The Scheldt–Rhine Canal (Schelde-Rijnkanaal) 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 ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

connects

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,

with the

Volkerak The Volkerak is a body of water in the Netherlands. It is part of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, and is situated between the island Goeree-Overflakkee to the north-west and the Dutch mainland to the south and east. The western part of the Volk ...

, and thereby the

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...

with the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

Route

The canal starts close to the Scheldt river, at the

port of Antwerp The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is the port of the City of Antwerp. It is located in Flanders (Belgium), mainly in the province of Antwerp but also partially in the province of East Flanders. It is a seaport in the heart of Europe accessible to ...

, and generally runs north. After it passes the Dutch-Belgian border, it serves as the border between the Dutch provinces of

North Brabant North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the we ...

and

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

. Just north of

Zuid-Beveland Zuid-Beveland (; "South Beveland") is part of the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands north of the Western Scheldt and south of the Eastern Scheldt. Topography It is a former island, now peninsula, crossed by the Canal through Zuid-Bevelan ...

ships have to pass the to enter the lower part of the canal. Just north of the sluices the canal enters the artificial and leaves this lake again as a canalised section of the former

Eendracht The Eendracht is a former tidal branch of river Scheldt that has been channelised to form the northern stretch of the Scheldt-Rhine Canal. It flows from the Zoommeer lake (formerly part of the Oosterschelde) near Bergen op Zoom past the town ...

strait, before terminating in the Volkerak estuary. Here, the provide access to the Rhine-Meuse Delta and the

port of Rotterdam The Port of Rotterdam is the largest seaport in Europe, and the world's largest seaport outside of East Asia, located in and near the city of Rotterdam, in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. From 1962 until 2004, it was the List o ...

History

During the 1920s the Belgian government demanded a replacement for the

Canal through Zuid-Beveland The Canal through Zuid-Beveland (Dutch: ''Kanaal door Zuid-Beveland'') in the southwest Netherlands is the westernmost of two canals crossing the Zuid-Beveland peninsula. It connects the Western Scheldt near Hansweert (to the south of the canal ...

, to keep the port of Antwerp accessible for the lucrative Rhine trade. According to the original plan, the new canal was supposed to connect Antwerp directly to

Moerdijk Moerdijk () is a municipality and a town in the South of the Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. History The municipality of Moerdijk was founded in 1997 following the merger of the municipalities of Fijnaart en Heijningen, Klundert ...

on the

Hollands Diep Hollands Diep ( pre-1947 spelling: Hollandsch Diep) is a wide river in the Netherlands and an estuary of the Rhine and Meuse rivers. Through the Scheldt-Rhine Canal it connects to the Scheldt river and Antwerp. The Bergse Maas river and the N ...

, but after the Second World War and the

North Sea flood of 1953 The 1953 North Sea flood was a major flood caused by a heavy storm surge that struck the Netherlands, north-west Belgium, England and Scotland. Most sea defences facing the surge were overwhelmed, causing extensive flooding. The storm and flo ...

the Dutch government decided that the new canal should be part of the

Delta Works The Delta Works ( nl, Deltawerken) is a series of construction projects in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land around the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta from the sea. Constructed between 1954 and 1997, the works con ...

and proposed a more westerly route, in fact it would take the same route as the ancient

Striene De Striene was a water channel that ran between the Schelde near Tholen and the Meuse (river), Maas rivers in Zeeland in the Netherlands. In the St. Elizabeth's flood (1421), St. Elizabeth's Flood of 1421 the watercourses in the Maas and Rhine delta ...

river. After the Belgian government agreed in 1963, work on the canal began. In order to keep the canal free of tides, two dams were built to separate the tidal

Oosterschelde The Eastern Scheldt ( nl, Oosterschelde) is a former estuary in the province of Zeeland, Netherlands, between Schouwen-Duiveland and Tholen on the north and Noord-Beveland and Zuid-Beveland on the south. It also features the largest national ...

from the Scheldt-Rhine canal. These are the

Oesterdam The Delta Works ( nl, Deltawerken) is a series of construction projects in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land around the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta from the sea. Constructed between 1954 and 1997, the works con ...

(resulting in the creation of the Zoommeer) and the

Philipsdam Philipsdam is a dam that is part of the Delta Works in the Netherlands. It separates water of the lakes Krammer and Volkerak from the Oosterschelde. This dam connects the Grevelingendam to Sint Philipsland. History Construction began in late ...

(that turned the Volkerak estuary into a freshwater lake).

Bridges

It crosses the east of

, where it is crossed by a railroad bridge (between the stations

Rilland-Bath Rilland-Bath is a former municipality in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It was created from a merger of Rilland Rilland is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is located in the municipality of Reimerswaal. History The village was ...

on the west and

Bergen op Zoom Bergen op Zoom (; called ''Berrege'' in the local dialect) is a municipality and a city located in the south of the Netherlands. Etymology The city was built on a place where two types of soil meet: sandy soil and marine clay. The sandy soil p ...

on the east) and three road bridges, and along

Tholen Tholen () is a 25,000 people municipality in the southwest of the Netherlands. The municipality of Tholen takes its name from the town of Tholen, which is the largest population center in the municipality. The municipality consists of two peninsu ...

, where it is spanned by three road bridges.

References

Map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheldt-Rhine Canal International canals Canals opened in 1975 Canals in the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta Canals in Flanders Canals in Antwerp Province Canals in North Brabant Canals in Zeeland Geography of Antwerp Transport in Antwerp Transport in Bergen op Zoom Transport in Reimerswaal Steenbergen Tholen Zuid-Beveland