Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Malpas tunnel is a major construction of the Canal du Midi, dug between 1679 and 1680 under the hill of Ensérune, near Nissan-lez-Enserune. This 173-metre-long tunnel-channel was a technical challenge for Pierre-Paul Riquet, faced with friable and unstable soil. Its completion avoided an additional lock and marked Riquet's determination against his detractors, including the knight of Clerville, who proposed a crossing of the Aude.

The site was marked by risks of collapse and an interruption ordered by Colbert, Minister of Louis XIV. Riquet, persevering, had the work continued in secret with master mason Pascal de Nissan. A vaulted test tunnel was built in eight days to convince the intendant of Aguesseau to relaunch the project. This tunnel, 6 meters wide and 8.5 meters high, symbolizes the ingenuity of Riquet, who died shortly after its completion.

The name Malpas (bad passage) comes from the collar under which it was pierced, deemed dangerous. Under this tunnel-channel there are two other galleries: one from the 13th century to drain the Montady pond, and a 19th century railway tunnel for the Béziers-Narbonne line. These superpositions illustrate the stratified history of human settlements in this region.

The Malpas tunnel remains an exceptional testimony of the 17th century construction techniques and the bold vision of Riquet. He avoided a costly detour and affirmed the feasibility of the Canal du Midi, a pharaonic project linking the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. Today, it is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site with the entire canal.

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