100 years Central land canal - Germany / Federal Republic of Germany 2005 - 45 Euro Cent

The Mittelland Canal is one of the most economically important waterways in Europe, transporting around 22 million tonnes of goods per year. The construction of its western section was decided on April 1, 1905 by the Prussian Water Act. Today the Mittellandkanal is 325 kilometers long. He branches off at Rheine from the Dortmund-Ems Canal and reaches the Elbe-Havel Canal near Magdeburg. As the only west-east waterway in northern Germany, the Mittelland Canal connects the river basins of the Rhine, the Ems, the Weser and the Elbe and, in addition, connects to Berlin and the Eastern European waterways. Pictured on the stamp is the impressive, 918 meter long bridge construction that leads the canal near Magdeburg over the Elbe.