Bocholt-Herentals Canal
| Bocholt–Herentals Canal | |
|---|---|
| Specifications | |
| Locks | 7 |
| History | |
| Principal engineer | Kümmer |
| Construction began | 1843 |
| Date of first use | 1846 |
| Geography | |
| Start point | Bocholt |
| End point | Herentals |
The Bocholt–Herentals Canal (Also known locally as the Kempisch Kanaal or the Maas-Scheldekanaal) is a canal in Belgium that links the Zuid-Willemsvaart at Bocholt with the Albert Canal in Herentals, with a length of slightly over 60 kilometres. It is one of the seven canals linking the rivers Meuse and Scheldt.
During the Second World War the canal was an important launch point for Operation Market Garden.
The canal was created as part of the link from the river Scheldt to the Meuse that Napoleon Bonaparte planned as the Grand Canal du Nord, but only the stretches Lommel-Beringen en Venlo-Neuss were built, with a part of the present Zuid-Willemsvaart between Lanaken and Lozen.
Linking the Scheldt with the Meuse remained important though, to serve the heavy industry in and around Liège. The 1807 Treaty of Fontainebleau added Lommel to the national territory, in exchange for Luyksgestel, this removed the last obstacle. The canal was created by one Kümmer starting in 1843, construction took three years. The canal connected to the Zuid-Willemsvaart near Bocholt and to the river Nete near Herentals. Apart from its transportation function, the canal also served to irrigate the dry Kempen region with water from the Meuse.
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