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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
  4. Rhône
  5. 69700 Givors

  6. Former canal of Givors (also on communes of Saint-Romain-en-Gier (Rhône) , Tartaras and Rive-de-Gier (Loire) )

Former canal of Givors (also on communes of Saint-Romain-en-Gier (Rhône) , Tartaras and Rive-de-Gier (Loire) ) dans le Rhône

Rhône

Former canal of Givors (also on communes of Saint-Romain-en-Gier (Rhône) , Tartaras and Rive-de-Gier (Loire) )

    2 Place François Zacharie
    69700 Givors
Ancien canal de Givors également sur communes de Saint-Romain-en-Gier Rhône , Tartaras et Rive-de-Gier Loire
Ancien canal de Givors également sur communes de Saint-Romain-en-Gier Rhône , Tartaras et Rive-de-Gier Loire
Ancien canal de Givors également sur communes de Saint-Romain-en-Gier Rhône , Tartaras et Rive-de-Gier Loire
Ancien canal de Givors également sur communes de Saint-Romain-en-Gier Rhône , Tartaras et Rive-de-Gier Loire
Ancien canal de Givors également sur communes de Saint-Romain-en-Gier Rhône , Tartaras et Rive-de-Gier Loire
Ancien canal de Givors également sur communes de Saint-Romain-en-Gier Rhône , Tartaras et Rive-de-Gier Loire
Ancien canal de Givors également sur communes de Saint-Romain-en-Gier Rhône , Tartaras et Rive-de-Gier Loire
Ancien canal de Givors également sur communes de Saint-Romain-en-Gier Rhône , Tartaras et Rive-de-Gier Loire
Crédit photo : Dominique Robert - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1800
1900
2000
1763-1780
Initial construction
6 décembre 1780
Official Inauguration
1792-1796
Construction of Canal Hotel
1839
Extension to La Grand Cross
1960-1970
Partial destruction
24 juillet 1995
Historical Monument
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Vestiges of the old canal and the following buildings: Givors (Rhône): Façades and roofs of the old house of the canal (see AK 128); bridge over the old lock number 10, placed Les Biesses (cad. not cadastral, adjacent to the south-west to Parcel B3 351) supporting the communal road number 5; former canal bridge over the brook Godivert, located Le Four at Chaux (Box B4 373); Saint-Romain-en-Gier (Rhône): Façades and roofs of the old lock house number 13, placed Au Canal (cad. A 277); former canal bridge, above the Combe d'Aillex stream, is located at the Canal (cad. not cadastre, located next to the old cadastral lock house A 277); Tartaras (Loire): Façades and roofs of the old lock house number 19-20, placed Le Rocher Percé (cad. A 856) ; Former lock number 19-20, including the former buoy number 19 remaining downstream of the lock and the so-called tunnel of the Rock Percé, is named Le Rocher Percé (see A 1332, 1339 to 1342, 1042); former lock number 21, including the walls of the upstream waiting basin, is located La Valanière (not cadastreed, adjacent to Parcel A 1143); Rive-de-Gier (Loire): Facades and roofs of the Town Hall (former Hotel de la Compagnie du Canal) and underground passage located rue de l'Hôtel-de-Ville (cad. A 195): inscription by order of 24 July 1995

Key figures

François Zacharie - Initiator and contractor Finished and started work in 1763.
Guillaume Marie Delorme - Architect and hydraulician Completed the canal after 1771.
Jacques-Germain Soufflot - Architect consultant Technical support to the project.
Guillaume Zacharie - Son of Francis, heir Work continued despite the debts.
Jacques Necker - Director-General for Finance Saved the company in 1779.

Origin and history

The Givors Canal, originally called the "Both Seas Canal", was designed to connect the Loire with the Rhône. Initiated in 1763 by the Lyon entrepreneur François Zacharie, it aimed to replace expensive land transport. The work, partly financed by Zachariae (£150,000), began after preliminary studies carried out in 1745. Three key figures supported him: sculptor Guillaume Coustou, architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot, and Secretary of State Gabriel de Sartine. Upon the death of Zacharie in 1768, his son Guillaume inherited the debts and continued the project with the help of hydraulician Guillaume Marie Delorme.

Inaugurated in 1780 after 17 years of construction, the canal extended 15.5 km between Givors and Rive-de-Gier, with a elevation of 85 m crossed by 29 locks and 5 water bridges. Its route included a 171 m river tunnel, "Le Rocher piercé". Exploited for the transport of coal (140 000 tons/year) and goods, it experienced a golden age under the Restoration, with 3,000 ships per year. The Canal Company, founded in 1774, distributed 11 million francs of dividends and built its headquarters (now Rive-de-Gier Town Hall) between 1792 and 1796.

In the 1830s, the canal declined in the face of rail competition, notably after the opening of the Lyon-Saint-Étienne line. Extended to La Grand-Croix in 1839 to serve the mines, it was bought by the state in 1886 and decommissioned in 1955. In the 1960s, its route was largely completed to build the A47 motorway (opened in 1970). Only a few protected remains remain, such as lock houses, canal bridges, and the tunnel du Rocher Percé, classified as Historic Monuments in 1995.

The canal illustrates the technical innovation of the eighteenth century, but also the limits of river infrastructure in the face of the industrial revolution. Its history reflects the economic stakes of the region, marked by coal mining and tensions between river and rail transport. Today, its relics bear witness to an unknown industrial heritage, shared between the Rhône and Loire departments.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum