The VNF now intends to drain a portion of the Canal du Midi , to chop down more Plane trees. The canal has never been
drained in modern history and these same trees are what holds the canal together.. The very trees you see in the background
of this site are condemned to die.
Recently , a 190 KM/hr wind came through the area, blowing
down trees everywhere. But not one Plane tree (platane) fell!
The Committee decided to inscribe the nominated property on the basis of cultural
criteria (i), (ii), (iv) and (vi) considering that the site is of outstanding universal value being one of the greatest engineering
achievements of the Modern Age, providing the model for the flowering of technology that led directly to the Industrial Revolution
and the modern technological age. Additionally, it combines with its technological innovation a concern for high aesthetic
architectural and landscape design that has few parallels. The Committee endorsed the inscription of this property as the
Canal du Midi clearly is an exceptional example...
Date of Inscription: 1996 Criteria: (i)(ii)(iv)(vi) Property : 1172 ha Buffer zone: 2014 ha Region of Midi-Pyrénées
(departments of Haute-Garonne and Tarn); Region of Languedoc-Roussillon (departments of l'Aude and l'Herault) N43
36 41 E1 24 59 Ref: 770
Brief Description
This 360-km network of navigable waterways linking the Mediterranean and the Atlantic through 328 structures (locks,
aqueducts, bridges, tunnels, etc.) is one of the most remarkable feats of civil engineering in modern times. Built between
1667 and 1694, it paved the way for the Industrial Revolution. The care that its creator, Pierre-Paul Riquet, took in the
design and the way it blends with its surroundings turned a technical achievement into a work of art.
