Freyburg Lock

The Freyburg lock is a listed lock on a lock canal of the Unstrut in Freyburg in the Burgenlandkreis in Saxony-Anhalt in the centre of the Saale-Unstrut wine-growing region. The town belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Unstruttal, of which it is also the administrative seat. The lock is registered under the registration number 107 05062 of the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments of the State of Saxony-Anhalt.

There has been documentary evidence of the use of the Unstrut as a transport route since 981. Shipping on the Unstrut is mentioned in 1602. For a long time, significant economic use was only possible to a very limited extent due to the shallow depth and the marshy banks. Great efforts had to be made to preserve the riverside paths, as they were indispensable for towing the barges. From 1790 onwards, shipping on the Saale was further expanded. In this context, the Elector of Saxony, Frederick August III, ordered that the upper Saale and also the Unstrut be made economically navigable. The Freyburg lock, formerly also spelled Freiburg lock, was built from 1790 to 1794 as part of the major project to make it navigable from the Saale to the Unstrut. It was completed in 1794 as one of the original 12 Unstrut locks. In 1834 the Unstrut was made navigable throughout, and there are 12 locks built on it, namely at Artern, Ritheburg, Schönewerda, Roßleben, Wendelstein, Nebra, Vitzenburg, Karsdorf, Burgscheiden, Laucha, Zscheiplitz and Freiburg. Drawbridges are built at all locks so that the roads are not interrupted.

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