Twentekanaal

The Twentekanaal (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtʋɛntəkaːˌnaːl]) is a canal running through the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel, connecting the three largest cities of the Twente region, Almelo, Hengelo and Enschede to the national network of rivers and canals. Because the canal forks to reach Almelo, the canal is officially plural, which is Twentekanalen.

The Twentekanaal starts at the IJssel North of Zutphen at the village of Eefde and runs through Almen, Lochem, Goor, Delden and Hengelo to Enschede. West of Delden, a fork of the canal runs to Almelo.

Both canals (Zutphen–Enschede and the fork Delden–Almelo) are managed by Rijkswaterstaat (the Dutch government body responsible for waterways). The part of the canal Eefde–Delden is 33 kilometres long, the fork Delden–Almelo is 15 kilometres long and the parts of the canal Delden–Hengelo and Hengelo–Enschede are subsequently 9 and 5 kilometres long. The total length of the canal is 65 kilometres.

History

Although the first plan for a canal to Twente dates back to the middle of the 19th century, construction did not start until 1930, after a quarrel of nearly a quarter of a century about eight subjects. The canal was constructed to secure a better supply of raw materials for the textile industry (rough cotton) and for the supply of coal from the mines in Limburg. Most of the canal was constructed as a job project for unemployed workers during the crisis.