Tikhvinskaya water system
Coordinates: 59°39′52.3″N 33°08′31″E / 59.664528°N 33.14194°E
The Tihvinskaya water system was one of the waterways connecting the Volga River with the Baltic Sea, and specifically the Mologa River with Syas River. In terms of the current administrative division of Russia, the waterway belongs to Vologda and Leningrad Oblasts.
It was first conceived by Peter the Great, but construction started only in 1802. The Tihvinskaya water system was built for the passage of middle-sized ships in the early 19th century and functioned until the middle of the 20th century. Construction of railways and the movement of ships along the Svir River increased competition, which led to the closure of the Tikhvin system.
The Tihvinskaya water system started at the Rybinsk wharf on the river Volga. The waterway went along the Volga (32 km), then on Mologa River (175 km). From the Mologa the waterway turned aside at Chagodoshcha and extended 179 km along the rivers Chagodoshcha and Gorun. After 33 km, it followed the river Sominka (32 km), lake Somin, and the Volchyna river (10 km).
Between the upper Volchyna river and Lake Elgino the 6 km Tikhvin canal was built. Then the path ran on lake Elgino, the Tikhvinka River (159 km), and on the river Says. Then the route goes through the Says canal (10 km), and Ladoga Canal, and finally through the Neva River (58 km). The Tihvinskaya system ends at the pier near the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg. The Total length of the waterway was 902 km.
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