Dry Dock - Canal de la Sarre - Wittring - Moselle (57) - France - Waterway Locks, Planes and Lifts on Waymarking.com

A dry dock in the town of Wittring in Moselle (57), Grand-Est, France. This dry dock is large enough to take a couple of 38 metre péniches. There are old postcards that show that when it was built in the 1860s it was lined with cobbles and could take ten péniches. Water is let into the lock via a single paddle in the gate (see gallery) and it takes just over an hour to completely fill the dock. When water is drained out it runs in a pipe under the canal (see gallery) and then into the River Sarre. It takes about 2 1/2 hours to completely drain the dock.

The Canal de la Sarre was opened in 1867 and was built to transport coal from the mines around Saarbrücken on the French-German border, to the towns in north-eastern France. Its original name was the Canal des Houillières de la Sarre because it ran from the coalmines of Saarland. For some reason the VNF website and its email alerts for stoppages and restrictions still use the original name. The canal is around 75km long from the junction with the Canal de la Marne au Rhin (eastern section) down to join the river Saar in Germany.

The following is taken from french-waterways.com:

The Canal de la Sarre branches off from the Canal de la Marne au Rhin near Gondrexange (PK 227), and after cutting through a vast forest strewn with lakes, runs down the Sarre valley to enter the river at Sarreguemines. Navigation continues on the canal­ised river to the German border a short distance upstream of Saarbrücken. The canal is 63km long, and the French portion of the canalised river Sarre is 12km long, making a total of 75km. The canal was built to carry coal from the mines around Saarbrücken, hence its original name ‘Canal des Houillères de la Sarre’. The canal is rural in character and charming throughout. Through navigation down to the Moselle near Trier, 90km beyond Saarbrücken, is possible, thanks to canalisation of the Saar in Germany, making the industrial centre accessible to Rhine barges. This through route offers attractive possibilities for cruising, and Le Boat offers one-way cruises between its bases in Saarbrücken and on the Canal de la Marne au Rhin.

History – A private company was set up to build the canal in 1844, but was wound up before works could begin. The State took over the project and the works were started in 1861, to be completed in 1867. Although predating the ‘Freycinet’ programme by nearly 20 years, it was built directly to these generous dimensions, justified by the huge volume of coal to be exported from the Saar collieries in Germany, since the river Saar itself was unnavigable. (The Saar canalisation in Germany was completed in 1986.) Transfer from State to Region is under negotiation.

Waterway Name: Canal de la Sarre Connected Points: The Canal de la Sarre starts in the south near Gondrexange where it leaves the Canal de la Marne au Rhin. It runs north to the German border near Saarbrücken. The only branch on the length of the canal was at Mittersheim, the Embranchement de Loudrefing which is now disused. This branch used to run down to meet the Canal des Salines. Type: Other Date Opened: 01/01/1867 Elevation Difference (meters): 2.00 Site Status: Operational Web Site: [Web Link] Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed

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