canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...
in eastern France that originally connected
Soultz-les-Bains
Soultz-les-Bains (; historical german: Sulzbad, ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est, France.
In 1682, the famous military engineer Vauban constructed the Canal de la Bruche between Soultz and Strasbourg. The canal was nee ...
, near
Molsheim
Molsheim () is a commune and a subprefecture in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
, to the city of Strasbourg. It was built in 1682 by the famous
military engineer
Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics ...
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
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
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
were rebuilt with insufficient headroom for navigation.
The canal is long and has 11
locks
Lock(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
*Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance
*Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lock ...
on its course, with a total rise of almost . It roughly parallels the river
Bruche (river)
The Bruche () is a river in Alsace, in north-eastern France. It is a left-side tributary of the Ill, and part of the Rhine basin. It is 76.7 km long, and has a drainage basin of
720 km2.Mossig rivers at
Wolxheim
Wolxheim (; gsw-FR, Wolixe) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
Population
See also
* Communes of the Bas-Rhin department
The following is a list of the 514 communes of the Bas-Rhin department ...
, with a secondary supply downriver at Kolbsheim. It enters the river
Ill ILL may refer to:
* '' I Love Lucy'', a landmark American television sitcom
* Illorsuit Heliport (location identifier: ILL), a heliport in Illorsuit, Greenland
* Institut Laue–Langevin, an internationally financed scientific facility
* Interlibra ...
at Montagne Verte in Strasbourg, just downstream of the confluence of the Bruche and Ill, and some upstream of the centre of the city. When the canal was built, the Ill provided navigable connections to the city and the
Canal de la Marne au Rhin
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow und ...
''.
Although no longer navigable, the canal is retained in water, and is now managed by the '' Conseil Départemental du Bas-Rhin''. The
towpath
A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport w ...
has been converted into a
cycle path
A bike path is a bikeway separated from motorized traffic and dedicated to cycling or shared with pedestrians or other non-motorized users. In the US a bike path sometimes encompasses ''shared use paths'', "multi-use path", or "Class III bikewa ...
, which forms part of the long EuroVelo 5 route that links
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
File:Barrage sur la Bruche.JPG, The dam on the River Bruche that feeds the canal
File:Wolxheim canal Bruche.JPG, The head of the canal
File:Canal de Bruche, Restaurant Au Canal.jpg, Canal and restaurant
File:Canal de la Bruche - VTdJ.JPG, A disused lock on the canal
See also
*
List of canals in France
This is a list of the navigable canals and rivers in France. For reference purposes, all waterways are listed, including many that have been abandoned for navigation, mostly in the period 1925-1955, but some in later years. Although several source ...