Schleuse Oberhausen

Schleuse Oberhausen is a navigation lock with two parallel chambers that allows vessels to cross a roughly 4-meter elevation change in the canal system. Each chamber operates independently to enable continuous vessel passage without interruption.

The lock was constructed in two phases, with the southern chamber completed between 1977 and 1979, followed by the northern chamber in 1984. This expansion responded to the rising volume of ship traffic that the region needed to support.

The lock reflects how industrial regions developed their waterways to support commerce, showing the practical choices made to connect manufacturing areas with distant markets through water transport.

The lock operates daily and allows ships to navigate the elevation change efficiently. Visitors can observe locking operations from designated viewing areas to see how the system works in practice.

The lock handles more than 10,000 vessel passages annually, making it a vital junction in Germany's inland waterway network. This busy flow reveals how central this facility is to ongoing cargo movement across the region.