More ships will dock in Strážnice on the Bata Canal

More ships will dock in Strážnice on the Bata Canal

Strážnice, 17 February 2023 – The wharf in Strážnice solves the lack of capacity of the existing pier for tourists. Construction started at the end of January. The wharf will be on the right bank and will accommodate 14 small vessels and 1 passenger boat. Waterways CR will be ready by the end of June. Tourists will be able to visit the town and the open-air museum.Thanks to its unusual concept, the wharf will provide a pleasant place to rest and direct access to the adjacent open-air museum.

Construction of the wharf in Strážnice

„The construction of the wharf in Strážnice is the first construction started this year by the Directorate of Waterways of the Czech Republic on the Bata Canal. In the course of the year we would also like to start the construction of the lock in Rohatec, which will ensure the extension of the Bata Canal to Hodonín.This will enable further development of navigation on the southern part of the Bata Canal and will increase the number of tourists. Lubomír Fojtů, director of the Czech Waterways Directorate, says: „Major constructions are planned until 2030.“ The aim is to extend the length of the navigable canal to 75 km and increase the capacity of the ports.

Description of the new wharf

The new wharf in Strážnice is shaped after the original lagoon and serves as a turning point for ships. It is elegant and functional, allowing vessels to dock and undock while providing a rest area. A pair of staircases and a wheelchair ramp facilitate access to the museum. Seating steps link the movement of visitors to the open-air museum and the boats. A new attractive area will be created in front of the entrance to the open-air museum.

The basis of the dock is an arch of a fixed pier almost 120 m long. Perpendicular to it, floating booms will be fixed for mooring boats. Up to 10 boats around 10 m in length and 4 boats up to 8 m in length can be accommodated. The Strážnice wharf expansion frees up 3 berths on the left bank for maintenance vessels. The new wharf will have 4 tapping posts for connection of vessels to electricity and water.Posts can be controlled by a pre-paid port card. This is similar to other wharves on the Bata Canal.

An important part of the construction is the restoration of the sealing dike. „The current shore of the lagoon is formed by a flood protection dike, therefore it is necessary to thoroughly implement the sealing wall as part of the construction of the wharf,“ says Jan Pospíšil, construction manager of Inženýrské a dopravní stavby Olomouc, a.s. and adds: „The investor has not forgotten about the replacement planting, which will be carried out due to the felling of several local trees.“

A new entrance to the open-air museum in the form of turnstiles with facilities will be built in the vicinity of the main building of the open-air museum.

Plans for the development of tourism

Tourists from the Czech Republic and abroad are increasingly drawn to the Bata Canal, which has become a popular area.In 2008, plans to extend the right bank wharf were made. This construction is a major tourism milestone. Strážnice is expecting a surge in visitor numbers and plans to complement the CRC’s investment by expanding parking facilities.