Canal d'Entreroches, Historic canal ruins in Eclépens, Switzerland
The Canal d'Entreroches is a historic waterway in canton Vaud, running through the Mormont hill range between the villages of Eclépens and Orny. Parts of the canal bed and one surviving lock remain visible on the ground, and the site is listed as a class A Swiss cultural property of national significance.
Construction began in 1638 under the Breton engineer Elie Gouret, and the main section was completed around 1648. The canal was conceived as part of a far larger scheme to link Swiss rivers running toward both the North Sea and the Mediterranean.
The canal takes its name from the village of Entreroches, which no longer exists today and has almost entirely disappeared from the landscape. The remaining lock structure gives visitors a concrete sense of how water was once controlled using stone and timber in this part of canton Vaud.
Walking paths near Eclépens lead to the most accessible sections, with the northern part of the canal being the easiest to reach on foot. The ruins are open in the landscape without fencing, so sturdy footwear is a good idea, especially after rain.
The canal was built to carry goods across the watershed between the Rhine and the Rhône, but it never operated long enough to become commercially useful. The finished sections saw very little traffic before the broader project was abandoned.
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