Management of water transport on the Odra river in the historical aspect

Abstract

The publication contains the retrospection of management and the development of water transport on the Odra river in the historical aspect. In fact, XVII century is the beginning of constructing frames of homogenous river-shipping administration on the Odra, the rules of which were established by the government that managed waters and shipping on the Odra. And so, in the space of years, depending on the manager, the Odra river transport developed in various ways. The best time of development was in 1873-1919 when they created the centralized local river-shipping administration, managed by superpresident of the Silesia province. A new conception of the river management appeared that presumed that the responsibilities connected with river regulation form the area owners will be taken over by the government (depending on the period it was German or Prussian country, including The Third Reich. Formally the management over the shipping and the whole Odra infrastructure was directed to Poland not earlier than 12 of August 1946. In order to properly manage the Odra river, the proper units of state administration had to be appointed. In 1946 came into being the state water boards separate for every harbour city. After a number of reorganizations, there came into being two ship owners enterprises on the Odra. The first is a state enterprise, Shipping on the Odra with the head office in Wrocław, that operated on the whole Odra river, and the second was a state enterprise Szczecin Shipping with the head office in Szczecin, that operated on the Lower Odra, from the aggregate main in Belinek to Świnoujście. For more than a half of a century, the lack of imagination of managers and at the same time, designation of too little resources lead to the degradation of infrastructure and means of transport on the Odra river. Currently accepted by Poland and the European Union development- repair programmes give hope that the water transport on the Odra river will be given back its proper place among other means of transport.