TheKłodnicki Canal (Polish:Kanał Kłodnicki) is acanal along theKłodnica River inUpper Silesia,Poland between theOder River andGliwice. Constructed when the territory was part ofPrussianSilesia, it was originally known as theKlodnitz Canal (German:Klodnitzkanal).

Because the Kłodnica (Klodnitz) was not navigable, a canal was needed to provide transportation for the flourishingcoal and ore mining, as well as themetallurgy industry in theUpper Silesia region. Designed byJohn Baildon, an engineer fromScotland andFriedrich Wilhelm von Reden, Director of the High Mining Office inBreslau (Wrocław), the canal was built between 1792 and 1812. It had a length of about 46 km (29 mi) and an altitude difference of about 49 meters (161 ft). It incorporated two hybrid inclined track/ canal locks.^[1]

The depth of the canal and the design of thelocks allowed the use of vessels of up to 50 tons of payload. However, construction ofrail transport facilities connecting the Upper Silesian coalfields eroded the importance of the waterway. The freight volume on the canal in 1847 was 70,000 tons, but shipments dropped to only 4,400 tons by 1865. Between 1888 and 1893, the canal was expanded to allow the passage of vessels up to 100 tons load and 1.2 meters (3.9 ft) draft. However the waterway did not regain its importance.

The Klodnitz Canal facility was replaced by theGleiwitz (Gliwice) Canal, built from 1935-1939. The territory became part of Poland in 1945 afterWorld War II.

• Szymonowicz, Jarosław "A Scotsman in Silesia" Warsaw Voice, 28 March 2007, retrieved on October 16, 2007.
• The history of the "Królowa Luiza" mine in ZabrzeArchived 2007-10-17 at theWayback Machine, retrieved on October 16, 2007.
• Pounds, Norman J. G. "The Industrial Geography of Modern Poland".Economic Geography, Vol. 36, No. 3 (Jul., 1960), pp. 231–253.