The boat lift at Niederfinow in the German Oder-Havel Canal is a fascinating lift, lifting boats up to 36 metres. Every year, 11 000 boats pass through here, and the lift is also a popular attraction, attracting half a million tourists a year.
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Boat lift in Niederfinow
The Niederfinow boat lift was completed in 1934, but despite its many years of service, it is still impressive. Close by is a new boat lift, capable of lifting much larger vessels, which will replace the old lift when all tests are completed.
The Niederfinow boat lift is located in the federal state of Brandenburg, about seven miles north-east of the capital Berlin.
Visiting the boat lift in Niederfinow
The boat lift in Niederfinow is a popular destination, which can be experienced in different ways. You can walk around the boat lift on your own (weekdays), join a guided tour (weekends) or experience the lift by taking a boat through it. There is also a visitor centre that explains the new boat lift, with models and other information. There are also a bunch of smaller eateries serving fast food, snacks and ice cream.
The old boat lift in Niederfinow
When the waterway between Berlin and Polish Szczecin inaugurated on 17 June 1914, there was a lock staircase with four lock chambers at this location. Locking took time and the capacity quickly became too low, which led to the construction of the first boat lift in Niederfinow in 1927.
In 1934, the boat lift was completed, with an impressive lifting height of 36 metres. The lift is still in operation and today transports around 11,000 boats a year. Now, however, it is this lift that has too little capacity and needs to be replaced ...
The new boat lift in Niederfinow
Over time, the barges became larger and larger, and some simply did not fit in the trough. In 1997, a decision was taken to build a new, larger boat lift, capable of lifting much larger barges and freighters.
The new lift is almost completed and has been in trial operation since September 2021. As soon as the new lift opens, a new sightseeing programme will also start up.
Taking a boat ride through the boat lift
So far, it's the old boat lift you can step around on, or go through. We chose to pay to experience the boat lift from the inside - on a boat tour. The boats start a few hundred metres from the car park, and if you want to get a good seat on the upper deck, it is good to go here in good time.
When the time came, we then began to slowly chug towards the boat lift ...
We drove into the lift together with some other smaller boats. The beams above us were so low that the almost felt like you had to bend your head down. And then it was time to go up ...
Looking up, you could see that it was a long way to the top. Yet the lift takes no more than around five minutes.
Isn't it fascinating how engineers came up with this design? While the trough with the boats goes upwards, large counterweights go downwards. This construction with counterweights also looks similar in the new boat lift.
Before we knew it, we were on the other side, much higher up than where we had started our boat journey.
Then it was time to go back into the lift and be lifted downwards. This time we were accompanied by a large barge, which only barely fit along the length. A fascinating and interesting tour, which all in all took about an hour.
Parking and car park
Parking at the boat lift in Niederfinow costs €3/day, which means you can stay here overnight with a motorhome if you wish. There are rubbish bins and toilets for a fee. Since we currently had no LPG, we unfortunately could not stay, but had to find a site with electricity.
We travelled on to a campsite in Liebenwalde.
We drove on to the "Stadthaven Liebenwalde" site, about five miles west of the boat lift in Niederfinow. We liked this place! There is perhaps not much to "do" here, which probably contributed to the fact that there were plenty of vacancies. However, if you are looking for a quiet place with good service, this is excellent! You stand nicely by a small marina, where there is also a restaurant.
Video from the Niederfinow boat lift
More to see in the neighbourhood
From the Niederfinow boat lift it is not too far to the exciting capital city of Berlin. On the outskirts of Berlin, we can recommend visits to Potsdam and Oranienburg. It is also not too far to Templin, where there is a large Wild West park.
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Have you visited the boat lift in Niederfinow?
Have you visited the boat lift in Niederfinow, or maybe a similar boat lift somewhere else in the world? Do you like this kind of sights?
Facts about the boat lift in Niederfinow
- Country: Germany
- Federal Republic of Germany: Brandenburg
- Address: Hebewerkstrasse 70a, Niederfinow
- Name: The Niederfinow boat lift or Niederfinow ship lift (Schiffshebewerk Niederfinow in German).
- Channel: Oder-Havel channels
- Tourism: Approximately 500,000 visitors per year.
- Transport capacity: Around 11 000 boats per year
- Read more: You can find more information at the building's website.
The old boat lift in Niederfinow
- Behaviour: 1927-1934
- Inauguration: 21 March 1934
- Height (above ground): 52 metres
- Length: 94 metres
- Width: 27 metres
- The length of the lifting trough: 82.5 metres
- The width of the lifting trough: 11.94 metres
- The depth of the lift train: 2.5 metres
- The weight of the lifting trough: 4300 tonnes (of which 2500 tonnes are water)
- Quantity of concrete: 72 000 tonnes
- Quantity of steel: 18 000 tonnes
- Lifting height: 36 metres
- Lifting time: About 5 minutes
The new boat lift in Niederfinow
- Decision to build a new boat lift: 1997
- Behaviour: Demolition started in autumn 2006. The first foundation stone was laid on 23 March 2009. Currently (2022) the lift is in test operation.
- Height (above ground): 54.55 metres
- Length: 133 metres
- Width: 46.40 metres
- The length of the lifting trough: 115 metres
- The width of the lifting trough: 12.5 metres
- The depth of the lift train: 4 metres
- Quantity of concrete: 65 000 tonnes
- Quantity of steel: 8900 tonnes
- Lifting height: 36 metres
- Lifting time: About 3 minutes
Services and practical information
- Opening hours: The information centre is open daily from 10:00 to 18:00 during the high season. Individual tours of the boat lift are only possible on weekdays, while guided tours are given on weekends. See the lift's website for more detailed information.
- Prices: An individual boat lift tour costs €5/person for adults and €3/person for all those entitled to the discounted price. A family ticket costs €15 (2 adults and a maximum of 3 children). Guided tours cost €8 for a regular ticket and €5 for those entitled to a reduced price. Children under 7 years old are free. Boat trip through the boat lift costs €8/adult. (2022)
- Guided tours: Guided tours (in German) are given on weekends. There is also a special tour called "Into the heart of the lift", which is only given on certain days and only for fit people over 14 years old.
- Food service: Several smaller eateries are available, serving fast food, snacks, drinks and ice cream.
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Only British says:
Reminds me of Strépy-Thieu in Belgium, which I think was the highest in the world until the Chinese broke a new record a while ago.
26 July 2022 - 18:40
Helena says:
Interesting! Sounds exciting!
26 July 2022 - 19:44
BP says:
WOW! What a construction. It was even tricky to imagine how the boat was lifted. So powerful. Delicious:-)
26 July 2022 - 19:06
Helena says:
You drive into a trough (like a huge bathtub filled with water) and then this is lifted. Was not quite easy to show in the picture 😉 But of course it was a cool experience to be involved in!
26 July 2022 - 19:45
Lena - good for the soul says:
Truly a powerful and impressive feat of engineering!
When we were in Scotland, August 2019, we saw a "boat lift". The Falkirk Wheel. The level differences were not nearly as big as the one you saw, but still cool. There was the construction on the other side. You kind of spun sideways and up. We never rode it, but fun to have seen.
Hug Lena
19 October 2022 - 5:52