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The Canal d’Entreroches (English: ''canal between the cliffs'') was planned in the 17th century as a link between the Rhine and Lake Geneva, and would have enabled inland waterway communication between the North Sea and the Mediterranean. It linked the river Thielle (German: ''Zihl'') at Yverdon-les-Bains with the Venoge at Cossonay, a distance of 25 kilometres. It was completed in 1648, and remained in operation until 1829. Traces of some five kilometres of it still remain. == History == The Thirty Years War led to a number of projects to link the Protestant Netherlands to the Mediterranean without the dangerous sea journey round Catholic Spain. In 1635, Elie Gouriet, the Breton quartermaster-general of the French forces in the United Provinces, delivered a proposal to the government of Bern to join the lakes of Neuchâtel and Geneva by a canal crossing the Mormont, which formed the watershed between the two lakes, through the Gorge at Entreroches, near Éclépens. The authorities agreed to the plan on the condition that the canal would run entirely through Bernese territory, making stipulations about the width of the wayleave and the exploitation of adjacent watercourses and forests. A group of investors financed the project, and work began in 1638 from the eastern end, where the river Thielle was already navigable for 8 kilometres up to the confluence of the Orbe and the Talent. The first section opened in 1640. Seven locks raised the canal 14 metres over 9 kilometres to the summit at Entreroches. The western section, falling 19 metres over 8 kilometres to Cossonay, with 6 locks, took eight more years to build, being hampered by floods, unforeseen difficulties in the cuttings, and a shortage of funds. The water supply was assured by an arm with a single lock connecting the summit level to the River Venoge at La Graveyre, close to Éclépens village.〔Map drawn by F L Haldimand, dated 1759, in Vuitel, ''infra''〕 From Cossonay, the Venoge fell steeply to the level of Lake Geneva. The 40 locks needed over 12 kilometres to overcome the 59 metre height difference between Cossonay and Morges proved too much for the investors, and this section was never built. Goods had to be transhipped and carried by road. The steep fall of the Rhône below Geneva also meant that the canal never achieved more than local significance. In 1679, a new terminus was built at Le Bouquet, four kilometres north of Cossonay, and gradually this lowest section, which had been difficult and expensive to maintain, fell out of use. The canal was profitable until the mid-18th century, though the amount carried was low - around 6000 tons a year, achieving a maximum in 1719/20 of 8532 wagon-loads (approximately 6680 tons).〔Paul-Louis Pelet, ''Le canal d'Entreroches. Histoire d'une idée'', 1946〕 94% of the traffic was from south to north. The main cargo (85%) was wine from the vineyards around Lake Geneva and salt from Gex, for transport to Bern and Solothurn. The Plessis-Gouret family continued to be responsible for its operation. Profitability declined at the end of the 18th century, and a shortage of funds led to a lack of maintenance. Bankruptcy was declared in 1797. The collapse of the aqueduct carrying the River Talent over the canal near Chavornay〔Pierre-André Vuitel, ''La fabuleuse aventure du canal d'Entreroches'', 2011, published by Association Développement 21〕 in 1829 finally led to the canal's abandonment. The land passed to the Caisse d'Épargne de Neuchâtel (the Neuchatel Savings Bank), and subsequently to the Canton of Vaud.〔Article in ''Le conteur vaudois : journal de la Suisse romande (61)'', 1923〕 A permanent navigable connection between the Rhône and the Rhine was finally achieved in France in 1833 with the completion of the Canal du Rhône au Rhin. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Canal d’Entreroches」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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