Karta över Finland Kuuva kanal Pitkävuono- och Leutolahti kanaler Vuotso kanal Skönhetskanalen Painua kanal Tjärkanalerna Kanalerna i Larsmoområdet Läbbogubbskanalen Kanalerna i Malax skärgård Möhkö brukskanal Paakola kanal Kanalerna i Raumö skärgård Ålands kanaler Sydkustens kanaler Kumo älvs sjösystem Kymmene älvs sjösystem Saimas sjösystem

The Canals in Finland

Finland have 32 canals with locks that are maintained by the Finnish Maritime Administration. Saima Canal from Lake Saima to The Gulf of Finland is the biggest and most important. Beside these there are som canals with locks owned and maintained by others. There are also more then 60 canals without locks.
The Finnish Maritime Administration maintains 7 900 km inland waterways on the many lakes and rivers. Besides these fairways there are plenty of routes for pleasureboats.
Of this you see that fairly short canals in Finland connects and creates vast navigable areas.

In 1745 it is believed that a lock in Mustio by the south coast was built. If so, that was the first lock in Finland. The second lock, in Antskog, was built 80 years later, in 1824.
There is an extensive traffic of touristships on the Finnish lakes and canals, and in the Lake Saima area there are also several wider and deeper fairways, used by commercial shipping. Here 2,4 million tons af goods are carried every year, and the amount has been increasing over the last years. On the other canals in Finland 1,2 tons of goods are transported every year. However, rafting have decreased much the last years.
With more then 5 000 passings every year the Vääksy canal and lock is the most busy in Finland. Other canals with much traffic is Murole, Valkeakoski, Lempäälä, Taipale, Konnus, Kalkkinen and Joensuu.
More then half a million passengers use the touristboats on the inland waterways every year, so this is an important business. The boats on the Kumomäenjoki system have most passengers. This in spite that it is smaller then both the Saima and the Kymijoki systems. But on the other hand, it has Tammerfors, the biggest inland town in all the Scandinavian countries.

The Inland Waterways Association of Finland was formed in 1981 with the aim to promote the construction of more canals.

 


Sources: Nationalencyklopedien, Höganäs, Sweden, 1991, Svensk Uppslagsbok, Finland, 1948, Myllykylä T. Suomen kanavien historia. Helsinki: Otava; 1991, and more.
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