Brussels–Charleroi Canal
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Brussels–Charleroi Canal, also known as the Charleroi Canal amongst other similar names, (french: canal Bruxelles-Charleroi, nl, kanaal Brussel-Charleroi) is an important
canal 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 ...
in
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. The canal is quite large, with a Class IV Freycinet gauge, and its Walloon portion is long. It runs from
Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.
,
Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...
in the south to
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
in the north. It is part of a north-south axis of water transport in Belgium, whereby the north of
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 ...
(via the Canal du Centre) including
Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
and
Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Sambre The Sambre (; nl, Samber, ) is a river in northern France and in Wallonia, Belgium. It is a left-bank tributary of the Meuse, which it joins in the Wallonian capital Namur. The source of the Sambre is near Le Nouvion-en-Thiérache, in the Aisne ...
valley and
sillon industriel The ''Sillon industriel'' (, "industrial furrow") is the former industrial backbone of Belgium. It runs across the region of Wallonia, passing from Dour, the region of Borinage, in the west, to Verviers in the east, passing along the way through ...
are linked to the port of
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
in the north, via the
Brussels–Scheldt Maritime Canal The Brussels–Scheldt Maritime Canal (commonly named in various ways including Willebroek Canal and Brussels-Willebroek canal), is a canal in Belgium linking Brussels with the Scheldt river and ultimately the sea. The 28 km long canal has a ...
which meets the Brussels–Charleroi Canal at the Sainctelette area. The Ronquières inclined plane is the most remarkable feature of the canal.


History


Early proposals

The idea of a waterway to serve the cities of Hainaut, linking them ultimately with Antwerp, was first put forward during the reign of
Philip the Good Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonge ...
,
Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...
(1396–1467). In 1436, an edict authorised the modification and deepening of the
Senne Senne may refer to: Places * Senne (Germany), a natural region of Germany *Senne, a district of Bielefeld, Germany * Senne (river), a river of Belgium *Senné (disambiguation), places in Slovakia People with the name *Yōkō Senne, a 13th-centur ...
River, though the project turned out to be more expensive than previously thought. The city of
Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...
, the sole city allowed to tax water transport on the Senne, protested extensively at the prospect of the construction of a parallel canal, and the project was abandoned. During the 16th century, the prospect of a canal was renewed. In 1531,
Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...
authorised the construction of a canal linking Charleroi and
Willebroek Willebroek (, old spelling: ''Willebroeck'') is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of , Heindonk, , Klein Willebroek, and Willebroek proper. In 2021, Willebroek had a total population of ...
, though work did not begin immediately. It was not until 1550 that
Mary of Habsburg Mary of Austria (15 September 1505 – 18 October 1558), also known as Mary of Hungary, was queen of Hungary and Bohemia as the wife of King Louis II, and was later governor of the Habsburg Netherlands. The daughter of Queen Joanna and ...
, Governor of the Netherlands, finally ordered work to begin. When work was finished in 1561, the canal linked Brussels to the Scheldt at Willebroek, though it did not continue south past Brussels. As part of
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 ...
from 1795 to 1815, proposals to build the canal were hampered by
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's focus on waging expansionist wars.


Work begins

During the
industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
,
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...
saw a tremendous rise in economic importance. The Sambre and Marne valleys are quite rich in coal, and during the reign of
William I of the Netherlands William I (Willem Frederik, Prince of Orange-Nassau; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was a Prince of Orange, the King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He was the son of the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, who we ...
(1813–1840), concrete plans to extend the canal were at last made. The project was undertaken by A.J. Barthélemy, member of the lower chamber of the
States-General of the Netherlands The States General of the Netherlands ( nl, Staten-Generaal ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The States ...
and adviser to the
regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
in Brussels. He proposed
inclined planes An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...
be used instead of
locks Lock(s) 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 entertainment * ''Lock ...
, but his idea was ahead of its time. An inclined plane is quicker, and wastes less water, than a flight of canal locks, but is more costly to install and run. Jean-François Gendebien, a very prominent Belgian politician (although Belgium was then called the
Southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the A ...
and was not independent) supported the idea, though finances had the last say in the matter, resulting in locks being chosen over inclined planes. Today's canal is actually the fourth version. The first version, built from 1827 to 1832, has a gauge of only . Just over 20 years later, 1854, work began to create a "large gauge" canal (today's medium gauge) of on certain sections, which was completed in 1857. Ambitious enlargements began again with the lock at Flanders' Gate (Porte de Flandre) in Brussels, which was expanded to a gauge of 600–800 t (590–790 L/T/660–880 S/T). By 1933, all locks downstream of Clabecq were modified to a capacity of . The last major improvement to the canal was the addition of the Class IV, 1350 tonne inclined plane at Ronquières, just uphill of Lock #5 at
Ittre Ittre (; wa, Ite; nl, Itter, ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. Since the Fusion of the Belgian municipalities in 1977, the municipality is composed of three districts: Haut-Ittre, Ittre and Virg ...
. The inclined plane is considered a masterpiece of
civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...
, while the lock has a
rise Rise or RISE may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * '' Rise: The Vieneo Province'', an internet-based virtual world * Rise FM, a fictional radio station in the video game ''Grand Theft Auto 3'' * Rise Kujikawa, a vide ...
of , one of the highest in Belgium. Life Around the Canal As Belgian industry began to flourish in the city of Brussels, the land surrounding the canal became increasingly important and diverse. Two very prominent trade routes crossed paths in the valley of Brussels along the waterways, bringing in large numbers of merchants to lower Brussels. One of the major trade routes was from the Rhineland to Flanders, while the other one was from Antwerp to Wallonia. This area along the water was a booming marketplace crucial to the up-rise of urbanisation, and in turn modernisation of the city. After a period of rapid industrialisation that took place sometime between the 1750s and 1780s, life around the canal expanded at very high rates. The canal was state of the art; the connection of waterways and roads allowed this area to become a centre of activity. The growth of international and domestic trade coupled with an increase in capital investment from wealthy landowners and merchants produced tons of jobs in the canal area. After this, the city showed no signs of slowing down on its journey to becoming one of the most influential cities in all of Europe. By 1930, Brussels population was up to over 200,000, compared to an estimated 65,000 in the year 1700. During the early 1980s, the 25 neighbourhoods around the canal were home to one fifth of Brussels population. The surrounding area holds a sense of youth, as it contributes to Brussels having the youngest population of any city in Belgium. The effects of this mass migration to the lower valley in Brussels can be seen in the diversity of cultures. As the trade economy along the waterways continued to grow, immigrants from all over Europe came to benefit off of the booming industries. It has been estimated that the population of immigrants grew from 7% of the total population in the early 1960s to 56% of the total population in the early 2000s. Throughout Brussels history, life centered around the canal has been high energy and progressive. Political issues involving powerful European nations throughout history surely had an effect on the city as a whole, but through thick and thin the canal zone remained the heart and soul of the city dominated by no single culture.


Recent history

On 17 December 2005, the body of former
Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
n cabinet minister Juvénal Uwilingiyimana was found in the canal. He had gone missing on 21 November 2005, and when his body was found, it was naked and badly decomposed. Uwilingiyimana had been
indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...
by the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; french: Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda; rw, Urukiko Mpanabyaha Mpuzamahanga Rwashyiriweho u Rwanda) was an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nation ...
for his participation in the 1994
Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...
. He had been meeting with ICTR officials, and many thought he was to testify against high-ranking officials from the former
Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the prin ...
regime.


Ronquières inclined plane

The Ronquières
Inclined Plane An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...
has a length of and lifts boats through vertically. It consists of two large caissons mounted on rails. Each caisson measures long by wide and has a water depth between . It can carry one boat of 1,350 tonnes or many smaller boats within the same limits. The weight of each caisson is held by a counterweight of which runs beneath the rails. Eight cables per caisson running around winches at the top allow each caisson to be moved independently of the other. They can be moved between the two canal levels at a speed of , boats taking 50 minutes in total to pass through the entire structure. The inclined plane, while still in use, is now being promoted as a tourist site.


Traffic

* 1987 - Tonnage: 1 094 000 T - 3084
Barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
s * 1990 - Tonnage: 1 289 000 T - 3346 Barges * 2000 - Tonnage: 2 100 000 T - 3471 Barges * 2004 - Tonnage: 3 160 000 T - 5155 Barges * 2005 - Tonnage: 3 019 000 T - 4812 Barges * 2006 - Tonnage: 3 143 000 T - 5215 Barges


Photo gallery

Image:Vaartdijk met woonboten in Anderlecht.jpg, Canal in
Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...
with liveaboard boats Image:La traction électrique sur le Canal de Charleroi.jpg, Electrical traction by a
trolley boat A trolley boat (a descriptive neologism not used contemporaneously) is an electrically driven boat on canals and particularly in canal tunnels. It takes its energy like a tram or trolleybus from one or two overhead wires respectively. History ...
in 1899 Image:KanaalCharleroiBrusselSamme.jpg, The River Samme, channelled at Ronquières Image:KanaalCharleroiBrusselRonquières4.jpg, The Ronquières inclined plane. Image:Lutcanalbxl.jpg, The canal at
Luttre Luttre (; wa, Lute) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Pont-à-Celles, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium, about 15 km north of Charleroi and 50 km south of Brussels along the Charleroi-Brussels ...


References

Sterling, A., Dambrain, M.: ''Le Canal de Charleroi à Bruxelles, témoin d'une tradition industrielle''. Editions MET, 2001. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brussels-Charleroi Canal Canals opened in 1561 Canals opened in 1832 Canals in Brussels Canals in Flanders Canals in Wallonia Canals in Flemish Brabant Canals in Hainaut (province) Canals in Walloon Brabant 1561 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire