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A madly ambitious
project : the construction of the Canal du Midi
After 14 years of hard toil
and labour, it was nearly 1681 before the Canal linking up the two seas,
the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean, was finished. The project was
designed, carried out and financed by Pierre Paul Riquet. The Canal Royal
du Languedoc now had to develop trade. Vauban improved the canal which
was embellished with grand structures like the bridge-canals over the
Répudre or the Cesse.
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The
Works of the Canal of the Midi
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The
Cesse Bridge Canal :
The aqueduct was built
by Vauban to raise the Canal and thus make it safe from the temperamental
waters of the River Cesse.
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Le
Somail , The posthouse/inn
Paul
Riquet built the staging post on the Canal du Midi for the boatmen
who were the first to use this peaceful waterway. In addition, a
humpback bridge, a chapel and an ice house, all of which are interesting
for their architectural style, make this an outstanding stopping
place on the canal.
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The Patiasses
overflow weir
Upstream
from the Cesse aqueduct, this overflow with its impressive wall
and six sluices regulate the water level of the Canal.
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The
Répudre Aqueduct
This
was the first bridge-canal to be built in France and the only
one built by Riquet himself from 1676. It enables the Canal to
continue gracefully on its way over the Répudre.
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The Pech
Laurier Lock
This is
a double chambered lock upstream from Argens-Minervois. A lock was
built to enable boats to pass despite the difference in level of
the land.
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The
Argent Double structures
The
overflow was designed by Vauban and completed work on the Canal
began by Pierre Paul Riquet. It has eleven bonded arches supporting
the tow path and acts as an overflow. A little further on, a bridge-canal
passes over the Argent Double.
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