In an account of the Bydgoszcz Water Route Junction it is essential to mention its historic water engineering buildings, including the locks of the New Bydgoszcz Canal such as - from the West - the Osowa Góra Lock, the Prądy Lock, the Czyżkówko and Okole Locks. They are in good working condition and are part of the E-70 International Waterway. Since the beginning of their operation they could accommodate even the largest, over 400-ton, barges navigating western European rivers at the time. All the locks are uniform in their length – 57.4 m and width -  9.6 m. The only difference between them is the height to which they are elevated. The first two locks: Osowa Góra & Prądy were built in 1773–1774 but their present shape was determined during the refurbishment works in 1908–1915 which enabled their elevation up to 3.55 and 3.82 m respectively. They are brick-faced single chamber locks made of concrete. The steel valve sluice gate and the bottom auxiliary sluice gate are manually operated. The vessel lock traversing operation in each of the sluices does not take longer than 20 minutes.
Sailing eastbound, there are two other water engineering facilities which are almost identical.  The Czyżkówko and Okole Locks were built at the time of the Bydgoszcz Canal renovation, located on a new 2-km-long excavation from 1908–1915, replacing the former 5 sluices on the old Bydgoszcz Canal. Their task was to eliminate the over 15 m difference of levels. The Czyżkówko Lock raises us by 7.52 m within nearly 30 minutes, while the Okole Lock by 7.58 m within about 20 minutes. Both locks are made of concrete with brick facing. Their characteristic feature is their unique saving reservoirs which reduce the amount of water needed for the sluice to operate by a multiple re-usage of the same water.  This is a huge advantage for the operations of the Bydgoszcz Canal which is permanently short of water. The steel valve and the bottom auxiliary sluice gates are electrically operated yet, in case of failure, it can be done manually. During World War II the new canal navigation was discontinued due to the destruction of the Czyżkówko Lock. In order not to cancel ship traffic, the Old Canal was reopened for the duration of the new canal reconstruction. In the 60s, the Okole Lock was the filming site for the massively popular TV series Czterej pancerni i pies [Four Tank-Men and a Dog]. The most spectacular was the scene of blowing up Sluice No. 3 by one of the heroes of the film with a Panzerfaust. But it must be added here that the lock itself was not damaged – the film used a wooden dummy prop. It is worth mentioning that it was not the only lock used for the film shooting. Sharp-eyed TV viewers could notice the sites next to the lock in Grottgera Street, which is gone today, and the lock in the Fish Market.  

The Old Bydgoszcz Canal
The locks from the turn of 18th and 19th centuries on the Old Bydgoszcz Canal, surrounded by a beautiful park, are well worth mentioning. It is an exceptional place owing to its interesting history and unusual nature. The origins of the park are linked to the inspection works by the Canal Inspector Ernst Conrad Peterson who in early 19th c. began a long-term programme of tree planting along the banks of the Canal. And so we have here black poplars, horse-chestnuts, elms, European beeches and lindens. The idea was continued by General Wincenty Aksamitowski in 1807-1812 and then by the City Beautification Society. By the mid-19th c., the green strip along the Canal became the showpiece of Bydgoszcz and played the role of the city’s leisure and sporting grounds with restaurants, dance floors, open-air sites for painters, exhibition venues, and theatres offering light repertory. In winter, the Canal turned into a popular ice rink. The Canal was a busy entertainment site and one of the most popular attractions of the city in the inter-war years as well. It was after World War II that the Old Canal started to lose its importance due to the many new green areas arranged in the city. In the 1970s, the Canal section from today’s Rondo Grunwaldzkie roundabout to the inlet into the River Brda was buried cutting it off from the city centre.  
The turn of 20th and 21st centuries proved favourable for the green strip along the Canal. Cultural life is being gradually restored here. Both the citizens and the city management have been turning towards the water by renovating the Canal bank in the 1990s, listing the Bydgoszcz Canal with the Provincial Register of Historic Buildings and Monuments in 2005 and recently carrying out the works under the REURIS Project.
Thanks to Mr. Sebastian Malinowski’s initiative, in 2006 the Museum of the Bydgoszcz Canal was arranged on the grounds of Secondary School No. 3 which is located only 60 meters away from the original bed of the Old Bydgoszcz Canal (2021 - the new seat of the museum - [Street] Staroszkolna 10).