Pierre-Paul Riquet
Pierre-Paul Riquet Baron von Bonrepos (born June 29, 1609 in Béziers , France , † October 1, 1680 in Toulouse ) was a French civil servant and engineer . He is the builder of the 240 km long Canal du Midi , which connects the city of Toulouse with the Mediterranean Sea .
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Life
Riquet's date of birth is uncertain. In the literature, the year of birth 1604 and 1609 are mentioned approximately equally often. However, since an inscription has now been found that Riquet died in 1680 at the age of 71, 1609 is considered relatively certain. The date June 29th is a scholarly conjecture of historians who assume that the name day of Saints Peter and Paul gave rise to Riquet's first name, Pierre-Paul.
The Riquets family comes partly from Florence and partly from Provence , where it was originally called Riquetty . His father was a high official and a successful businessman. He made sure that Pierre-Paul also embarked on the civil service career, namely as an inspector for the salt tax (French Gabelle ). In 1630 he became the main customs tenant, fermier général .
In 1637 the 28-year-old Pierre-Paul Riquet married the wealthy Catherine de Milhau, also from Béziers. He settled with her in the small town of Revel (Languedoc). The couple had five children, daughters Catherine, Marthe and Anne and sons Jean-Mathias and Pierre-Paul.
In 1661 Riquet became the general tax tenant of the Languedoc . Both his lucrative profession and other entrepreneurial activities had brought him a very substantial fortune, he owned numerous properties and extensive estates. He was not aristocratic, but was sometimes addressed as Baron de Bonrepos because of his land ownership .
Planning the Canal du Midi
Since his early youth, Pierre-Paul Riquet was fascinated by the project of a canal to connect the French Atlantic coast with the Mediterranean. He was confronted with this idea when he was nine years old. In 1618 a plan for a Canal des Deux Mers was presented to the Assemblée des Etats du Languedoc . Riquet was allowed to attend, accompanied by his father, who was a member of the Assemblée . The project was rejected by the assembly, including Riquet's father. From then on, Pierre-Paul worked with this idea all his life.
Pierre-Paul Riquet was primarily interested in science and mathematics . Over the course of time, he acquired extensive knowledge of civil engineering , geology , hydrology and other subjects through self-study , so that he was able to plan such a canal in detail. As soon as it opened in 1642, he visited and studied the Canal de Briare , which connects the Loire and the Seine .
Such a canal was not considered feasible up to that time, as there was no water available to fill at the highest point. Riquet solved the problem by bringing water from the Montagnes Noires, about 30 km away, to the apex posture via a canal system . To develop this solution, he had researched for years in the hill country of the Montagnes Noires, where he benefited from the "home advantage" that his place of residence Revel is on the edge of this area.
In 1662 Riquet had completed his plans for the Canal du Midi. He had laid down the route in detail and planned the approximately 350 technical structures that were necessary to operate the canal. Although he diplomatically called his project "Canal Royal", he was unable to obtain an audience with the French King Louis XIV . However, through the mediation of the Bishop of Toulouse, he was able to speak to Finance Minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert and present his plans. Colbert immediately recognized the economic potential of this project. After examination by a commission of experts, King Ludwig XIV granted permission to build the canal in 1666.
Construction of the Canal du Midi
Construction of the canal began in 1667. The construction site developed into the largest in Europe, with 12,000 people working over a distance of 241 km. Seven million cubic meters of earth had to be excavated and hundreds of structures - mainly bridges and locks, but also a reservoir, the Saint-Ferréol reservoir - were built. After the construction time of 14 years, which is remarkably short for such a large project, the canal was ceremoniously opened on May 24, 1681.
Pierre-Paul Riquet was responsible for both the planning and the construction. He took care of the financing, negotiations with property owners and building supervision. At the same time, he had to withstand numerous intrigues and hostilities. It was Riquet's goal to see the canal completed. In order to achieve rapid construction progress, he financed part of the canal construction himself. He first sold all his properties, then those of his wife, and finally he took on large debts. This allowed the canal to be completed on schedule, but Riquet was economically ruined at the end of his life.
Riquet is described as a very hardworking, capable, imaginative and open-hearted person. He was a strong leader, straightforward, and extremely law-abiding. As an employer, he had a high level of social skills , and his dealings with workers were unusual for the time. The workers received an above-average wage, and they received it even if they were unable to work due to illness or other circumstances (e.g. bad weather). As usual, a daily wage was not paid, but a monthly salary. The people of the region enjoyed working for Riquet and the high manpower requirements of the sewer construction site led to a labor shortage in other areas. When one year later the winemakers complained that they could not find any workers for the grape harvest, Riquet replied that they should simply offer higher wages than him.
Pierre-Paul Riquet did not see the completion of "his" canal. He died in Toulouse on October 1, 1680, around seven months before it was opened. He was bankrupt and exhausted at the end of his life, and had collapsed twice before. The canal construction was continued by his eldest son, Jean-Mathias Riquet.
Aftermath
It took the heirs of Riquet many years to pay off the debts that their father had taken out to build the canal. However, since Riquet - and with it his descendants - had received the privilege of receiving income from the canal from the king, the Riquet family was ultimately able to generate high income through the Canal du Midi.
The Canal du Midi gave its region a significant economic boost, and the residents ultimately appreciated it. In 1838 a monument was erected to Riquet in his native city of Béziers, and in 1853 in Toulouse. In addition to the Riquet metro station in Paris , the following streets and squares were named after him:
- Allées Paul Riquet in Béziers
- Avenue Riquet in Castelnaudary
- Avenue Paul Riquet in Bram, Castries, Labége and Villesèquelande
- Avenue Pierre-Paul Riquet in Donneville and Saint-Ferréol
- Boulevard Riquet in Revel
- Boulevard Paul Riquet in Capestang, Marseille and Poilhes
- Boulevard Pierre-Paul Riquet in Toulouse
- Impasse Riquet in Abeilhan, Aubagne, Blagnac and Seysses
- Impasse Paul Riquet in Capestang, Labège, Narbonne, Péret and Sallèles-d'Aude
- Impasse Pierre-Paul Riquet in Roques
- Place Riquet in Caraman, Toulouse and Viviers
- Place Paul Riquet in Sète
- Paul Riquet promenade in Puichéric
- Quai Riquet in Carcassonne and Gardouch
- Quai Paul Riquet in Argeliers, Bellegarde and Sète
- Rue Riquet in Achères, Arcueil, Aulnay-Sous-Bois, Clermont-Ferrand, Narbonne, Paris, Port-la-Nouvelle, Saissac, Tonneins, Toulouse and Trèbes
- Rue Paul Riquet in Bellegarde, Béziers, Boujan-sur-Libron, Castelnaudary, Cers, Fontiers-Cabardès, Frontignan, Homps, La Palme, Le Somail, Lignan-sur-Orb, Marseillan, Maureilhan, Montauban, Montech, Montpellier, Perpignan, Puisserguier, Renneville, Revel, Saint-Hyppolyte, Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque, Saint-Sulpice-sur-Lèze, Sallèles-d'Aude, Sérignan, Valence-d'Agen, Vendres and Vias
- Rue Pierre-Paul Riquet in Agde, Agen, Canejan, Mérignac, Montesquieu-Lauragais, Saint-Rustice, Toulouse, Rieux-Minervois and Ventenac-en-Minervois
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Riquet, Pierre-Paul |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French engineer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 29, 1609 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Beziers , France |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 1, 1680 |
| Place of death | Toulouse |