Canal d'Entreroches

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Canal d'Entreroches ( Entreroches = German  between the rocks ) is a five-kilometer-long remnant of a planned navigable connection between tributaries of the Rhine and Rhone in the Swiss canton of Vaud . The canal was to connect the Zihl , a tributary of the Aare and thus the Rhine, with the Venoge , which flows into Lake Geneva , between Yverdon-les-Bains and Cossonay . This would have become an international European waterway connection between the North Sea and the Mediterranean, the Trans-Helvetic Canal .

Course of the canal between Lake Neuchâtel and Lake Geneva
Profile of the canal between Lake Neuchâtel and Lake Geneva

history

From the Thirty Years' War onwards, various plans arose to open up new transport routes by sea and land in order to avoid the transport of goods through enemy territory. The attempt to expand the catchment area of ​​the Rhine, which is so important for trade, further south should be seen in this context. The reformed Netherlands in particular wanted to reduce transports on the dangerous shipping route around Catholic Spain , their former occupying power, and through the Strait of Gibraltar to the Mediterranean. This should make it easier to transport goods to and from the main powers in the Mediterranean at that time, Genoa and Venice .

The Breton Elie Gouret began building the canal in 1638. In 1648 the watershed was overcome by the Clus of Entreroches and the Venoge was connected to the Zihl. However, the goal was not yet achieved, as the Venoge between Cossonay and Morges on Lake Geneva has a steep gradient. On twelve kilometers, 59 meters would have to be overcome, which would have required 40 locks. However, the necessary funds could not be raised. Despite the Canal d'Entreroches, the goods had to be transported by road for this piece.

The connection was no longer of regional importance. The canal was navigated with flat barges 20 meters long and more than three meters wide. Salt, grain and, above all, wine were transported on it. On the towpath that ran along the bank, men and horses on ropes helped haul the ships. 90 percent of the goods were shipped north. From the middle of the 18th century, the canal was no longer profitable. The operators had to file for bankruptcy in 1797. After the collapse of a bridge over the canal, traffic was completely stopped in 1829. In the meantime, the country roads were expanded and from 1855 the railway from Yverdon to Lausanne ran through the Mormont tunnel . At the beginning of the 20th century, considerations were made to reactivate the project with a 24 meter wide canal. A perimeter was kept free in the structure plans until 2006 . The A1 motorway , which crosses the Orbe plain , was also built high enough.

Traces of the former canal can still be found in the Entreroches gorge. The former harbor house at the northern end of the Klus has been preserved and inhabited. During the construction of the railway line that crossed the Klus, opened in 1855, the canal was filled with excavated material from the tunnels on both sides. At the southern end of the Klus, the canal also served as a landfill and has been filled up. This distorts the canal profile visible today in the Klus. Not much of the canal is visible between the Klus and the Venoge. As part of the Jura water correction , the canal routing between Entreroches and Bavois was changed to improve drainage of the plain. Further north, today's canal largely corresponds to the historical course up to the Canal Oriental .

A navigable connection between the Rhine and the Rhone was established in France in 1833 with the Canal du Rhône au Rhin , which still exists today.

Charge pour soleure

The term “Il est chargé pour Soleure”, which is common in French-speaking Switzerland, is associated with the waterway for heavy drunkenness (meaning “He charged for Solothurn ”). As the seat of the French ambassadors, Solothurn had a high demand for wine, which was transported this way. Since the skippers bought the cargo on the voyage, they often reached Solothurn heavily drunk.

photos

  • The Canal d'Entreroches in the Klus

  • The former port house in Entreroches

  • A Roman milestone found in 1640 while building the canal

  • The Canal d'Entreroches in the Orbe plain

See also

literature

  • Walks on historical paths, inventory of historical traffic routes in Switzerland, Chapter 15, Ott Verlag Thun, ISBN 3-7225-6404-2 .
  • wandern.ch, edition May 2/2014, ISSN  2296-2190
  • Klaus Grewe (Ed.): Canal d'Entreroches. The construction of a shipping route from the North Sea to the Mediterranean in the 17th century. Research contributions from the support group Vermessungstechnisches Museum e. V., Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-87919-143-3 .

Web links

Commons : Canal d'Entreroches  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 46 ° 39 ′ 41.7 "  N , 6 ° 33 ′ 10"  E ; CH1903:  532201  /  168,201