The canal, approximately 12 km long and ten metres deep, was dug during the time of the
German Empire between 1874 and 1880, in the reign of the
Kaiser Wilhelm I (). Thus it was not named after his grandson
Kaiser Wilhelm II () who was famous for his interest in seafaring and battleships. Baptized as ( Emperor's Way), the canal allowed ships to circumvent the eastern branch of the Świna river, which was very difficult to navigate. The resulting benefit to shipping between the
Baltic Sea and the lagoon saw the ascendancy of the port of Stettin and a decline in the port of
Świnoujście (), because now ocean-going ships could sail as far as Stettin. Another side effect was that the eastern part of the island
Usedom was cut off, creating an island that was named after its largest village,
Kaseburg (). On the other hand, the railway line, opened in 1875, from Berlin to Swinemünde over the
bridge near Karnin (blown up in 1945), helped to promote Swinemünde and its neighbouring villages as seaside resorts. After
World War II, the area became part of Poland under
border changes promulgated at the
Potsdam Conference, and the canal was renamed in reference to the medieval
history of Poland during the Piast dynasty – the
Piast dynasty was the first Polish royal dynasty. == Images ==