Inclined plane of St-Louis-Arzviller

The inclined plane of St-Louis-Arzviller is a striking and curious construction to literally lift ships to a higher level. The Marne-Rhine Canal has to go up a hill here. And that's pretty hard for water. That is why this construction was devised. The canal was constructed in the first half of the 19th century. In 1969, an inclined plane was put into use here, which took over the function of the original 17 locks. The slope has a constant gradient of 41%. The barge moves in the width direction and has a total weight, including about 750 m³ of water, of approximately 900 tons. There is only one bucket and it is connected to two counterweights that go under the bucket. The artwork attracts more than 100,000 day trippers and about 8,000 vessels every year.

Dromos