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Biking around brussels canal lembeek
The Brussels Canal (French: canal de Bruxelles, Dutch: kanaal van Brussel) is a section of waterway in Belgium. It generally refers to the northernmost portion of the Brussels Charleroi Canal (from Ninove gate to Sainctelette) and the southernmost section of the Brussels–Scheldt Maritime Canal or Willebroek canal (between Sainctelette and the Vergote dock).
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The Brussels canal divides the municipality of Brussels-City from Molenbeek, forming the border between them. Previously (before the 19th century, when the canal was dug) there used to be a Willebroek canal which through a series of locks eventually reached the Brussels harbor inside the city. Also there used to be a small canal connecting the Willebroek canal along the western portion of the old defensive walls of the city of Brussels to the two arms of the river Senne, which were later was covered over and the entire river redirected underground for its entire course within inner Brussels. In the 20th century even the underground course of the river was altered and the city center river bedding was dried, the water redirected away from the center and moved along the western side of the inner ring road - thus also along the Brussels Canal.
The Brussels canal features several turning basins in its urban course. As part of multiple public works projects, including the covering of the Senne river, excess water from the underground floing Senne is drained into the canal.