Canal and Ships: a Living History of Beloe Lake

At the beginning of the 19th century, the connection of the Kovzha and Vytegra rivers led to the formation of a direct waterway from the Baltic Sea to the Volga, from Saint-Petersburg to Rybinsk. This waterway, known as the Mariinsk Canal System, was an outstanding hydraulic structure for that time. It included rivers, lakes, and a series of canals, dams, and sluices. One of its parts, the Belozersky Bypass Canal, was constructed in 1846 and forever changed the shore environments. The Mariinsk Canal System had existed for more than 150 years, and during all this time wooden cargo ships of various sizes and types (from small boats to heavy barges) have been sailing along it. Nowadays, their skeletons, destroyed by waves and covered with sand, can still be seen on the shores of the Beloe Lake. These unique monuments tell us the history of one of the most important waterways in Russia and enlight the features of wooden shipbuilding and the evolution of lake shores.

Beloe Lake, Belozersky Bypass Canal, Mariinsk Canal System, wooden shipbuilding