The Canal de la Marne au Rhin (Marne–Rhine Canal) is a canal in north-eastern France . It connects the river Marne and the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne in Vitry-le-François with the port of Strasbourg on the Rhine. The original objective of the canal was to connect Paris and the north of France with Alsace and Lorraine , the Rhine , and Germany . The 313 km (194 mi) long canal was the longest in France when it opened in 1853.
6-662: The Canal de la Sarre , originally called Canal des Houillères de la Sarre , connects the Canal de la Marne au Rhin in Gondrexange to the canalised river Sarre (German: Saar ) in Sarreguemines in northeastern France. For convenience this entry covers the entire waterway in France, including the canalised river. The canal is 63 km long, and the French portion of the canalised river Sarre
12-523: Is 12 km long, making a total of 75 km, with respectively 28 and 2 locks. The canal was built to carry coal from the mines around Saarbrücken, hence its original name. After a private company failed in 1844, the State took over the project and started works in 1861, to be completed in 1867. Although predating the Freycinet programme by nearly 20 years, it was built directly to these dimensions, justified by
18-565: The Moselle . There are four tunnels. The Saint-Louis-Arzviller inclined plane is located between Arzviller and Saint-Louis and its construction replaced 17 locks. In 1979, a 23 kilometres (14 mi) section along the Moselle valley was closed following the completion of the Moselle canalisation works between Frouard and Neuves-Maisons. The route is now made up as follows: The western section, 131.4 km (81.6 mi) has 97 locks, 70 rising to
24-518: The summit level and 27 down to the Moselle at Toul. The Moselle section has three locks of high-capacity Rhine dimensions on the river and one on the Frouard branch, and an additional Freycinet size lock connecting to the original canal in Frouard. The eastern section, 159 km (99 mi), has 56 locks, 21 rising to the summit level crossing the Vosges watershed and 35 down to Strasbourg. Its course crosses
30-508: The volume of coal to be exported from the Saar collieries in Germany. The river Saar downstream from Saarbrücken was unnavigable until the canalisation works were completed in 1986. The canal is rural in character and charming throughout. Through navigation down to the Moselle near Trier, 90 km beyond Saarbrücken, is possible, thanks to canalisation of the Saar in Germany. The cross-border connection
36-498: Was blocked for two years following closure of the first lock in Germany, at Güdingen, but was expected to be reopened in 2017. 48°42′N 6°55′E / 48.700°N 6.917°E / 48.700; 6.917 Canal de la Marne au Rhin The canal is suited for small barges ( péniches ), with a maximum size of 38.50 metres (126.3 ft) in length and 5.05 metres (16.6 ft) in width. It has 154 locks , including two in
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