Kościuszko Barrage

The Kościuszko Barrage lies on the Vistula in Liszki municipality, right by the western boundary of Kraków. It was opened in 1990. It is a hydraulic engineering structure, but it also has a role on the walking and cycling routes along the river.

What it consists of

The barrage consists of a three-span weir, a lock 190 metres long, an earth dam, a control room, a fish pass and a small hydroelectric power plant with a capacity of 3 MW. Above it passes a bridge 183.6 metres long, which carries the western ring road of Kraków along the A4 motorway. The barrage is one of the links in the cascade of the Upper Vistula, after the Łączany barrage and before the Dąbie barrage.

For walkers and cyclists

During the rebuilding of the bridge, a pedestrian and cycle footbridge was built next to it. From the bridge one can see the monastery in Bielany to the east and the abbey in Tyniec to the west, that is the Benedictine Abbey in Tyniec. Just beyond the barrage, Kraków's whitewater canoeing course was built in 2002, and since 2004 a cycle route from Kraków has led to it. Since 2009 the route of a water tram from the centre of Kraków to Tyniec has run through the lock.

Practical information

• Location: Vistula, Kryspinów, Liszki municipality, by the western boundary of Kraków.
• Check the timetable and the rules of operation of the water tram with the operator before you set out.