A rather strange construction awaits visitors to Moselle, between Saint-Louis and Arzviller, between the Lorraine plateau and the Alsace plain… The Saint-Louis Arzviller inclined plane is no less than a boat lift with a level change of 45 metres, integrated into the Marne-Rhine canal. It enables boats crossing the Vosges to avoid 17 locks within 4 kilometres, cutting a day's navigation down to… 4 minutes! Indeed, this structure shortens the river journey from Paris to Strasbourg by a whole day, an exceptional technical feat that is unique in Europe: in a few minutes, a 350-tonne barge is lifted to the top!
In operation since 1969, the inclined plane is open to visitors: apart from the structure, visitors can discover the machine room, familiarise themselves with the world of boating and water tourism by taking a tour on a vedette boat or tourist train, and of course, go down the inclined plane in a boat.
