Belfeld lock and dam complex

The dam and lock complex of Belfeld is a set of waterworks for regulating the Maas in the Dutch province of Limburg, for the benefit of the inland shipping that has been taking place there for centuries. The complex was completed in 1926.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the aim was to make the Maas more suitable for inland navigation, which had already been occurring for centuries. One problem was to obtain a navigation channel of the correct depth to make the Maas navigable for ships with a cargo capacity of up to 2,000 tons. To this end, the Maas needed to be equipped with five weirs, namely at Linne, Roermond, Belfeld, Afferden/Sambeek, and Grave. Next to each weir, a lock complex was built. In 1915, the project's goal was described as: obtaining a main traffic route for the transport of bulk goods from an area where a highly developed large industry is to be expected. Around this time, the Limburg mines began to produce increasingly, and the transport of coal initially took place only by rail.

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