Burgundy Canal
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A voyage back in time with a view through old black and white postcards
Travel back in hsitory with a glimpse of how the canal, locks and people were many decades ago, scenes of barges, villages and daily life along the water banks. Many of the postcards you will see are more than 100 years old and the scenes are still basically the same today. Most of the barge cruises on the canal will be travelling through the villages and places shown in the postcards, you'll have the occasion to see that things do not always change that quickly.
Powerful engines have replaced the horses who once pulled the barges, the old railway line and steam trains are now just a memory, but the canal is still here and has changed the lives of all the people who live or work along the canal. The postcards give you an insight into the way things used to be, they are snapshots of daily life.
The canal and villages of Burgundy
- The tunnel at Pouilly en Auxois
- Postcards from Buffon
- Activity near the tunnel at Escommes
- Scenes from Pont d'Ouche
- Maintenance on a lock at Pont de Pany
- The historic Dijon Port
- The canal at Laroche Migennes
- The town of Montbard
- Three views of Plombieres les Dijons
- The port and market town of Pouilly en Auxois
- A barge shop at Ravieres
- Mules on the bridge near Saint Florentin
- Scenes from Saint Usage and Saint Jean de Losne near the river Saone at the southern extremity of canal.
- The busy port of Tonnerre
- The port of Venary les Laumes
What has changed during 100 years?
Many of the small farming villages now have a much lower population, before the farms required many laborours and the work was manuel. Today you will find just one or two farms being operated by a lone farmer.
The railway line and steam trains have disappeared, the stations have been sold and converted into homes, but there are still traces of the old railway line, in fact in the town of Bligny Sur Ouche, they have restored an old train and you can take a ride on a few miles of track along the river Ouche.
The traditional commercial barges which transported all types of merchandize and products are now very rare on the canal