Canal du Centre Boat Lifts

The old Canal du Centre linking the Meuse and Scheldt basins had to climb about sixty-six metres in a short distance, and rather than build a long flight of locks the engineers installed four hydraulic boat lifts, the first opened in 1888 and the other three in 1917, each raising a caisson of water with the boat in it by hydraulic ram against a counterweighted twin. All four still work using their original machinery, which is why they were inscribed by UNESCO in 1998: they are the only lifts of this type anywhere still in their original condition and in use. Commercial traffic moved to the modern Strepy-Thieu lift in 2002, so the old canal was left to pleasure and trip boats; the trips and the visitor services stopped when the provincial association that ran them ceased its activities, officially on 31 March 2026, and a new operator was expected for the 2027 season.

History

Along a 7-kilometre stretch of the Canal du Centre, which links the basins of the Meuse and the Scheldt, the water level rises by 66.2 metres, and to overcome it the 15.4-metre lift at Houdeng-Goegnies was opened in 1888 and three more lifts, each with a rise of 16.93 metres, in 1917. They were designed by Edwin Clark of the British firm Clark, Stansfield & Clark, and each has two caissons on central iron columns, hydraulically linked so that one rises as the other descends. Since 2002 commercial traffic has used the Strépy-Thieu boat lift instead; lift no. 1 was taken out of service after an accident in January 2002 and thoroughly restored during repairs that began in 2005. UNESCO inscribed the four lifts in 1998 as the only ones of the eight hydraulic lift locks built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries still working in their original form (Wikipedia, Boat Lifts on the Canal du Centre).

What's there

• Four original hydraulic lifts - working with their 1880s and 1910s machinery.
• Counterweighted caissons - the twin tanks that raise and lower together.
• The old canal - the trip boats that passed through the lifts stopped in 2025.
• The engine houses - the hydraulic machinery in its buildings.

When to go

The towpath is walkable year round and free. Boat trips through the lifts, much the best way to see them, ran from April to October until 2025 and were not expected back before 2027 - check before travelling. Half a day.

Practical notes

Boat trips stopped with their operator in 2025. Without a trip you watch from the bank, which is less than half the experience. Interpretation is in French. The four lifts are spread along several kilometres and need a car or bike between them.

Nearby

Strepy-Thieu is on the modern canal alongside; La Louviere lies east.

Key facts