PRĄDZYŃSKI, Pantaleon Ignacy
* 20. 7. 1792, Sanniki near Gostynin, Poland
† 20. 8. 1850, Helgoland, Germany
civil engineer
P. graduated from the Technical College of Artillery and Engineering in Warsaw, which had been established following the model of the college in Metz. From 1816 onwards, he carried out measurements of the main state roads in the Kingdom of Poland. From 1816 to 1822, he directed the works of the commission that determined the border between Poland and Prussia.
As an engineer, he was also active in the preparation of plans for the Augustow Canal, which was to link the Vistula River, past Danzig, to Neman. Works were carried out from both directions. The Polish were in charge of linking the Vistula River to Neman, via the rivers Narew and Biebrza, and the Augustow Lake. The Russians were to link Neman via the Dubica River to Widawa.
P. conducted measurements of the area; determined the height of the water level with the help of levelling; explored the borders of the flood risk areas and the flow rate of the waters. On the basis of these tasks, he prepared a plan for a canal, 181 km long, with eleven barriers. In 1825, construction with stone bricks began. P. directed these works, intermittently, until 1830; in 1826, because of his activity in a secret liberation organisation, he was imprisoned, however in March 1829, after being released from prison, he continued the construction works. The outbreak of the National Insurrection in 1830 interrupted the construction of the canal. He actively participated in the Insurrection and was in charge of technical and organisational matters. He spent the years 1832/33 in exile in Russia.
Though the Augustow Canal never had an important economic role, since the Russian part was never finished, it is considered one of the largest artificial waterways in the world.
