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Shipping on the Main Canal at Volkach

Shipping on the Main Canal at Volkach

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Shipping on the Main Canal at Volkach

Recommended by 74 cyclists out of 79

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for: Volkacher Mainschleife

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Location: Sommerach, Kitzingen, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany

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Top cycling routes to Shipping on the Main Canal at Volkach

4.7

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1. Church in Düllstadt – Oberes Tor Volkach loop from Laub

25.4km

01:32

100m

Easy bike ride. Great for any fitness level. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels.

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4.6

(7)

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2. Volkach Market Square and Fountain – Oberes Tor Volkach loop from Eichfeld

21.3km

01:18

100m

Easy bike ride. Great for any fitness level. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels.

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5.0

(2)

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3. Mainradweg at Volkach – Volkacher Mainschleife loop from Volkach

8.83km

00:37

20m

Easy bike ride. Great for any fitness level. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Tips

🚴 Rudi Pfeil 🚴

August 10, 2023

The Main Canal is a navigable passage through the Main near Volkach in Lower Franconia. It shortens the southern part of the Main loop and, as a lock and power plant canal, is part of the Gerlachshausen barrage of the impounded federal waterway Main.

The narrow meanders of the Main loop did not pose any problems for shipping in the Middle Ages and early modern times, because mostly small vessels were used for shipping. Due to the expansion at the end of the 19th century, the excavation of a 22 m wide and 90 cm deep fairway made it possible for ships of up to 600 tons to pass through. However, the sometimes very small radii when driving through the Main loop (400 to 700 m) set a limit to the expansion of the Main. Ships were only able to negotiate the narrow bends with the chain that was laid in the Main (see also: Chain shipping on the Main).[2]
Initial plans envisaged a tunnel through the Escherndorfer Berg

However, the expansion of the Main into a major shipping route below Würzburg was already being pushed ahead in the 1930s, so the chain was eliminated in 1938. Now one was once again faced with the problem of having to overcome the Main loop. The first plans therefore envisaged a 315 m long shipping tunnel between Fahr and Escherndorf/Köhler. However, the tunnel was discarded because it did not allow for a future widening of the ship types. The ships would have been limited to a length of 67 m and a width of 8.2 m.

Other plans completely bypassed the Main loop when expanding and designed the so-called "Beilngrieser line" with a canal between Wernfeld and Arnstein-Garstadt in the south of Schweinfurt, which would have bypassed large parts of the Main triangle. After checks by the Würzburg New Construction Office, this line was quickly rejected for geological, agricultural and financial reasons. Now the "Maintallinie" was discussed again, which provided for a bypass of the old Würzburg Mainbrücke and the channeling of the Mainschleife.

The first plans assumed a canalization from Gerlachshausen. The canal should then run past Obervolkach, through Unterspiesheim, Gochsheim, Untereuerheim to Viereth. A power plant would have been built on the Volkacher Kirchberg. The financing and the protests of the population led to the failure of this approach as well. After further drafts, today's breakthrough in Volkach-Gerlachshausen was determined for execution in 1941, but the Second World War prevented rapid implementation.[3]

The planned start of construction after the world war again led to protests from the population, as the construction would result in major interventions in nature. In addition, two large heaps were planned for the canal excavation. Only after a compromise, which included the preservation of a hillside forest near the Hallburg, could construction begin. As early as 1950, the earthworks were publicly advertised. From the summer of 1952, the full daily rate of 6,000 m of tunneling per day (corresponding to a daily rate of 3,700 cubic meters converted to the construction period) was achieved. A total of 750 workers were employed at the construction site during peak operation, so that the construction site made a decisive contribution to reducing unemployment on the Mainschleife.[4]

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainkanal_(Volkach)

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🚴 Gracia 👑Patricia 🚶🏼‍♀️

October 16, 2024

Beautiful bike tour along the Main

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Elevation 240 m

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Tuesday 28 October

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Max wind speed: 18.0 km/h

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Location: Sommerach, Kitzingen, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany

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Shipping on the Main Canal at Volkach

1. Church in Düllstadt – Oberes Tor Volkach loop from Laub

2. Volkach Market Square and Fountain – Oberes Tor Volkach loop from Eichfeld

3. Mainradweg at Volkach – Volkacher Mainschleife loop from Volkach

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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