The Malpas tunnel carries the

Canal du Midi The Canal du Midi (; ) is a long canal in Southern France (). Originally named the ''Canal Royal en Languedoc'' (Royal Canal in Languedoc) and renamed by French revolutionaries to ''Canal du Midi'' in 1789, the canal is considered one of the g ...

under the d'Ensérune hill in

Hérault Hérault (; , ) is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault (river), Hérault River, its Prefectures in France, prefecture is M ...

, France. Excavated in 1679, it was Europe's first navigable canal tunnel and is a monument to the determination of

Pierre-Paul Riquet Pierre-Paul Riquet, Baron de Bonrepos (; 29 June 1609 (some sources say 1604) – 4 October 1680) was the engineer and canal-builder responsible for the construction of the Canal du Midi. Early life Born as Paul Riquet in Béziers, Hérault, Fran ...

, the chief engineer. It is located in the commune of

Nissan-lez-Ensérune Nissan-lez-Enserune (; , ), also spelled Nissan-lez-Ensérune, is a French commune in the department of Hérault, region of Occitania, situated just south of Béziers. Its inhabitants are called the Nissanais. Geology and relief The surroun ...

near to the archaeological site

Oppidum d'Ensérune The Oppidum d'Ensérune is an ancient hill-town (or ''oppidum'') near the village of Nissan-lez-Ensérune, France, located between Béziers and Narbonne close to the D609 (formerly RN9) and Canal du Midi. It has been listed since 1935 as a ''mon ...

. There was great disappointment when the works reached the hill d'Ensérune. A few metres of digging in hard rock revealed a very brittle sandstone subject to slippage. Colbert, the prime minister, halted the works when he was made aware of the situation. The portal was blocked and the workings re-sited. Riquet's detractors took advantage of this situation to impede the project. Colbert announced that he would send royal commissioners to decide the canal's future. The advice of the

Chevalier de Clerville Chevalier may refer to: Honours Belgium * a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II * a title in the Belgian nobility France * a rank in the French Legion d'ho ...

, architect to

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

, was to cross the river

Aude Aude ( ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Southern France, located in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region and named after the river Aude (river), Aude. The departmental council also calls it " ...

rather than tunnel through the hill. Riquet, however, maintained his preference for a tunnel because of the extra problems that crossing the Aude would create. Riquet's response was to ask his master mason, Pascal de Nissan, to continue tunneling in secret despite the risk of collapse. In less than eight days the tunnel was complete with a concrete ceiling throughout. The tunnel is 165m long with an arch 8m above the canal's surface, and removed the necessity for an extra

lock Lock(s) or Locked 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 entertainme ...

. By the time the Malpas Tunnel was excavated in the seventeenth century, the hill had already for several centuries been the site of a tunnel, dug in the Middle Ages, to drain the Étang de Montady. This pre-existing tunnel is said to have been Riquet's inspiration for the Malpas Tunnel. In the nineteenth century, a third tunnel was excavated, passing through the Hill d'Ensérune beneath the Malpas tunnel to house the

Béziers Béziers (; ) is a city in southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. Every August Béziers ho ...

Narbonne Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...

railway line.

References

External links

Le tunnel de Malpas in French

Tunnel du Malpas in French

Le Tunnel de Malpas in French
{{Coord, 43, 18, 26, N, 3, 7, 36, E, type:landmark_region:FR, display=title Canal tunnels in France Canal du Midi Buildings and structures completed in 1679 Transport infrastructure completed in the 1670s Tunnels completed in the 17th century 1679 establishments in France

See also

References

Further reading

External links