The Canal de l’Aisne à la Marne (, literally ''Canal of the Aisne to the Marne'') is a

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 northeastern France which connects the

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nethe ...

valleys. It runs from the

Canal latéral à l'Aisne The Canal latéral à l'Aisne () is a canal in northern France, which connects the Canal des Ardennes at Vieux-lès-Asfeld to the canalised river Aisne (river), Aisne at Condé-sur-Aisne. It is long, with 8 locks. It runs alongside the Aisne. It ...

Berry-au-Bac Berry-au-Bac () is a commune in the department of Aisne in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Population See also * Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of the 799 communes in the French department of Aisne. Th ...

Condé-sur-Marne Condé-sur-Marne (, literally ''Condé on Marne'') is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Marne department The following is a list of the 613 communes in the French department of Marne. The com ...

on the Canal latéral à la Marne, a distance of 58 km. The canal rises 40m through 16 locks via the cathedral city of Reims, which is also a busy commercial port, to a summit level at an altitude of 95.70m. After crossing the watershed through a tunnel 2302m long at Mont-de-Billy, the canal drops down 23.80m through a flight of 8 locks towards the Marne. Canal Aisne Marne Reims quays

History

Engineer

Hugues Cosnier Hugues Cosnier () was a French engineer who conceived of the Briare Canal who was born in Tours, 1573, and died in 1629. in Paris He proposed to Henri IV the idea of building a canal from the Loire River to the River Seine. It would go from Bri ...

built the first canal between Reims and Sillery in the early 17th century. This was part of a grand plan to build canals by-passing Paris to the east. Work on this link followed those on the Canal latéral à l'Aisne, starting in 1841. The canal was opened in 1866. It was later planned to implement Cosnier’s idea of an orbital route from the Loire through to northern France. Only the north-south section was built, comprising this link and the

Canal de l’Oise à l’Aisne 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 u ...

. In the 1990s it was envisaged to rebuild the canal to European Class IV or V dimensions to an enlarged port in Reims. This would have been the first section of a possible Seine-Est waterway linking with the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...

. Both projects were subsequently abandoned.

Navigation

The route is still used by about 10 '' péniches'' per day, with grain as the principal traffic, while recreational traffic is mainly private boats in transit. The towpath is increasingly popular with hikers and cyclists, especially in the metropolitan area of Reims.

References

* La Marne: Waterway Guide No. 19. Editions du Breil, pp 62–67.

External links

Canal de l'Aisne à la Marne
with maps and details of places, moorings and services (by the author of ''Inland Waterways of France'')
Navigation details for 80 French rivers and canals
(French waterways website section) {{DEFAULTSORT:Canal de l'Aisne a la Marne Aisne a la Marne Canals opened in 1866