We
made a wonderful journey on the Canal du Nivernais during two weeks in April
and May 2003. You can read about our journey by using the links on this
page.
The
total length of the Canal du Nivernais is 174 kilometers. The summit
level is 261 meters above sea level.
The canal was dug between 1784 and 1843.
The most important reason for its construction was the supplying
of Paris with firewood. For
centuries wood from the forests of the Morvan was transported in big
raft booms on the Yonne to Paris. Also wood from the more southerly area
of Bazois could be brought to Paris by way of the Canal du Nivernais.
The
canal has 110 locks: 78 on the side of the Seine and 32 on the side of
the Loire. The locks on the
southern part still have the original measurements (30.15 meters long
and 5.20 meters wide).
In
the northern part the locks have been adapted to the Freycinet standard
(38.50 meters X 5.20 meters).
We are traveling on the Canal du Nivernais from south to north:
from Decize (officially the canal starts at the neighboring
St-Lêger-des-Vignes) to Auxerre.
To
supply the highest parts of the Canal du Nivernais with water, a feeder
canal was constructed along the hills: la rigole d'Yonne.
From
the Pannesière reservoir, at a distance off about 25 kilometers from
the canal, the feeder canal runs though the hills. By an aqueduct,
l'aqueduc de Montreuillon, the feeder canal crosses the valley of the
Yonne. It's a beautiful aqueduct with arches of masonry, about 55 meters
high.
Canal du Nivernais
