Home > Brittany > Azureva.com brittany,nantes/brest canal, Tourism in Brittany
 |
Under Bonaparte, the "States" of Brittany's long time
desire was finally realized: a canal which linked the Loire to the harbor
at Brest without passing through the Ocean. But the canal's "commercial"
existence was short lived. Today, it offers gorgeous views of the countryside
to its many visitors.
There were few favorable elements for the construction of a navigable
domestic waterway in Brittany. Two thirds of the peninsula is shore line.
There is no level space in the interior, no real plain, no major river*
and the smaller streams run directly into the sea, which means that there
is no water link with the rest of Europe. At the beginning of the 19th
Century, the roads were hardly passable, the ocean was dangerous, and
the British fleet was a definite threat. Napoleon launched the gigantic
excavation, which was to free up and allow for the provision of the Port
of Brest: the Loire-Ocean Canal. |
During 38 long years, workmen built 236 locks which permitted the crossing
of an elevation of 555 meters. Eight waterways were canalized to feed into the
larger canal, or were reconstructed to make them navigable, which gave Brittany
its very surprising amount of navigable waters. The workers, sometimes peasants,
often prisoners of war, created a total of nearly 600 meters of waterway and
325 locks spanning five departments.
| In 1928, the construction of the dam at Guerledan and the progress
of the railroad put an end to freight shipment on fresh water between
Nantes and the docks. Today the towhorses have made room for fishermen,
strollers, athletes. Barges and "chalands" have disappeared.
The canal itself only opens its locks to pleasure boats. Spending several
hours or several days on the water or on the banks, between the houses
of the lock keepers and the millraces of the Nantes-Brest Canal is the
best way to discover Brittany at its most modest and most beguiling.
* It's not the Loire in its estuary. |
 |
 |
The irrigation channel's reach at Bout-de-Bois (44) carries water
from Vioreau pond to the canal. The 13.6 mile long channel is a veritable
technical feat in itself: 4 aqueducts with between 8 and 10 arches and
a 1,968 feet long underground channel.
Nort/Erdre Exit. Direction: Joué/Erdre, turn left on to D178 and look
around a bit. A very nice walk. |
Information: Committee for the Promotion of Tourism in the Breton Canals and
Navigable Waterways of the West. Place du Parlement, Redon. Phone: 02 99 71
06 04.
Magazines about Brittany |
Carnac
A megalithic site which dates back to between 3000 to 5000 years BC, Carnac is composed of 3 installations of 3000 menhirs succeeding ...
Discover also :
|
 |
|
Go to Brittany |
|
|
|
|
|
France :