We recommend to start your journey from Mill Island (Wyspa Młyńska), reaching the Okole lock (no. 3), sailing through the Bydgoszcz section of the Brda to the Czersko Polskie lock, and then back to Mill Island. The length of this section is almost 15 km, so we will have about 30 km to sail. One important thing – throughout the entire time we will be watching Bydgoszcz from the perspective of thee IWW E70. Let’s start from the Okole lock.
The no. 3 Okole lock can be found on the Bydgoszcz Canal and it was thoroughly modernised in 2017-2018. The lock was where one of the episodes of the Polish legendary series “Czterej pancerni i pies” (EN: “Four Tank-Men and a Dog”) was filmed. It told a story about one of the protagonists who blew up the lock with a shot from a panzerfaust. You can find a monument near the lock, commemorating the famous tank from the series, called “Rudy 102”. One kilometre further, we pass under three arched railway bridges over 100 metres.
A bit further, on the left bank, we will pass „Astoria” – the first stop of the Bydgoszcz Water Tram. Each „Słonecznik” Water Tram is electric and can take up to 28 passengers. The cruise down the Staromiejska line takes around 60-70 minutes and passes the Bydgoszcz Cathedral, Opera Nova, Mill Island, and the former trapezoidal lock among other things. The cruise down the „Słoneczna” line takes around 45 minutes and lets you discover the buildings formerly belonging to the Bernardine Order, Mill Island, and the Miejska lock.
We sail under the Queen Jadwiga Bridge – the only one in Bydgoszcz to have survived World War II – and approach the no 2. Miejska lock, modernised in 2015-2016. The first lock in this area was built as early as 1774. This lock also “starred” in the “Four Tank-Men and a Dog” series, although it did not technically appear on screen. To make it look as though the dam broke, filmmakers flushed the lock full of water, flooding the near Rybi Market (EN: Fish Market) as well. You can also find the already non-functioning, experimental, and truly unique trapezoidal lock nearby.
Behind the Marshal Foch Bridge, on the bend of the river, you can find the impressive Opera Nova building, with the statue of the archer – unfortunately, it cannot be seen from the river – and on the other side, there is Mill Island with the new Bydgoszcz marina, brick Rother Mills, a place used for outdoor events and the Kiepura Bridge – a closed footbridge. The Bydgoszcz marina complex includes hotels, restaurants, sports facilities, and a marina for about 100 vessels. With its architecture and the urban feel, it lives up to the alternative name of this area, i.e. the Venice of Bydgoszcz.
Right when you cross the bridge, there is a small hydroelectric power station “Kujawska” – be careful, as the waters flowing out of the power station might carry away small vessels, yachts, and boats.
And right behind the next bridge – the Jerzy Sulima-Kamiński Bridge – you can spot the famous figure of the man “crossing the river” that is beloved by all photographers.
Behind the bridge, there is also the already famous Lemara barge. During the interwar period, Bydgoszcz was full of similar barges, sailing to Berlin, Gdańsk, Königsberg, or Warsaw. The Lemara barge was built in 1937, in Bydgoszcz, of course – and it is open to the public.
We continue our adventure along the modern waterfront of the Solny Square and Rybi Market. And the left bank, along Stary Port street, presents its 19th century granary and the majestic building of the Polish Post office.
A few hundred metres further, we pass an impressive, the newest (built in 2013), and the highest bridge of Bydgoszcz (pylon height: 63 metres) – down the University Route.
Behind the next footbridge – called the Esperanto Bridge – we find the “Słoneczny” hotel with a mooring platform, and another stop of the Bydgoszcz Water Tram. 200 metres further, we can see the marvellous “Łuczniczka” hall and a slightly smaller – but equally impressive – Artego Arena.
Only 3 km further, there is an island that was creating during the canalisation of the Brda, at the end of the 19th century. It is called “The Island in Kapuściska” – its name derives from the name of the near housing estate. Legend has it that the captured smugglers and thieves used to be hanged there in the past, therefore the island also goes by the name “The Island of the Hanged Man”. However, there is no proof anyone was actually hanged on this island – maybe only honest merchants were visiting Bydgoszcz?
There is another island, 600 metres further – this one is inhabited by numerous birds that chose this place as their breeding grounds. We pass two more railway bridges – one harbour bridge and one inverted-truss bridge) – to enter the final two-kilometre section, or rather a reservoir, separated from the Vistula by a levee and a lock.
The reservoir is over 2 km long and has been used as a regatta track ever since the pre-war times. You can find clubs, marinas, and audience stands there. At the end of the reservoir, there is the Brdyujście lock that has been closed since 2002 and replaced by the no. 1 Czersko Polskie lock that is 1115 m long and 12 m wide. Once we exit the lock, we enter the waters of the Vistula.
