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 World War II 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 river 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 river Ill 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]
Strasbourg is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the European Parliament. Located at the border with Germany in the historic region of Alsace, it is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin department.
Alsace is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2023, it had a population of 1,921,014. Alsatian culture is characterized by a blend of German and French influences.
Bas-Rhin is a département in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin department. Note that both belong to the European Upper Rhine region. It is, with the Haut-Rhin, one of the two departments of the traditional Alsace region which until 1871, also included the area now known as the Territoire de Belfort. The more populous and densely populated of the pair, it had 1,148,073 inhabitants in 2020. The prefecture is based in Strasbourg. The INSEE and Post Code is 67.
Vosges is a department in the Grand Est region, Northeastern France. It covers part of the Vosges mountain range, after which it is named. Vosges consists of three arrondissements, 17 cantons and 507 communes, including Domrémy-la-Pucelle, where Joan of Arc was born. In 2019, it had a population of 364,499 with an area of 5,874 km2 ; its prefecture is Épinal.
The Ill is a river in Alsace, in north-eastern France, and a left-bank, or western, tributary of the Rhine. It is 217 km (135 mi) long.
Sélestat is a commune in the Grand Est region of France. An administrative division (sous-préfecture) of the Bas-Rhin department, the town lies on the Ill river, 17 kilometres (11 mi) from the Rhine and the German border. Sélestat is located between the largest communes of Alsace, Strasbourg and Mulhouse.
The Saar is a river in northeastern France and western Germany, and a right tributary of the Moselle. It rises in the Vosges mountains on the border of Alsace and Lorraine and flows northwards into the Moselle near Trier. It has two headstreams, that both start near Mont Donon, the highest peak of the northern Vosges. After 246 kilometres (153 mi) the Saar flows into the Moselle at Konz (Rhineland-Palatinate) between Trier and the Luxembourg border. It has a catchment area of 7,431 square kilometres (2,869 sq mi).
The Arrondissement of Molsheim is an arrondissement of France in the Bas-Rhin department in the Grand Est region. It has 77 communes. Its population is 103,633 (2016), and its area is 771.2 km2 (297.8 sq mi).
The Canal de la Marne au Rhin is a canal in north-eastern France. It connects the river Marne and the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne in Vitry-le-François with the port of Strasbourg on the Rhine. The original objective of the canal was to connect Paris and the north of France with Alsace and Lorraine, the Rhine, and Germany. The 313 km (194 mi) long canal was the longest in France when it opened in 1853.
Souffelweyersheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department, Alsace, Grand Est, northeastern France, and is part of metropolitan Strasbourg.
Avolsheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France.
Achenheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France.
Soultz-les-Bains is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est, France.
The Rhône–Rhine Canal is one of the important watershed canals of the French waterways, connecting the Rhine to the Saône and the Rhône and thereby the North Sea and the Mediterranean. As built, the canal was made up of four distinct sections:
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. Its source is in the Vosges, at the western foot of the mountain Climont, near the village of Bourg-Bruche. It flows through the towns Schirmeck, Mutzig, Molsheim and Holtzheim. It flows into the Ill in the city of Strasbourg, southwest of the historic centre. Its largest tributary is the river Mossig.
Grand Est is an administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine, as a result of territorial reform which had been passed by the French Parliament in 2014.
The Departmental Council of Bas-Rhin was the deliberative assembly of the French department of Bas-Rhin. Its headquarters were in Place du Quartier Blanc in Strasbourg.
Frédéric Bierry is a French politician who was a member of the UMP, then of the Republicans.
The Departmental Council of Haut-Rhin was the deliberative assembly of the French department of Haut-Rhin. It included 34 departmental councillors from the 17 cantons of Haut-Rhin. Its headquarters were in Colmar.