Baldeney lock

Those traveling by boat on the water from Baldeneysee downstream on the Ruhr past the Werden district of Essen in the direction of Kettwig or in the opposite direction upstream on the Ruhr to the Baldeneysee must pass through the Baldeney lock - also known colloquially as the Werden weir. Lock times, lock plan, lock prices and service telephone number - . Baldeneysee.Ruhr has compiled all the information you need to pass through the Baldeney lock. Rowers and canoeists can also pass through the Baldeney lock. This is not done by entering the lock, as is the case with motorized boats, but on foot. This is because canoes and rowing boats pass through the Baldeney lock by being carried through. The landing stage at the Baldeney lock and the Werden weir makes it easy to get in and out of the lock and to launch and retrieve the boats.

The Baldeney lock, which is located between the Essen districts of Werden and Bredeney, but belongs to Bredeney (zip code 45133), is a dam with a hydroelectric power station and fish lift and forms the end of the Baldeneysee. The dam, also known as a weir, has three openings closed by lifting rollers. The Ruhrverband, a public corporation based in Essen, is, according to its own information on the company website, "a non-profit water management company under public law" and also operates the dam. By operating its dams, it ensures the water supply for 4.6 million people.

The construction of the dam is naturally linked to the creation of the Baldeneysee The weir dammed up the water of the Ruhr over a length of around eight kilometers and caused the river to grow into a lake. Planning began as early as 1927, construction took place in 1931 and 1932 and the weir was commissioned in 1933. Whereas in the past it was mainly commercial shipping that used the Baldeney lock, it is now exclusively passenger ships from the Weisse Flotte Baldeney, private pleasure craft and company ships up to 38 m long and 5.20 m wide that use the lock.

An elevator for fish? What sounds unusual at first has an ecological purpose. As the weir represents an artificial barrier for the river ecosystem, the fish lift system is intended to offer fish willing to migrate the opportunity to overcome this "hurdle". The fish lift at the Baldeney weir has been in operation since 2020 and as part of European guidelines on the "continuity of flowing waters". With financial support from the Ministry of the Environment, Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Consumer Protection of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Ruhrverband set up an "Infopoint Fish Lift System Baldeneysee", i.e. an exhibition that explains the background and operation of the fish lift to interested members of the public. The exhibition will be open at weekends from April 1 to September 30. The exact opening times can be obtained from the Ruhrverband. Groups should call the Ruhrverband in advance to register. As access to the exhibition is on the weir, it is not barrier-free.