Lodní zdvihadlo Orlík, Boat lift and lock system in Milešov, Czech Republic.
The Orlík boat lift is a lock and rail system on the Vltava River that carries vessels about 70 meters high along a 277-meter track. The facility lowers a platform into the water to load boats, raises them to the top, and rotates the carriage before unloading on the opposite side.
The boat lift was completed in 1961 as part of the Orlík Dam project, designed to maintain river navigation after the dam's construction. It solved the problem of the height difference that the new reservoir created.
The site takes its name from the Orlík reservoir that transformed the surrounding landscape after its creation. Visitors can observe how this engineering work opened the river as a transportation route for local communities.
The facility operates from May through September, closed on Tuesdays, and accepts boats up to 10 meters long and 3 meters wide. Plan ahead for your boat size and expect possible wait times if multiple vessels are queued for passage.
A parallel tank boat lift for vessels up to 44 m long was planned from the dam's design stage, but only its concrete track was ever built. The existing cable lift, in service since 22 December 1961 and rebuilt in 2012, is described as the only one of its kind in Europe.
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