Canal du Center (France)

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Canal du Center
Course sketch of the canal

Course sketch of the canal

Water code FR :  ---- 0152
location France , Bourgogne-Franche-Comte region
length 112 km
Built 1784-1793
class I ( Freycinet class )
Beginning Crossing from the canalised Saône at Chalon-sur-Saône
The End It flows into the Canal latéral à la Loire in the urban area of Digoin
Descent structures 61
Ports Chalon-sur-Saône , Chagny , Montceau-les-Mines , Paray-le-Monial , Digoin
Junctions, crossings Rigole de l'Arroux
Historical precursors Canal du Charolais
Kilometrage Direction Digoin
Pont-levant Montceau-les-Mines.JPG
Canal du Center in Montceau-les-Mines

The Canal du Center (German: Center Canal ), also known by its original name Canal du Charolais , is a French shipping canal that runs primarily in the Saône-et-Loire department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region . It also touches the neighboring Côte-d'Or for about a kilometer . Together with the Canal du Loing , Canal de Briare and Canal latéral à la Loire, it forms a chain of canals ( Route Bourbonnais ), which enables barges and pleasure craft to pass from the Seine to the Saône and on to the Mediterranean .

Course and technical infrastructure

After official kilometrage, it begins at Chalon-sur-Saône , at the junction from the canalised Saône , initially runs in a north-westerly direction, turns to south-west at Chagny and ends after 112 kilometers in the urban area of Digoin , where it continues in the Canal latéral à la Loire finds. It follows the rivers Talie , Dheune and Bourbince on its course .

The type of canal is a watershed canal . Its apex is near Montchanin at a height of 301 meters, where a large number of reservoirs have been created to supply water. The canal has 61 locks , 35 of which overcome the difference in altitude of 126 meters to the Saône, 26 locks are required for the 75 meter high descent to the Loire. The lock dimension is designed for ships of the standard size Freycinet . The last lock before it flows into the Saône (Crissey) is one of the highest of its kind with a lifting height of 10.5 meters.

Coordinates

Places on the canal

history

Canal bridge of the Loire Lateral Canal over the Loire in Digoin

Leonardo da Vinci drew up the first plans for the canal , the plan for the actual construction of the canal was made at the beginning of the 17th century , but construction did not start until 1784 . After commissioning in 1793 , it mainly served the coal mining and industrial area around Montceau-les-Mines . At this point in time the canal flowed into the Loire at Digoin, a continuation on the Loire Lateral Canal was only possible in 1838 when the construction of the Loire Lateral Canal reached Digoin. The canal bridge over the Loire , near Digoin, does not belong to the Canal du Center, as is often claimed, but to the Loire Lateral Canal, which still extends into the city center of Digoin and only then merges into the Canal du Center.

At the end of the 19th century, water from the Arroux River was diverted at Gueugnon and fed into the Canal du Center via a 14 km long supply canal ( Rigole de l'Arroux ) east of the town of Digoin in order to improve the water supply of the canal. The Rigole de l'Arroux was navigable for small ships at that time. In the 1950s, however, the port in Gueugnon was closed and shipping on this supply channel was discontinued.

Economical meaning

The cargo shipping has gradually lost importance. Today the canal is mainly used by pleasure boats and houseboats .

See also

literature

  • Voies Navigables, Canaux du Center , 1998, Editions Grafocarte publishing house ISBN 2-7416-0058-9

Web links

Commons : Canal du Center  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The information on the length of the canal is based on the information on the Canal du Center from SANDRE (French), accessed on November 13, 2011, rounded to the nearest kilometer.