Albany, New York became the capital of New York in 1797 following formation of the United States. Albany is one of the oldest surviving settlements of the original British thirteen colonies, and is the longest continuously chartered city in the United States. During the late 18th century and throughout most of the 19th, Albany was a center of trade and transportation. The city lies toward the north end of the navigable Hudson River, was the original eastern terminus of the Erie Canal connecting to the Great Lakes, and was home to some of the earliest railroad systems in the world. In the 1920s,
Griebnitzsee of lakes towards the Großer Wannsee. The remaining water flows through the Griebnitzsee to its western end, where it flows into the River Havel near Potsdam. The length of the Griebnitzsee is navigable, and forms part of the Teltow Canal route that links the River Havel with the River Spree and the Oder-Spree Canal, bypassing the reach of the River Spree through central Berlin. The navigable Griebnitz Canal provides an alternative link from the Griebnitzsee to the River Havel via the Großer Wannsee. During the time of the Berlin Wall, the border between Berlin and East Germany ran down the