Elbląg - Geography

Geography

The Old City (Polish: Stare Miasto) is located on the river Elbląg connecting Lake Drużno to the Vistula Lagoon, about 10 km from the lagoon and 60 km from Gdańsk. The city was heavily damaged (65%) at the end of World War II and thereafter almost totally destroyed, when many of the buildings still standing were taken down by the communists for bricks to be used for rebuilding destroyed Gdańsk and Warsaw. The new inhabitants of the city eventually succeeded in being able to rebuild parts of the inner city and ca. 2000 rebuilding was started in a style emulating the previous architecture, in many cases over the same foundations and utilising the old bricks and portions of the same walls. However, the western bank part of the city is completely gone after the war.

The modern city covers over 50% of the distance between Lake Drużno and Elbląg Bay (Zatoka Elbląska), an arm of the Vistula Lagoon, and extends on either side of the river, but especially to the east. On the east is the Elbląg Upland (Wysoczyzna Elbląska), a dome pushed up by glacial compression, 390 km2 in diameter and 200 m (656.17 ft) high at its greatest elevation. It gives the appearance of ridges and parkland.

Elbląg is situated in flat land extending to the west in the Vistula Delta (Żuławy Wiślane) used mainly for agricultural purposes. Views to the west show flat fields extending to the horizon, while to the south are the marshes and swamps of Drużno. The Elbląg River has been left in a more natural state through the city, but elsewhere it is a controlled channel with branches. One of them, the Jagielonski Channel (Kanał Jagieloński), leads to the Nogat River, along which navigation to Gdańsk is common. The Elbląg Canal (Kanał Elbląski) connecting Lake Drużno with Drwęca River and Lake Jeziorak is a popular tourist site.

Elbląg is not a deep-water port. The draft of vessels using its waterways must be no greater than 1.5 m (4 ft 11.06 in) by law. The turning area at Elbląg is 120 m (393.70 ft) diameter and a pilot is required for large vessels. Deep water vessels cannot manoeuvre; in that sense, Elbląg has become a subsidiary port of Gdańsk. Traffic of smaller vessels at Elbląg is within the river and very marginal, while larger vessels cannot reach the open Baltic Sea because the channel, once built in East-Prussia to go through the peninsula, has belonged to Russia since 1945. The river has become almost stagnant and its banks are overgrown with waterlilies and tulies. The city features three quay complexes, movable cranes, and railways. One of its specialities is heavy machinery.

• St. Nicolaus Church

• The Old City of 1626. The view toward Lake Drużno (German: Drausen) in the south

• Reconstructed buildings in the Old City

• Market Gate, Old City