Canal du Centre (France)

Course outline of the channel

The Canal du Centre, also known by its original name Canal du Charolais, is a French Ship Canal, which runs mainly in the department of Saône -et -Loire, in the Bourgogne region. At about one kilometer in length, it also touches on the neighboring Côte-d'Or department. He, together with the channels Canal du Loing, Canal de Briare and Canal in the Loire a channel chain (Route Bourbonnais ), which allows the barges and pleasure boats a transition from the Seine to the Saône and on to the Mediterranean.

Development and technical infrastructure

He begins by official chainage at Chalon -sur -Saône, at the junction of the channelized Saône, initially runs in a north-westerly direction, swings in Chagny on Southwest and ends after 112 kilometers in the city of Digoin, where he continued in Lateral Canal à la Loire place. He follows its course the rivers Thalie, Dheune and Bourbince.

The channel is of type produces a watershed channel. Its summit level is at Montchanin at a height of 301 meters, where the water supply a variety of storage lakes were created. The canal has 61 locks, 35 of which overcome the height difference of 126 meters to the Saône, 26 locks are required for the 75 -meter descent to the Loire. The lock dimension is designed for ships with the standard size Freycinet. The last lock before it joins the Saône ( Crissey ) is a lift height of 10.5 meters one of the tallest of its kind

Coordinates

  • Source of the canal: 46 ° 47 ' 53 "N, 4 ° 52 ' 48" O46.7980555555564.88Koordinaten: 46 ° 47 ' 53 "N, 4 ° 52' 48" E
  • Endpoint of the channel: 46 ° 28 ' 47 " N, 3 ° 58' 56 " O46.4797222222223.9822222222222

Places on the canal

  • Chalon -sur -Saône
  • Chagny
  • Saint- Léger- sur- Dheune
  • Montchanin
  • Montceau -les -Mines
  • Génelard
  • Paray -le- Monial
  • Digoin

History

Initial plans for the channel has Leonardo da designed Vinci, the plan for the actually realized building of the canal was built at the beginning of the 17th century, but the construction did not occur until 1784th After commissioning in 1793, he used mainly the coal mining and industrial area to Montceau -les -Mines. At this point the channel resulted in Digoin in the Loire, a sequel to the Loire Lateral Canal was possible until 1838, when the construction of the Loire lateral canal Digoin reached. The canal bridge over the Loire, at Digoin so heard not, as often claimed, the Canal du Centre, but the Loire lateral canal, which reaches still up in the center of Digoin and only passes there in the Canal du Centre.

At the end of the 19th century, the river water was diverted Arroux at Gueugnon and a 14 -kilometer-long supply channel ( trench de l' Arroux ) east of the city Digoin into the Canal du Centre conducted to improve the water supply of the channel. The trench de l' Arroux was then navigable for small vessels. In the 1950s, the port in Gueugnon was closed and the shipping set to this supply channel.

Economic Importance

Cargo shipping has gradually lost importance. Today, the canal is mainly used by sports and houseboats.

France Burgundy Montceau-les-Mines Paray-le-Monial Charolais, France Briare Canal Pleasure craft Structurae Integrated Authority File
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