The Canal de Saint-Quentin () is a canal in northern France connecting the canalised river Escaut in

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; ; ), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river. A sub-pref ...

to the

Canal latéral à l'Oise 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 ...

and

Canal de l'Oise à l'Aisne The Canal de l'Oise à l'Aisne (, literally ''Canal of the Oise to the Aisne'') is a summit level canal in the Hauts-de-France region (northern France), formerly Picardy. It connects the Canal latéral à l'Aisne at Abbécourt to the Canal laté ...

Chauny Chauny () is a Communes of France, commune in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History There has been a settlement on the site, more or less continuously, since at least the Carolingian era. Kno ...

History

The canal was built in two phases, the second much longer than the first.

King 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 longest of any monar ...

's ministers Colbert and Mazarin had both proposed linking the rivers

Oise Oise ( ; ; ) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 in 2019.< ...

and

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France * Somme, Queensland, Australia * Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), ...

in the 17th century and this resulted in the Canal Crozat, or

Canal de Picardie 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 un ...

, between

and

Saint-Simon Saint-Simon or Saint Simon can refer to: Places Canada *Saint-Simon, New Brunswick, a settlement in Gloucester County, New Brunswick * Saint-Simon, Quebec, a municipality in southwestern Quebec on the Yamaska River in Les Maskoutains Regional Cou ...

in 1738. The remainder, connecting the Seine Basin with the Escaut was a lengthy process. The original designer, Devicq in 1727, died in 1742. Little was accomplished until

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of mi ...

demanded that work begin again in 1801. He officiated at the opening in April 1810. The canal was such a success that the locks had to be duplicated throughout in the early 20th century, at the same time deepening the channel, enlarging the tunnels, and increasing water supplies. Later improvements included electric barge traction on rails, installed during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, mechanising locks, and providing public lighting on the busiest sections. Later, the locks were equipped for automatic operation, using remote sensors, and more recently by handheld remote control. By 1878, up to 110 barges were crossing the summit level daily. The

Canal du Nord The Canal du Nord (, literally ''Canal of the North'') is a long canal in northern France. The canal connects the Canal latéral à l'Oise in Pont-l'Évêque to the Sensée Canal in Arleux. The French government, in partnership with coal-min ...

was built as a duplicate route and completed in 1965. The canal carried more freight than any other man-made waterway in France in 1964.

Battle of St Quentin Canal

The Canal in World War I formed part of the

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (, Siegfried Position) was a German Defense line, defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in France during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to ...

, a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917. The Allied crossing of the St Quentin Canal in 1918 was a significant part of the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Western Front, the Allies pushed the Imperial Germa ...

that led to the Armistice.

Navigation

This canal is an asset for tourism, boating and on the towpath, especially the northern section in the Escaut valley, the spectacular summit level with its tunnels and the boat harbour in the basin at Saint-Quentin. Commercial traffic declined after opening of the Canal du Nord, and it is now consistently quiet and peaceful, although a few Freycinet barges still use this route.

En route

* PK 0

*PK 11

Masnières Masnières () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry History Masnières figured into the 1917 Battle of Cambrai during which time it was briefly captured by the British on the first day of the battle, ...

*PK 18

Les Rues-des-Vignes Les Rues-des-Vignes (; called ''Vinchy'' in the Middle Ages) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Vinchy was the site of a famous battle of the then-rising Charles Martel in spring 717. See also *Communes of the Nord depar ...

*PK 23

Honnecourt-sur-Escaut Honnecourt-sur-Escaut (, literally '' Honnecourt on Escaut'') is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 647 communes of the Nord departmen ...

*PK 28.5-35

Riqueval Tunnel The Riqueval Tunnel is a -long tunnel on the St. Quentin Canal, close to the commune of Bellicourt, in the department of Aisne, France. It connects Bellicourt with Bony. It was constructed as part of the St Quentin Canal between 1801 and 1810, ...

(5670m)

Bony Bony may refer to: * Adjective relating to bone People * Bony Dashaco, Cameroonian businessman * Bony King, Belgian singer-songwriter * Bony Pierre (born 1991), Haitian footballer * Bony Ramirez (born 1996), Dominican-born American painter and ...

*PK 42-43 Tronquoy Tunnel (1098m)

Lesdins Lesdins () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of the 796 communes in the French department of Aisne. The commu ...

*PK 53

Saint-Quentin Saint-Quentin may refer to: Places Canada *Saint-Quentin, New Brunswick * Saint-Quentin Parish, New Brunswick * Saint-Quentin Island, in Trois-Rivières, in Québec France * Saint-Quentin, Aisne, in the Aisne department * Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines ...

*PK 62 Séraucourt-le-Grand *PK 68 Right Petite Somme:

to Ham, closed 2006 (link to

Canal de la Somme The Canal de la Somme () is a canal in northern France. Its total length is 156.4 km with 25 locks, from the English Channel at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme to the Canal de Saint-Quentin at Saint-Simon, Aisne, Saint-Simon. ...

), route continues left *PK 80.5 Voyaux *PK 83

Tergnier Tergnier () is a commune in the department of Aisne, Hauts-de-France, France. Its location on the Canal de Saint-Quentin and the Creil–Jeumont railway ( Tergnier station) supported its development as an industrial centre in the second half ...

*PK 85 T-junction left 3.8 km branch to Canal de la Sambre à l'Oise Right continues as Canal de Saint-Quentin *PK 92

, the canal continues as

towards

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Left

References

External links

Video showing the "Souterrain de Riqueval" and local area

Canal de Saint-Quentin
with maps and details of places, moorings and services (by the author of ''Inland Waterways of France'', Imray)
Navigation details for 80 French rivers and canals
(French waterways website section) {{Authority control

Canals opened in 1810 Cambrai Transport in Hauts-de-France Landforms of Nord (French department)