Canal de la Bruche

Canal de la Bruche

Canal de La Bruche at Ergersheim
Specifications
Length 20 km (12 mi)
Locks 11
Total rise c. 30 m (98 ft)
Status Closed
History
Principal engineer Vauban
Construction began 1682
Date closed 1957
Geography
Start point Soultz-les-Bains
End point Strasbourg
Connects to River Ill

The Canal de la Bruche is a canal in eastern France that originally connected Soultz-les-Bains, near Molsheim, to the city of Strasbourg. It was built in 1682 by the famous military engineer Vauban, principally to transport sandstone from the quarries of Soultz for use in the construction of the fortifications of Strasbourg. The last commercial load was carried in 1939 and the canal formally closed in 1957, after bridges damaged during the second world war were rebuilt with insufficient headroom for navigation.[1][2][3]

The canal is 20 kilometres (12 mi) long and has 11 locks on its course, with a total rise of almost 30 metres (98 ft). It roughly parallels the Bruche river, taking its water supply from the confluence of the Bruche and Mossig rivers at Wolxheim, with a secondary supply downriver at Kolbsheim. It enters the Ill river at Montagne Verte in Strasbourg, just downstream of the confluence of the Bruche and Ill, and some 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) upstream of the centre of the city. When the canal was built, the Ill provided navigable connections to the city and the Rhine, and in later years to the Canal du Rhone au Rhine and the Canal de la Marne au Rhin.[1][2]

Although no longer navigable, the canal is retained in water, and is now managed by the Conseil Départemental du Bas-Rhin. The towpath has been converted into a cycle path, which forms part of the 3,900-kilometre (2,400 mi) long EuroVelo 5 route that links London with Brindisi.[2][3]

Gallery

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Canal de la Bruche.

References

  1. 1 2 McKnight, Hugh (2005). Cruising French Waterways, 4th Edition. Sheridan House. ISBN 978-1-57409-087-1.
  2. 1 2 3 "La gestion du Canal de la Bruche" [The management of the Canal Bruche] (in French). Conseil Départemental du Bas-Rhin. Archived from the original on 16 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Cycling in Alsace - Along the river Bruche and its canal" (PDF). Tourisme Alsace. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.


Coordinates: 48°34′13″N 7°42′38″E / 48.570277°N 7.710492°E / 48.570277; 7.710492

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, April 17, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.