Fonseranes Locks

They consist of eight oval-shaped lock chambers, characteristic of the Canal du Midi, and nine gates, which allow boats to be raised a height of 21.5 metres (71 ft) over a distance of 300 metres (980 ft).

The flight was originally built as an eight-rise, which together with the ninth lock (the écluse de Notre-Dame, 710 metres (0.44 mi) to the northeast) allowed boats to cross the Orb river on a level and re-enter the canal further downstream.

Boats now enter and leave the lower end of the flight through the side of chamber seven, which is permanently kept at its upper water level.

Unfortunately the project encountered technical problems, and after many years of attempting to solve them the inclined plane was abandoned in 2001.

These and the locks themselves have made the site the third most popular tourist destination in Languedoc-Roussillon, after the Pont du Gard and the town of Carcassonne.

Open locks, seen from the bottom of the flight
Boats passing through the locks
Diagram of the locks and gates, showing the numbering of the chambers and the six in use at the present day.
Fonseranes water slope .
Modern reconstruction of an ancient Greek rowing warship Ivlia leaves the Fonseranes Locks. 1992.