Historical Structures and Technical Heritage on the Elbe-Vltava Waterway

Abstract

The paper describes the past development of the Elbe-Vltava waterway (EVW) and focuses on the documentation and presentation of the historical structures which were built for the rivers’ continuous navigability. Modern modifications of the waterway started at the beginning of the 19th century and focused mainly on regulatory work aimed at widening, straightening and deepening the fairway and removing the narrow fairway sections. In 1896, the Commission for Channelling the Vltava and the Elbe Rivers in Bohemia was established. The commission began implementing a plan to canalise the Elbe-Vltava waterway. On the EVW, a cascade of 34 barrages have been built, which are connected by their backwaters and ensure year-round navigability of the Vltava River from the Slapy Dam to the town of Mělník (92 km) and the Elbe River from the town of Chvaletice to the city of Ústí nad Labem (172 km). The last section of the Elbe River between Ústí nad Labem and the border with the Federal Republic of Germany (41 km) has so far been made navigable only by historical regulation works. Barrages on the EVW are typically composed of a weir structure, a navigation lock, a hydroelectric power plant producing renewable energy and a fish pass or sport whitewater canal. Most of these structures were built in the first half of the 20th century and represent a huge and unique technical heritage that still serves its purpose. The development of the EVW objects was documented in detail. The result is a software designed as a computer application with a web interface, which also serves for the presentation of technical heritage using original and modern technologies. Database operations enable the sharing of more information resources by competent organizations in the area of management, operation and maintenance of objects on the EVW. The system contains detailed descriptions of individual objects including their main technical parameters. For all the barrages were also systematically documented archival historical documents, maps, drawing documentation, photo gallery and for the most important barrages a description of the architectural design. The research also focused on mapping the development of regulatory adjustments of the Elbe River based on preserved historical documentation from the 19th and 20th centuries and the first aerial photographs since 1938. The presentation for the general public is complemented by an index of prominent personalities who contributed to the development of the EVW. There is also an explanatory dictionary of technical elements and objects on the EVW, including functional diagrams. Tourist attractions around the waterway are also included in the software.