Les Sept Ecluses de Rogny

Linking two river basins "from the Loire to the Seine" by means of a canal with locks fed by a shared reach was the daring project conceived at the end of the 16th century by the engineer Hugues Cosnier, encouraged by Henri IV and his minister Sully. Work on the canal - now the Briare Canal - began in 1604: twelve thousand workers were employed, protected from the threats of the major landowners by six thousand troops.
An exceptional engineering structure, made up of six, then seven locks joined together, made it possible to cross a 24-metre difference in level. Brought into service in 1642, they operated without interruption until 1887, when a new route was opened around the hill, with six spaced locks adapted to the new Freycinet gauge. The Seven Locks of Rogny remain an astonishing work of art.