The Augustow Canal was constructed in early 19th century. It was designed for exporting grain and presumably timber to Baltic ports bypassing the territory of Eastern Prussia, which introduced excessively high taxes on goods shipped up the rivers Vistula and Nieman to the Baltic Sea ports.

It was completed in 1839. Economically, the canal did not meet the expectations as railroad replaced its role as main mean of good transport. It was locally used until 1939 to float round timber within the region. It is now developed as a major tourist attraction in both Belarus and Poland.

I visited the Belraussian part of the canal from Hrodna (Grodno). Renting a car made it easy, being about 30 minutes from Grodno center. Some of the roads are made of gravel, but still easy to drive. There are several buses getting to that area though. It was on a Saturday, so numerous day visitors were around, either hiking, cycling or canoeing. The Belarussian part is the smallest,18 km long out of a total length of 101 km. Three locks are on this part, two of them easy to reach : the Dambrowka and the Niamnova lock, both constructed in 1829. They have remained in their original form with wooden locks and a drawbridge. The Nemnava is the last on the canal, with 3 chambers. From there, the canal flows into the river Bieman.

The canal is bordered by nice area of preserved nature, with anglers. Some historical buildings can be seen, like a small ferry and docks on both side of the small canal. It is a nice place to visit, but I am skeptical about its OUV