The Ludwig Canal (German: Ludwig-Donau-Main-Kanal or Ludwigskanal), is an abandoned

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 f ...

in southern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

The canal linked the

Danube River The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

Kelheim Kelheim () is a town and municipality in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the district Kelheim and is situated at the confluence of the rivers Altmühl and Danube. Kelheim has a population of around 16,750 (2020). History Kelheim is ...

with the Main River at

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castl ...

, connecting the Danube basin with the

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

. The first realisation of a dream to enable barges to navigate from the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

to the Black sea, the Ludwig Canal proved to be unsustainable, and was eventually succeeded by a larger canal, over a century later. Named after

King Ludwig I of Bavaria en, Louis Charles Augustus , image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg , caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825 , succession=King of Bavaria , reign = , coronation ...

, the canal was built between 1836 and 1846. Whereas the Main and the Danube were both broad canalised rivers, the Ludwig Canal was a narrow channel, with numerous locks, and a shortage of water supply to the summit level. The canal became a bottleneck, and the operation of the waterway soon became uneconomic. A further nail in the canal's coffin was competition from the rapidly developing

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

network in the southern German countryside. Rather than repair the damage suffered during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, (the canal being close to the bombed city of

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

), the canal was finally abandoned in 1950. Construction of the Ludwig Canal's replacement, the much larger Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, was started in 1921, but not completed until 1992. The new canal is shorter and follows a route to the south and west of the earlier canal.

The remnants of the Ludwig Canal

Today, there still exists between

and

Berching Berching ( bar, Bacham) is a town in the district of Neumarkt in Bavaria, Germany. Berching is a historical town with a fully preserved town wall and low streamlet. The first settlement was registered in 883, so it is more than 1100 years old ...

some 60 km of canal in good condition. Some of the locks still function, and part of the towpath has been converted to a cycle track.The Old Canal Today
/ref> The old canal comes close to the new canal at Pollanten, and from there the two canals flow downstream in parallel, eventually meeting 5 km south of

References

External links

* International canals Ship canals Canals in Germany Danube Canals opened in 1846 CLudwig {{water-transport-stub