The Canal de Saint-Quentin () is a canal in northern France connecting the canalised river Escaut in

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

to the

Canal latéral à l'Oise The Canal latéral à l'Oise () is a canal in northern France that, along with the river Oise, connects the Canal de Saint-Quentin at Chauny to the Seine at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. See under the river Oise for the continuation of the route; the ...

and

Canal de l'Oise à l'Aisne The Canal de l'Oise à l'Aisne (, literally ''Canal of the Oise to the Aisne'') is a summit level canal in the Hauts-de-France region (northern France), formerly Picardy. It connects the Canal latéral à l'Aisne at Abbécourt to the Canal latéra ...

Chauny Chauny () is a Communes of France, commune in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History There has been a settlement on the site, more or less continuously, since at least the Carolingian era. Know ...

History

The canal was built in two phases, the second much longer than the first. The king's ministers Colbert and Mazarin had both proposed linking the rivers

Oise Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 ...

and

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

in the 17th century and this resulted in the Canal Crozat, or Canal de Picardie, between

and Saint-Simon in 1738. The remainder, connecting the Seine Basin with the Escaut was a lengthy process. The original designer, Devicq in 1727, died in 1742. Little was accomplished until

Napoléon 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 ...

demanded that work begin again in 1801. He officiated at the opening in April 1810. The canal was such a success that the locks had to be duplicated throughout in the early 20th century, at the same time deepening the channel, enlarging the tunnels, and increasing water supplies. Later improvements included electric barge traction on rails, installed during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, mechanising locks, and providing public lighting on the busiest sections. Later, the locks were equipped for automatic operation, using remote sensors, and more recently by handheld remote control. By 1878, up to 110 barges were crossing the summit level daily. The

Canal du Nord The Canal du Nord (, literally ''Canal of the North'') is a long canal in northern France. The canal connects the Canal latéral à l'Oise at Pont-l'Évêque to the Sensée Canal at Arleux. The French government, in partnership with coal-min ...

was built as a duplicate route and completed in 1965. The canal carried more freight than any other man-made waterway in France in 1964.

Battle of St Quentin Canal

The Canal in World War I formed part of the

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 191 ...

, a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917. The Allied crossing of the St Quentin Canal in 1918 was a significant part of the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...

that led to the Armistice.

Navigation

This canal is an asset for tourism, boating and on the towpath, especially the northern section in the Escaut valley, the spectacular summit level with its tunnels and the boat harbour in the basin at Saint-Quentin. Commercial traffic declined after opening of the Canal du Nord, and it is now consistently quiet and peaceful, although a few Freycinet barges still use this route.

En route

* PK 0

*PK 11

Masnières Masnières () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry History Masnières figured into the 1917 Battle of Cambrai during which time it was briefly captured by the British on the first day of the battle, November 20, an ...

*PK 18

Les Rues-des-Vignes Les Rues-des-Vignes (; called ''Vinchy'' in the Middle Ages) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Vinchy was the site of a famous battle of the then-rising Charles Martel in spring 717. See also *Communes of the Nord departmen ...

*PK 23

Honnecourt-sur-Escaut Honnecourt-sur-Escaut (, literally '' Honnecourt on Escaut'') is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of ...

*PK 28.5-35 Riqueval tunnel (5670m) Bony *PK 42-43 Tronquoy tunnel (1098m)

Lesdins Lesdins () is a commune in the Aisne department 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. The commun ...

*PK 53 Saint-Quentin *PK 62 Séraucourt-le-Grand *PK 68 Right

Petite Somme The Canal de la Somme is a canal in northern France. Its total length is 156.4 km with 25 locks, from the English Channel at Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme to the Canal de Saint-Quentin at Saint-Simon. History The Somme River was canalized begi ...

: Saint-Simon to Ham, closed 2006 (link to

Canal de la Somme The Canal de la Somme is a canal in northern France. Its total length is 156.4 km with 25 locks, from the English Channel at Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme to the Canal de Saint-Quentin at Saint-Simon. History The Somme River was canalized begi ...

), route continues left *PK 80.5 Voyaux *PK 83

Tergnier Tergnier () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Its location on the Canal de Saint-Quentin and the Creil–Jeumont railway ( Tergnier station) supported its development as an industrial centre in the se ...

*PK 85 T-junction left 3.8 km branch to Canal de la Sambre à l'Oise Right continues as Canal de Saint-Quentin *PK 92

, the canal continues as

towards

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Left

References

External links

Video showing the "Souterrain de Riqueval" and local area

Canal de Saint-Quentin
with maps and details of places, moorings and services (by the author of ''Inland Waterways of France'', Imray)
Navigation details for 80 French rivers and canals
(French waterways website section) {{Authority control Saint-Quentin Canals opened in 1810 Cambrai