Canal de Berry

The Canal de Berry is a romantic but disused canal in France which links the Canal latéral à la Loire at Marseilles-lès-Aubigny with the Cher at Noyers rejoining the Loire near Tours. With a branch from Montluçon it provided 261km of narrow (2.7m wide locks) canal from 1840 until its closure in 1955

Construction

Although discussed from 1484 [ [http://encyclopedie.bourges.net/canal.htm L'Encyclopedie de Bourges] ] , it was not until 1780 when the Duke of Béthune Charost presented the first solid proposal to the provincial assembly. But work did not start until after an imperial decree in 1809 and was not completed until 1839. The work was designed by "Joseph-Michel Dutens" [ [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canal_du_Berry French Wiki article] ] and mainly carried out by Spanish prisoners of war in the 1820s.

Because of the shortage of water near the summit level at Sancoins, the 96 locks of the canal were made only 27.5m by 2.7m, following the British experience, so that the barge capacity was limited to around 60 tonnes over the summit. But by 1865 there were 890 of these "berrichons" on the waterway, drawn by horses, mules or donkeys in teams of 2-4.

The main traffic of the canal was cast iron from the forges at Montluçon, and coal, pit props, wines and spirits. [H. McKnight. "Cruising French Waterways", Adlard Coles, 1991] However despite a new pumping station in 1878, leakages caused a lowering of water levels so the canal was never upgraded to the Freycinet gauge and traffic declined steadily till the 1930s and was finally closed in 1955.

Restoration

There is an active "Association for reopening the Canal de Berry" (ARECABE) [ [http://www.arecabe.org Association pour la Reuverture du Canal de Berry] ] which has so far succeeded in rewatering 17km of the canal and two locks. It organises festivals and there is a canal museum at "Reugny". [ [http://comcom-valdecher.planet-allier.com/musee_du_canal.html Canal Museum] ]

References