 to 1856 and opened on 7 September 1856 (

Old Style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, they refer to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries betwe ...

: 26 August 1856). It was overhauled and widened in 1963–1968. A system of

inland waterway A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other ways. A first distinction is necessary bet ...

s and canals in the 120 interconnected lakes of the south-central and south-east part of Finland (

Finnish Lakeland Finnish Lakeland or the Finnish lake district ( , "Lake Finland", ) is a large landscape region in central eastern Finland. The hilly, forest-covered landscape of Lakeland Finland's lake plateau is dominated by drumlins and by long sinuous es ...

) are reached through the canal. The network of deep channels in Lake Saimaa with at least a draught of covers . The deep channels extend all the way to

Kuopio Kuopio ( , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Savo. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Kuopio is approximately , while the Kuopio sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mos ...

in Central Finland. The canal is closed in the winter.

Topography

The canal begins near Lauritsala,

Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Karelia. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lappeenranta is approximately , while the Lappeenranta sub-r ...

, Finland, at coordinates () and ends in

, Russia, at coordinates (), connecting Lake

and the Vyborg Bay. On the way, it connects Lake Nuijamaa, on the Finnish–Russian border at coordinates (), and three smaller lakes in Russia.

Dimensions

* Length: ** Finnish part: ** Russian part: * Width: from * Total lift from the

to Lake

: * The "Saimax" specification, in analogy to

Panamax Panamax and New Panamax (or Neopanamax) are terms for the size limits for ships traveling through the Panama Canal. The limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in a publication titled "Vessel Requirements". ...

, specifies the maximum size and required equipment. The maximum dimensions allowed for a ship transiting the canal are: ** Length: ** Beam (width): **

Draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

: ** Height of mast: ** Other requirements include for example that trading vessels must have two VHF radios and an

automatic identification system The automatic identification system (AIS) is an automatic tracking system that uses transceivers on ships and is used by vessel traffic services (VTS). When satellites are used to receive AIS signatures, the term ''Satellite-AIS'' (S-AIS) is ...

(AIS). * 217 boundary pillars between Canal Rented Zone and main territory of Russia.

Locks

There are a total of eight locks on the canal, raising the water level by some : the upper three locks in the Finnish part of the canal, and the lower five locks situated on the Russian side of the border: Mälkiä Lock has the highest lift (), Tsvetochnoye Lock has the lowest ().

Bridges

The canal crosses * 12 motor vehicles bridges: ** 6 of them in Finland – 3 movable and 3 immovable ** the other 6 in Russia – 4 movable and 2 immovable * 2 railroad bridges (one on the each side of the border), both of them are immovable.

History

The canal, inaugurated in 1856, was built between the cities of

and Viipuri (now part of Russia), both of them then in the autonomous

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. In the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940, Finland ceded the

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (; ; ) is the approximately stretch of land situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva. Its northwestern boundary is a line from the Bay of Vyborg to the we ...

and Vyborg to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

; control of the canal was divided and traffic ended. Finland obtained a 50-year

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

on the Soviet part of the canal and Maly Vysotsky Island (Ravansaari) in 1963. Finland constructed a deeper canal, which opened in 1968. The annual rent during this lease increased only once. In 2010, Finland obtained a second 50-year lease from Russia, starting in 2013. Maly Vysotsky was not included in the new lease. Negotiations in 2008 had raised the annual rent from to , with revisions every 10 years. The new agreement went into effect on 17 February 2012. Regulations pertaining to maritime rules and employment of canal staff fall under Finnish jurisdiction; in all other cases Russian laws apply. Passports are required at the international boundaries, but Russian visas are not required for just passing through the canal. The canal is as of 2024 open for traffic despite the Ukraine War.

References

External links

Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency: Saimaa Canal
{{Authority control Canals in Finland Canals in Russia Karelian Isthmus Finland–Soviet Union relations Canals opened in 1856 Transport in Vyborg