|
|
History |
Constructed as a freight vessel at Oostkamp in Belgium in 1941, Fleur de Lys plied the waterways of Europe with a varied cargo.
During the Second World War, she was commandeered by the Germans and ordered to the island of Corsica. For a flat-bottomed barge, to cross the Mediterranean was something of a suicide mission. In the event, French partisans blew up a culvert beneath the canal and she was, therefore, left stranded on the Burgundy Canal.
She underwent conversion into a passenger vessel, also in Belgium, employing Belgian steelworkers and British joiners.
Her furnishing and equipment includes items from 22 countries. Whilst registered as a British ship for a time, she has sailed under the French flag since 1996.
At 160 metric tons, she is the largest size of barge capable of navigating the network of older canals in France. | | |
| |
| |
|
|
|
