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Origin and history

The Lauter Canal in Wissembourg is a major hydraulic structure, built mainly in the 18th century and rebuilt in the early 19th century. It consists of a lock integrated in a sandstone building (1748), a parapet system, platforms used in the past as washers or docks, and a fountain dated 1832. This canal, located on Rue du Faubourg-de-Bitche, was essential to feed the ditches of the urban enclosure and facilitate the flotation of the wood.

The water house, built in 1748, houses the lock barring Lauter. In 1821, a reconstruction project was proposed by J. or G. Beck, conductor of the Bridges and Chaussées, with works carried out between 1832 and 1833. The cast iron elements (guard-body, fountain) and bridge to the Tilleuls ditch date from this period. The other bridges and bridges were rebuilt in the 20th century, but the structure preserves 18th century taskmen's marks (H, Z, F, D, W) on stones.

The monument, registered in 1997, illustrates Alsatian hydraulic engineering, combining defensive functions (filling ditches), economics (flotting wood) and domestic (washing, public fountain). The weapons of Wissembourg and the date of 1832 engraved on the fountain underline its local anchor. Today, the site remains partially accessible, with protected elements such as the cast iron railings and the water door.

The canal is located in the Bruch district, near the Hausgenossen Tower, and marks the western entrance to the city. Its utility architecture, in sandstone and cast iron, reflects the needs of a border city, between water management, commerce and defence. The platforms raised along the banks, perhaps used as individual washers, also testify to daily life in the 19th century.

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