Ladoga Canal

The Ladoga Canal is a water transport system in Leningrad Oblast that stretches 117 kilometers (73 miles) between the Neva and Svir rivers while avoiding Lake Ladoga. The system consists of an older route and a newer section that run parallel, differing in width, depth and lock design.

Construction began in 1719 under the supervision of Peter the Great to provide merchant ships with a protected route between two important rivers. A second channel was dug more than a century later after the first section became too narrow for growing cargo traffic.

Two separate waterways run side by side through the landscape, each showing a different approach to managing the region's unpredictable lake conditions. Local fishermen and recreational boaters still use sections of the newer route, preferring its wider locks and calmer channels to the open water beyond.

Small boats can still navigate the newer section of the waterway, offering a calmer passage than crossing the open lake. Visitors traveling along the banks should watch for locks and narrow passages, especially in areas close to the river junctions.

During its peak operation in the 19th century, roughly 15,000 ships and 10,000 rafts passed through this waterway each year toward Saint Petersburg. Those numbers reflect the central role the route once played in Russian freight transport before rail became the main artery.