The lock Bischofswerder is located at kilometer 4.53 of the Voßkanal near Bischofswerder. The first lock Bischofswerder, then called Bischofswerder lock I, was built in the course of the construction of the Voßkanal between 1880 and 1884.
In the 1930s were carried out for the benefit of shipping cross-sectional enlargements of the canal and new parts of the lock Krewelin and the lock Bischofswerder. One of the old locks was replaced in 1933 by a new building.
At the end of the 1980s, an increase in brick production and the construction of a new gas-fired concrete plant in Zehdenick was planned. The existing lock in Bischofswerder would not have coped with the shipping traffic and would be an obstacle in the transport of building materials on the waterway. A new construction of the lock was required. Construction began in 1989, the traffic release took place in 1991. In the period from October 2007 to March 2008, the sluice Bischofswerder was blocked as planned for shipping. In the restricted period, the lock was repaired and modernized, as well as the switch to semi-automatic self-service operation with remote monitoring.
The lock process has been fully automated since 2003. The lock is monitored and controlled by the Zehdenick monitoring center (ÜZZ), which was commissioned in 2002. With the completion of the modernization and automation program, 27 out of 39 locks, all 47 weirs as well as the 3 movable bridges in the stock of the waterway and shipping office Eberswalde are operated centrally, fully automatically or in automated self-service.
As the Obere Havel waterway is no longer used by cargo ships and is only used by a few small passenger ships, it has become a popular spot for pleasure boats of all sizes and classes.
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleuse_Bischofswerder