The Canal de Berry is a disused canal in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 which links the Canal latéral à la Loire

Canal latéral à la Loire

The Canal Latéral à la Loire was constructed between 1827 and 1838 to connect the Canal de Briare at Briare and the Canal du Centre at Digoin, a distance of 196 km. It replaced the use of the River Loire which had reliability problems arising from winter floods and summer droughts...

 at Marseilles-lès-Aubigny

Marseilles-lès-Aubigny

Marseilles-lès-Aubigny is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre region of France.-Geography:A forestry and farming area comprising the village and several hamlets situated by the banks of the rivers Aubois and Loire, some east of Bourges, at the junction of the D44 and the D81 roads...

 with the Cher

Cher River

The Cher is a river in central France, left tributary to the river Loire. Its source is in the Creuse département, north-east of Crocq. It joins the river Loire in Villandry, west of Tours....

 at Noyers

Noyers

Noyers may refer to the following communes in France:*Noyers, Eure, in the Eure département*Noyers, Loiret, in the Loiret département*Noyers, Haute-Marne, in the Haute-Marne département*Noyers, Yonne, in the Yonne département...

 rejoining the Loire

Loire

Loire is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.-History:Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon...

 near Tours

Tours

Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...

. With a branch from Montluçon

Montluçon

Montluçon is a commune in central France. It is the largest commune in the Allier department, although the department's préfecture is located in the smaller town of Moulins. Its inhabitants are known as Montluçonnais...

 it provided 261 kilometres (162.2 mi) of canal with locks

Lock (water transport)

A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...

 2.7 metres (8.9 ft) wide from 1840 until its closure in 1955. There is now a 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) operational segment with six locks between Selles-sur-Cher

Selles-sur-Cher

Selles-sur-Cher is a commune in the Loir-et-Cher department of central France.The name of the commune is known internationally for the goat's cheese, Selles-sur-Cher, that was first made in the village in the 19th century.-Demography:-References:...

 and Noyers-sur-Cher

Noyers-sur-Cher

Noyers-sur-Cher is a commune in the Loir-et-Cher department of central France.-See also:*Communes of the Loir-et-Cher department...

.

Construction

Although discussed from 1484, it was not until 1780 when Armand II-Joseph, 6th Duke of Béthune Charost presented the first solid proposal to the provincial assembly. But work did not start until after an imperial decree in 1809 and was not completed until 1839. The work was designed by Joseph-Michel Dutens and mainly carried out by Spanish prisoners of war in the 1820s.

Because of the shortage of water near the summit level at Sancoins

Sancoins

Sancoins is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre region of France.-Geography:An area of farming and associated light industry comprising a small town and several hamlets situated by the banks of both the river Aubois and the canal de Berry, some southeast of Bourges, at the junction of...

, the 96 locks of the canal were built to a gauge of only 27.5 metres (90.2 ft) by 2.7 metres (8.9 ft), similar to British "narrow canal" practice. Barges built to this gauge are called berrichons. They could carry about 60 tonnes of freight over the summit of the Canal de Berry but their draught allowed them to carry up to 100 tonnes on other French waterways. By 1865 there were 890 berrichons on the waterway, drawn teams of two to four by horses, mules or donkeys.

The main traffic of the canal was cast iron

Cast iron

Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...

 from the forges at Montluçon, and coal, pit props, wines and spirits. However despite a new pumping station in 1878, leakages caused a lowering of water levels so the canal was never upgraded to the Freycinet gauge

Freycinet gauge

The Freycinet gauge is a standard governing the dimensions of the locks of some canals, put in place as a result of a law passed during the tenure of Charles de Freycinet as prime minister of France, dating from 5 August 1879....

. Traffic declined steadily till the 1930s and was finally closed in 1955.

Restoration

There is an active Association for Reopening the Canal de Berry (ARECABE) which has so far succeeded in rewatering 17 kilometres (10.6 mi) of the canal and two locks. It organises festivals and there is a canal museum at Reugny

Reugny, Allier

Reugny is a commune in the Allier department in central France.-Population:...

.