Canal Bossuit-Kortrijk

The Bossuit-Kortrijk Canal is a canal in the south of the Belgian province of West Flanders. It connects the Scheldt at Bossuit with the Lys at Kortrijk.

From Bossuit to the border with Kortrijk, it has a gabarit of 1350 tonnes (class IV). This section has three locks, namely in Bossuit, in Moen and in Zwevegem. The Kortrijk crossing contains three locks classified as industrial heritage, with a gabarit of 300 tonnes. As a result, the connection to the Lys is impossible for ships larger than class I (rush hour).

Before the upgrade to 1350 tons, the canal also contained a tunnel (basement) on the territory of Moen. Due to the risk of collapse, this tunnel had been out of use for years.

The canal is fed almost exclusively with Scheldt water via pumping stations at Bossuit and Moen. Scheldt water is also supplied via this canal to the drinking water production centre in Harelbeke, with the provincial domain De Gavers acting as a buffer and aeration basin.

In 1857 a company was formed to dig the canal and run it for 90 years. In this way, raw materials from Ecaussines, Soignies and Tournai could be transported by water without having to make a detour of 138 kilometres to Ghent. On October 3, 1857, the contractor was commissioned to dig 15.4 kilometers and build 11 guard locks. There were also to be 18 bridges, a pumping station and 15 houses for lock keepers. Perhaps the hardest part was a 611-metre-long tunnel in Moen.

At the beginning of the construction, about a hundred miners from the Borinage worked there, about 1,200 people a day worked on the canal, along with about forty horses. After three years, the construction was finished.

On February 7, 1861, the canal was opened to shipping. A banquet was organized in the winter garden of the Castle of Bossuit. King Leopold I, among others, was a guest.

Despite all these efforts, the operation of the canal turned out to be loss-making, and under pressure from the shareholders it was taken over by the Belgian State on 3 June 1890.

In 1971 the canal was deepened and widened. The tunnel at Moen was dug open. The village of Bossuit was completely dry for a certain time due to these works, so the civil protection had to distribute drinking water. Despite these works, many factories in Moen and Zwevegem closed.

In 1998, a regional visitor centre was set up in the old Bossuit pump building. You can visit the restored building and the pumps.

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