The Bourbonnais route is a connection of four canals in France from
Saint-Mammès
Saint-Mammès () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France, in the metropolitan area of Paris. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris, at the confluence of the Seine and Loi ...
on the
Seine
)
, mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur
, mouth_coordinates =
, mouth_elevation =
, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
, basin_size =
, tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle
, tributarie ...
to
Chalon-sur-Saône
Chalon-sur-Saône (, literally ''Chalon on Saône'') is a city in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the largest city in the department; h ...
on the
Saône River:
It includes the
Canal du Loing
The Canal du Loing () is a 49.4 km long canal which connects the Seine at Saint-Mammès to the Briare Canal just north of Montargis, in central France. It runs through the Loiret and Seine-et-Marne ''départements''.
History
Philippe II, ...
,
Canal de Briare
The Briare Canal (french: Canal de Briare, ) is one of the oldest canals in France. Its construction started in 1604. It was the first summit level canal in Europe that was built using pound locks, connecting the Rhone-Saône and Seine valleys. ...
,
Canal latéral à la Loire
The Canal latéral à la Loire (, "canal parallel to the Loire") was constructed between 1827 and 1838 to connect the Canal de Briare at Briare and the Canal du Centre at Digoin, a distance of . It replaced the use of the river Loire, which wa ...
, and
Canal du Centre.
History
The first section of the route, the
Canal de Briare
The Briare Canal (french: Canal de Briare, ) is one of the oldest canals in France. Its construction started in 1604. It was the first summit level canal in Europe that was built using pound locks, connecting the Rhone-Saône and Seine valleys. ...
was completed in 1642. It was the first
summit level canal
A summit-level canal is an artificial waterway connecting two separate river valleys. The term refers to a canal that rises to cross a summit then falls down the other side. The summit pound is a level stretch of water at the highest part of the ...
using
pound locks in Europe. It connected the valleys of 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 ...
and the
Seine
)
, mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur
, mouth_coordinates =
, mouth_elevation =
, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
, basin_size =
, tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle
, tributarie ...
. At this time, boats could go from 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 ...
in
Briare
Briare (, also known as Briare-le-Canal) is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France, in the historical region of Puisaye. The composer and organist Henri Nibelle
Henri Jules Joseph Nibelle (6 November 1883 – 18 November 1967) ...
, via this canal, to the
Loing
The Loing () is a long river in central France, a left tributary of the Seine.
Its source is in Sainte-Colombe-sur-Loing, in the southwestern of the department of Yonne, and it flows into the Seine in Saint-Mammès, near Moret-sur-Loing.
Its ma ...
near
Montargis
Montargis () is a communes of France, commune in the Loiret Departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France.
Montargis is the seventh most populous commune in the Loiret, after Orléans and its suburbs. It is near a large forest, ...
, and then down the Loing to the
Seine
)
, mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur
, mouth_coordinates =
, mouth_elevation =
, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
, basin_size =
, tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle
, tributarie ...
and continue into Paris.
Though not part of this route today, the
Canal d'Orléans
The Canal d'Orléans () connects the river Loire at Orléans to a junction with the Canal du Loing and the Canal de Briare in the village of Buges near Montargis. It is entirely within the department of Loiret.
The canal was begun in 1676 by Ro ...
was started in 1682 to connect
Orléans
Orléans (;["Orleans"](_blank)
(US) and [Loing
The Loing () is a long river in central France, a left tributary of the Seine.
Its source is in Sainte-Colombe-sur-Loing, in the southwestern of the department of Yonne, and it flows into the Seine in Saint-Mammès, near Moret-sur-Loing.
Its ma ...]
River, to the northern terminus of the
Canal de Briare
The Briare Canal (french: Canal de Briare, ) is one of the oldest canals in France. Its construction started in 1604. It was the first summit level canal in Europe that was built using pound locks, connecting the Rhone-Saône and Seine valleys. ...
. This would provide competing routes from 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 ...
river to the
Loing
The Loing () is a long river in central France, a left tributary of the Seine.
Its source is in Sainte-Colombe-sur-Loing, in the southwestern of the department of Yonne, and it flows into the Seine in Saint-Mammès, near Moret-sur-Loing.
Its ma ...
river.
The trip on the
Loing
The Loing () is a long river in central France, a left tributary of the Seine.
Its source is in Sainte-Colombe-sur-Loing, in the southwestern of the department of Yonne, and it flows into the Seine in Saint-Mammès, near Moret-sur-Loing.
Its ma ...
from
Montargis
Montargis () is a communes of France, commune in the Loiret Departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France.
Montargis is the seventh most populous commune in the Loiret, after Orléans and its suburbs. It is near a large forest, ...
to the
Seine
)
, mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur
, mouth_coordinates =
, mouth_elevation =
, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
, basin_size =
, tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle
, tributarie ...
was greatly improved by the creation of the
Canal du Loing
The Canal du Loing () is a 49.4 km long canal which connects the Seine at Saint-Mammès to the Briare Canal just north of Montargis, in central France. It runs through the Loiret and Seine-et-Marne ''départements''.
History
Philippe II, ...
during 1720–1723. It is largely a
lateral canal
{{About, water canals, lateral extensions of root canals of a tooth, Root canal#Root canal system
A lateral canal is a canal built along the same right-of-way as an existing stream. Water for the canal is usually provided by the original natural ...
, using only two portions of the actual river.
In 1792, the
Canal du Centre connected 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 ...
in
Digoin
Digoin () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
The junction of the '' Canal du Centre'' and the '' Canal latéral à la Loire'' is near Digoin.
Geography
The river Bourbinc ...
to the
Saône
The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île.
The name deri ...
at
Chalon-sur-Saône
Chalon-sur-Saône (, literally ''Chalon on Saône'') is a city in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the largest city in the department; h ...
.
The use of the river
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 ...
was replaced by the
Canal latéral à la Loire
The Canal latéral à la Loire (, "canal parallel to the Loire") was constructed between 1827 and 1838 to connect the Canal de Briare at Briare and the Canal du Centre at Digoin, a distance of . It replaced the use of the river Loire, which wa ...
during 1827–1838. It connected the
Canal de Briare
The Briare Canal (french: Canal de Briare, ) is one of the oldest canals in France. Its construction started in 1604. It was the first summit level canal in Europe that was built using pound locks, connecting the Rhone-Saône and Seine valleys. ...
at
Briare
Briare (, also known as Briare-le-Canal) is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France, in the historical region of Puisaye. The composer and organist Henri Nibelle
Henri Jules Joseph Nibelle (6 November 1883 – 18 November 1967) ...
and the
Canal du Centre at
Digoin
Digoin () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
The junction of the '' Canal du Centre'' and the '' Canal latéral à la Loire'' is near Digoin.
Geography
The river Bourbinc ...
. At this time, the Loire was crossed at level. Later, this crossing would be replaced by the
Briare aqueduct
The Briare Aqueduct in central France carries the Canal latéral à la Loire over the river Loire on its journey to the Seine. It replaced a river-level crossing from the canal to meet the Briare Canal that was hazardous in times of flood. Betwee ...
.
Specifics
En Route
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 ...
References
{{coord missing, France
Canals in France