The Teltow Canal, also known as the in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, is a

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 ...

to the south of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, the capital city of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The canal lies in both the states of Berlin and

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

, and at points forms the boundary between the two. It takes its name from the region of Teltow and town of

Teltow Teltow () is a town in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. Geography Teltow is part of the agglomeration of Berlin. The distance to the Berlin city centre is , while the distance to Potsdam is . The Teltow Canal links th ...

which lie on its course. The canal was constructed between 1900 and 1906, when it was opened by

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

. The canal is in length and links the River Havel near the city of

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

with the River Dahme near

Köpenick Köpenick () is a historic town and locality (''Ortsteil'') in Berlin, situated at the confluence of the rivers Dahme and Spree in the south-east of the German capital. It was formerly known as Copanic and then Cöpenick, only officially ado ...

in Berlin's eastern suburbs. The Dahme provides a link to the Oder-Spree Canal, and hence to the River Oder and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Whilst the Dahme is a tributary of the

River Spree Spree may refer to: Film and television * '' The Spree'', a 1998 American television film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace * ''Spree'' (film), a 2020 American film starring Joe Keery * "Spree" (''Numbers''), an episode of the television show ''Numbe ...

, itself a navigable tributary of the Havel, the Teltow Canal offers the advantage of bypassing the centre of Berlin, with its heavy river traffic. At its western end, the Teltow Canal incorporates the

Griebnitzsee Griebnitzsee (, from the Slavic ''Grib'', ''Mushroom'') is a lake at the south-western outskirts of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. At an elevation of 29.4 m, its surface area is ca. 0.592 km². The lake forms the border between the Germ ...

lake which links to the Havel in Potsdam. The Griebnitz Canal provides a second link to the Havel from the eastern end of the Griebnitzsee. Towards its eastern end, the Teltow Canal is linked to the

Landwehr Canal The Landwehr Canal (), is a canal parallel to the Spree river in Berlin, Germany, built between 1845 and 1850 to plans by Peter Joseph Lenné. It connects the upper part of the Spree at the eastern harbour () in Friedrichshain with its low ...

by the Neukölln Ship Canal, while the Britz Canal connects the Teltow Canal with the Spree. There is only one

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

on the canal, at

Kleinmachnow Kleinmachnow is a municipality in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated south-west of the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf and east of Potsdam. First mentioned in the Landbuch of Karl IV in 1375, the Kleinmachno ...

. The canal is navigable by boats with a draught of up to and with a maximum bridge clearance of .

References

External links

Canals in Brandenburg Canals in Berlin Federal waterways in Germany Buildings and structures in Neukölln Buildings and structures in Steglitz-Zehlendorf Buildings and structures in Tempelhof-Schöneberg Canals opened in 1906 CTeltow CTeltow 1906 establishments in Germany {{water-transport-stub