125 years of the Elbe-Lübeck Canal: Celebrate, discover and the future!

125 years of the Elbe-Lübeck Canal: Celebrate, discover and the future!

June 16, 2025 marks the 125th anniversary of the opening of the Elbe-Lübeck Canal. This remarkable waterway, built between 1895 and 1900, connects the Elbe near Lauenburg with the Baltic Sea in Lübeck and stretches 61.55 kilometers in length. The canal was originally called the Elbe-Trave Canal and belongs to Class IV of the federal waterways in Schleswig-Holstein. [NDR] reports that the anniversary will be celebrated with a special broadcast as part of the Hamburg Harbor Concert.

The anniversary program, which will be broadcast on June 15, 2025 at 6:00 a.m., will focus on historical aspects of the channel. Werner Hinsch from the Elbe Shipping Archive will narratively prepare the history of the Stecknitz Canal, which was built from 1391 to 1398, up to the opening of the Elbe-Lübeck Canal. There will also be reports from the passenger ship Serrahn Queen and from leisure captain Hans-Jürgen on the “Dina”.

Activities on the canal

Additionally, tips for cycling tours along the canal are presented. Daniel Kaiser gives insights into his favorite places and points out the upcoming cultural summer on the canal. This festival takes place from June 28th to July 28th and offers a varied program of music, theater and literature. Petra Volquardsen will moderate the event. The program will be available in the ARD Audiothek, the NDR Hamburg app and on ndr.de/hafenkonzert until June 15, 2027.

The Elbe-Lübeck Canal also features a number of important structures, including seven locks that serve shipping purposes. These locks are designed for ships up to 80 meters long and 8 meters wide. For example, the Lauenburg lock was modernized in 2006 to accommodate longer ships. The historical significance of the canal is also underlined by the high proportion of traffic: around 2,500 freight ships and 5,000 pleasure boats use this waterway every year.

Investments and challenges

Despite its historical value and importance for transport, the Elbe-Lübeck Canal faces challenges. The Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2030 provides for investments of 800 million euros for the canal, but further expansion remains controversial. Expansion was stopped in 2020 and the lock chambers can only accommodate ships up to 80 meters long.

Nevertheless, the canal, whose traffic increased rapidly in the first years of operation and reached 505,115 tons in 1909, is still actively used for local recreation and tourism today. The increasing popularity of leisure activities is reflected in the development of water sports.

The Elbe-Lübeck Canal, which is not only an important traffic artery but also a cultural enrichment for the region, will continue to be the focus of interest in the future. [Wikipedia] provides information about current plans and challenges to future-proof the channel.