European Coasts of Bohemia

The Danube–Oder–Elbe Canal attracted a great deal of attention throughout the twentieth century. Its promoters, The Danube–Oder–Elbe Canal, attracted a great deal of attention throughout the twentieth century and defined it as a tool for integrating a divided Europe. Although the canal was situated almost exclusively on Czech territory, it promised to create an integrated waterway system across the Continent that would link Black Sea ports to Atlantic markets. In return, the landlocked Czechoslovakian state would have its own connections to the sea. Today, the canal is an important building block of the European Agreement on Main Inland Waterways. This book provides a fascinating story of the experts who confronted and contributed to different and often conflicting geopolitical visions of Europe. The canal was never completed, yet what is more remarkable is the fact that the canal remained on various agendas and attracted vast resources throughout the twentieth century.

Jirí Janác works at the Institute of World History at Charles University in Prague, the Czech Republic.