The Schipdonk Canal ( French : Canal de Schipdonk or Dérivation de la Lys ; Dutch : Schipdonkkanaal or Afleidingskanaal van de Leie ) is a canal in the Belgian provinces of East Flanders and West Flanders . With a length of 56 km (35 mi), the canal runs in a northerly direction from Deinze , turning to a north-western direction roughly halfway along its route to the North Sea with which it meets on the coast near to Heist . It crosses both the Ghent-Bruges Canal and for its final 20 km (12 mi) runs parallel with the Leopold Canal as it approaches the north Belgian coast. For most of this final section the two canals are separated only by a dyke .
5-557: The digging of this canal took place between 1846 and 1860. Along with the Leopold Canal it was one of the first major infrastructure projects of the newly independent Belgium . In the middle part of the nineteenth century the economy of the Kortrijk region was dominated by the textile industry, with an emphasis on linen . This industry heavily polluted the Lys River . In order to divert
10-700: The Dutch border. It is between 1.2 and 2.3 m (3 ft 11 in and 7 ft 7 in) deep. The canal was proposed by Canon Joseph Andries [ nl ] , local member of the Belgian National Congress , to prevent the Dutch from blocking the discharge of water and inundating the Meetjesland after Belgium's independence from the Netherlands . This canal was a major line of German resistance during
15-620: The Ghent-Bruges Canal, the Schipdonk Canal is also used for recreational boat trips. Leopold Canal (Belgium) The Leopold Canal ( Dutch : Leopoldkanaal or Leopoldvaart , French : Canal Léopold ) is a canal in northern Belgium . Construction occurred between 1847 and 1850 after the Belgian government granted permission in 1846. It runs about 40 km (25 mi) westward from Boekhoute to Heist-aan-Zee just south of
20-514: The industrially active Kortrijk district to the North Sea. The Schipdonk Canal is sometimes known as De Stinker ("the stinker") because of its traditionally polluted condition. This also contrasts with the condition of the Leopold Canal , sometimes known as De Blinker ("the shiner" or "the shining one"), recalling its relatively clear water. Over virtually the full length of the canal the paths beside it are maintained as cycle paths. Together with
25-464: The polluted water from the centre of Ghent , it was decided to cut the Schipdonk Canal which transported the pollution more directly to the North Sea , avoiding Ghent in the process. A further benefit from the canal involved protecting Ghent against the periodic flooding to which it had been subject. The third significant benefit was that the canal provided a relatively direct route for water transport from
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