This 224 kilometre canal runs from Vitry-le-François in the north to Maxilly in the south. At the north it starts at the junction with the Canal latéral à la Marne and the Canal de la Marne au Rhin (ouest), In the south it joins the River Saône. Other than a couple of old locks dropping down to the River Marne at the northern end there are no other links to other waterways.
The canal has 71 locks on the northern side of the summit and 43 on the southern side and are operated by a remote control unit issued to boaters as they enter the canal.
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| Remote control unit |
The locks are all Freycinet standard size of 39m x 5.05m. Commercial traffic still uses this canal therefore it remains open all year around.
The canal was initially called the Haute-Marne, then the Canal de la Marne à la Saône and now the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne. The final name was probably chosen for touristic reasons.
Many locks still have lock cottages and where there are still information plates they have the name of the canal as Canal de la Marne à la Saône.
History – The Canal de la Marne à la Saône was one of the key projects under the Freycinet programme voted in 1879, which provided for 1,400km of new waterways. At that time a 73km length with 31 locks had already been built (staring in 1862) under the name of Canal de la Haute-Marne. The planned budgets were regularly cut back in the following years, which made progress slow for the period, and the link was not completed until 1907. Commercial traffic survives on this route.
More information can be found here: (visit link)
Click on one of the following to see the locks in that section:
Versant Marne - Écluses 1 - 35
Versant Marne - Écluses 36 - 71
Versant Saône - Écluses 1 - 21
Versant Saône - Écluses 22 - 43
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