Life Canal de Castilla

History

Many people consider the Canal de Castilla to be one of the foremost civil engineering works in Spain. It was conceived and planned in Spain during the Enlightenment, in the 18th century. Jovellanos said: “it will ensure the renown of those who begin it, continue it and conclude it.

The Canal was conceived for the purpose of securing the social and economic recovery of the region of Tierra de Campos, which was one of the poorest regions of the country at the time. Communicating the area with the sea was expected to break its secular isolation.

When work concluded in 1849, the goals of construction were achieved. The distance between the producers of agricultural products—mainly wheat—on the Castilian plains and northern ports was closed. Almost 400 barges connected the centre of Castile with Alar del Rey (Palencia), and this town with the port of Santander.

The 129-mile (207 kilometres), Y-shaped route passes through three provinces. As chance would have, or perhaps due to mere spatial coincidence, the canal connects with other important routes, such as the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela (Camino de Santiago) or the Cañada Real de las Merinas, both of which were major economic arteries at that time in history.

This waterway was used successfully until the railroads came in 1860, which usurped the primary use of the canal for bulk goods transport within little more than twenty years of its inauguration.

In 1909, a law authorised the conversion of the Canal de Castilla into an irrigation canal. In 1927, management and conservation were transferred to the recently created Confederación Hidrográfica del Duero.