| Canal de la Sensée | |
|---|---|
| The Bassin Rond - a small lake of sorts where the Canal de l'Escaut end the Canal de la Sensée meet next to Estrun in Northern France | |
| Specifications | |
| Canal length: | 25 km (16 mi)[1] |
| History | |
| Present owner: | VNF |
| Principal Engineer(s): | Augustin Honnorez |
| Date approved: | 1806 |
| Construction began: | 1819 |
| Date completed: | 1820 |
| Geography | |
| Starts at: | At Douai, connects to Scarpe supérieure, Scarpe inférieure, and Deûle [2] |
| Ends at: | L'Escaut and Canal de Saint-Quentin in Cambrai [2] |
The Canal de la Sensée is a project that was developed under Napoleon. In March 1806, the imperial government gave orders to build a canal which would link the Scarpe River and the Escaut River (German: Scheldt). The work was commenced under the direction of Augustin Honnorez in June 1819 and the Sensée canal was opened to navigation in November 1820. (Although it is said that the channel of the Sensée was dug by English prisoners of war, although this could not have been the case, being started some years after 1815). At that time the boats were pulled by men or horses working for boat employers. Shortly after WWI 1914-1918, horses were replaced by tractors.
The Canal de la Sensée forms one section of the Canal Dunkerque-Escaut route.