Ludwig Canal

The first realisation of a dream to enable barges to navigate from the North Sea to the Black Sea, the Ludwig Canal proved to be unsustainable, and was eventually succeeded by a larger canal, over a century later.

Whereas the Main and the Danube were both broad canalised rivers, the Ludwig Canal was a narrow channel, with numerous locks, and a shortage of water supply to the summit level.

A further nail in the canal's coffin was competition from the rapidly developing railway network in the southern German countryside.

[5] Today, there still exists between Nuremberg and Berching some 60 km (37 mi) of canal in good condition.

Some of the locks still function, and part of the towpath has been converted to a cycle track.