The Canal de Berry is a disused canal in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

which links the Canal latéral à la Loire at

Marseilles-lès-Aubigny Marseilles-lès-Aubigny () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Geography A forestry and farming area comprising the village and several hamlets situated by the banks of the rivers Aubois and Loire, ...

with the

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

at Noyers rejoining the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

near

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

. With a branch from

Montluçon Montluçon (; oc, Montleçon ) is a commune in central France on the river Cher. It is the largest commune in the Allier department, although the department's prefecture is located in the smaller town of Moulins. Its inhabitants are known as ...

it provided of canal with locks wide from 1840 until its closure in 1955. There is now a operational segment with five locks between

Selles-sur-Cher Selles-sur-Cher (, ) is a commune in the French department of Loir-et-Cher, administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. The name of the commune is known internationally for its goat cheese, Selles-sur-Cher, which was first made in t ...

and

Noyers-sur-Cher Noyers-sur-Cher (, literally ''Noyers on Cher'') is a commune in the Loir-et-Cher department, central France. Population See also *Communes of the Loir-et-Cher department The following is a list of the 267 communes of the Loir-et-Cher d ...

Construction

Although discussed from 1484, it was not until 1780 when Armand II-Joseph, 6th Duke of Béthune Charost presented the first solid proposal to the provincial assembly. But work did not start until after an imperial decree in 1809 and was not completed until 1839. The work was designed by Joseph-Michel Dutens French Wiki article and mainly carried out by Spanish prisoners of war in the 1820s. Because of the shortage of water near the summit level at

Sancoins Sancoins () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Geography An area of farming and associated light industry comprising a small town and several hamlets situated by the banks of both the river Aubois ...

, the 96 locks of the canal were built to a gauge of only by , similar to British "narrow canal" practice. Barges built to this gauge are called ''berrichons''. They could carry about 60 tonnes of freight over the summit of the Canal de Berry but their draught allowed them to carry up to 100 tonnes on other French waterways. By 1865 there were 890 ''berrichons'' on the waterway, drawn by teams of two to four horses, mules or donkeys. The main traffic of the canal was

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

from the forges at Montluçon, and coal, pit props, wines and spirits. However despite a new pumping station in 1878, leakages caused a lowering of water levels so the canal was never upgraded to the

Freycinet gauge The Freycinet gauge (french: gabarit Freycinet) is a standard governing the dimensions of the locks of some canals, put in place as a result of a law passed during the tenure of Charles de Freycinet as minister of public works of France, dating fr ...

. Traffic declined steadily till the 1930s and was finally closed in 1955.

Restoration

There is an active Association for Reopening the Canal de Berry (ARECABE) which has so far succeeded in rewatering of the canal and two locks. It organises festivals and there is a canal museum at Reugny.

References

{{coord, 46.7769, N, 2.7369, E, source:dewiki_region:FR-18_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

Canals opened in 1839 1839 establishments in France