Canal du Center (Belgium)
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The Canal du Center in Belgium (German: Center Canal , Dutch: Centrumkanaal ) connects the Canal Nimy-Blaton-Péronnes with the arm of the Canal Charleroi-Brussels coming from Seneffe . The canal became known nationwide mainly because of its four hydraulic ship lifts, which were included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998.
history
planning
In the second half of the 19th century, plans were made to connect the Charleroi-Brussels Canal , which was completed in 1832, two years after Belgium's independence, with the Canal de Mons à Condé, which opened in 1817 , to allow inland navigation to cross the watershed between the Meuse and the Scheldt to enable. The problem arose that between Thieu and Houdeng-Goegnies a level difference of 66 meters had to be overcome over a distance of just under seven kilometers. Four hydraulic ship lifts were planned for this.
→ Main article: Canal du Center boat lifts
Opening in several stages
The first and highest of these lifts near Houdeng-Goegnies was ceremoniously opened on June 4, 1888 by the Belgian King Leopold II . This gave the coal mines at La Louvière a connection to the waterway network. Subsequently, however, in view of the high cost of building the ship lifts, heated debates broke out about the profitability of the project. The further construction was delayed until 1910. Four years later construction was stopped again when the Germans invaded Belgium a few days after the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. However, the German occupying powers considered the canal to be strategically important, which is why they ordered the building to be continued. In 1917 - this time due to the war without any pomp - the other three lifts were put into operation, making the canal passable over its full length.
Expansion for 1350 tons
In 1957, the Belgian parliament passed a law stating which waterways should be expanded for 1,350-ton ships, so-called European ships . In addition to the Charleroi-Brussels Canal, this also included the Canal du Center. Since it was not possible to expand the existing lifts for these ship dimensions, it was decided in 1976 to completely re-route between Seneffe and Thieu , whereby the four previous lifts and a lock should be replaced by a new ship lift at Strépy-Thieu . This realignment also required the construction of a canal bridge near Sart in the north of La Louvière . In 1982 construction work began on the new ship lift.
In 1990 the Mons-Thieu section of the new canal was completed and connected to the old route via a lock below elevator no. As with the construction of the old lifts, the economic benefits of the new plant were also seriously questioned. Mainly because of this, the construction work was delayed several times. On November 6, 2001, the first cargo ship finally passed the ship lift. At this point in time, however, the Sart canal bridge was not yet completed, so continuous shipping could only take place over the old canal.
On January 17, 2002 there was an accident in the old elevator No. 1, in which a ship and the elevator itself were badly damaged. This interrupted the continuous shipping traffic until the opening of the new canal section. On June 10, 2002, work began on flooding the Sart canal bridge, and on September 2, after several days of celebrations, the new canal was finally opened to traffic.
course
The waterway, which is only 18 kilometers long today, begins on a ridge between the Maas basin and the Scheldt basin . It is fed by pumping water from the Charleroi-Brussels Canal. The canal branches off from the Charleroi-Brussels Canal at Seneffe . After almost five kilometers, the old section of the canal branches off to the left. After another four kilometers, the canal bridge at Sart follows, and another 2.5 kilometers further on is the new ship lift. The old canal runs in this section through Houdeng-Goegnies, Houdeng-Aimeries and Strepy-Bracquegnies.
At Thieu, both canals run parallel and are connected by a lock. From here the old canal becomes a dead end, it is used as a sports boat harbor and for leisure purposes. From Ville-sur-Haine, the new canal runs through the old bed.
Two new locks, one at Obourg with a 5.0 meter lift and one at Havré with a 10 meter lift, replace a total of four old locks with a 4.2 meter lift each. At Nimy , the Canal du Center ends in a 45-hectare artificial lake called Le Grand Large . This serves to regulate the water level in the adjacent Nimy-Blaton Canal .
The four lifts between Houdeng-Goegnies and Thieu have been replaced in 2002, after twenty years of construction, by the new Strépy-Thieu boat lift, which overcomes the difference in height in one step and also allows 1,350-ton ships (so-called European ships ) to pass. The ships are carried in two basins, 112 m long and 12 m wide, moved by ropes. The connection to the upper earth channel is made via two 168 m long channel bridges.
However, the four old lifts are still in operation for tourist reasons, with lift no. 1 being repaired after an accident, which means that the historic center canal can be used continuously again. In 1998 the four lifts were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List .
Web links
- Web presence of the channel (French)
- Canal du Center (Belgium). In: Structurae
- Overview map: Waterways in Belgium (PDF file; 231 kB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from June 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 50 ° 29 ' N , 4 ° 7' E