I can't finish this Blog without mentioning the amazing civil engineering that enables cargo barges and tourist craft to sail from the Black Sea to the North Sea via the Danube, Rhine-Main Canal, the Main and Rhine rivers. It's really the story of the 68 locks between Amsterdam and Budapest a distance of 1811 km made up as follows:
- 75 km om the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal
- 415 km on the Rhine
- 386 km on the Main
- 171 km on the Main Danube Canal
- 764 km on the Danube (42 km on Gabcikovo Canal)
First of all let me outline the history of the Main Danube Canal. For the full history use the following link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine–Main–Danube_Canal
The Rhine–Main–Danube Canal is in Bavaria, Germany and connects the Main and the Danube rivers across the European Watershed, it runs from Bamberg via Nuremberg to Kelheim passing over the Franconian Jura. This mountain range is an upland in Franconia, Bavaria, located between the Danube in the south and the Main in the north, its peaks reach elevations of up to 600 metres. The highest point of the canal is 405 metres above sea-level.
The canal connects the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea, providing a navigable artery between the Rhine Delta, at Rotterdam in the Netherlands and the Danube Delta in south-eastern Romania and south-western Ukraine, or Constanța, through the Danube–Black Sea Canal. The canal was completed in 1992 and is 171 kilometres (106 mi) long.
Early History
There have been several plans and attempts to link the Danube and Rhine basins by canal. In 793, the Emperor Charlemagne ordered the construction of such a canal. King Ludwig I of Bavaria, built between 1836 and 1846 the Ludwig Canal, from Bamberg to Kelheim. This canal had a narrow channel, with many locks, and a shortage of water in the peak section, so the operation of the waterway soon became uneconomic. The canal was finally abandoned in 1950, after a decision not to repair damage caused by bombing during WWII.
Construction of the larger Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, was started in 1921, but not completed until 1992.
By 1962, the Main's channel had been expanded as far upstream as Bamberg and in 1966, after an agreement between Bavaria and the Federal Republic of Germany was reached for financing the completion of the project. The canal was completed and opened on the 25th September 1992.
Route (A map of the route can be seen in the link mentioned above)
From Bamberg to Fürth the canal follows the valley of the Regnitz, a tributary of the Main. From Fürth to beyond Roth it follows the valley of the Rednitz, a tributary of the Regnitz. It crosses the Franconian Jura mountains and joins the river Altmühl near Dietfurt. From Dietfurt to Kelheim on the Danube the canal follows the Altmühl valley.
Commercial History
Although barge traffic regularly plies this river-canal system today it is small in relation to the traffic that had been forecast at the time of its construction mainly due to the growth of the railways and road infrastructure. Today 50% of the traffic is tourist craft. Such craft pay nothing for the use of the locks. The European Union pay for the maintenance, upkeep and operation of the locks. Tourist craft, however, pay for fresh water, power and other services at the mooring points. Electric power is provided from ashore to reduce the use of generators aboard the vessels.
See the next posting for details of the location and depth of each lock.
