Écluse Réchicourt-le-Château — Local services in Sarrebourg-Château-Salins

Somewhat ugly but impressive! A lock with the highest level difference in France, completed in 1965, and this is how the concrete looks like. Still, worth a passage and comparatively easy to navigate due to the floating bollards any higher lock should have. Nice mooring and picnic sites both in front of the upper as well the lower lock gates. When coming with a chartered boat from the East from Hesse or Niderviller, however, this will be your first lock. You may consider getting some previous lock experience elsewhere, or at least observe some experienced boaters using this...

Stumbled on this while cycling through France last month—Réchicourt-le-Château lock, recently transformed from a massive gray concrete slab into a 6,400+ square foot mural. A giant heron now stretches across the entire face of the lock, painted just this spring (2025) for its 60th anniversary. One of the biggest locks in France, it replaces six old locks and saves nearly two hours of travel time. At the top of the mural you’re looking at one canal; way down at the bottom, the other. Public art on an industrial scale. Totally unexpected—and completely...

Amazing piece of engineering. A lock with a 15.7m vertical difference. It was built on the Marne to the Rhine canal to replace 6 other locks and save 2 hours in time. To arrive at the bottom is like arriving at a dam. To stare down into the void seeing a boat with its nervous occupants is not for those with vertigo. We came across it by accident on a bike tour but well worth a look if you're...