The Brussels-Charleroi Canal, a vital commercial waterway, was a challenge to build, due to the hilly topology of the land in between the two cities. Many of the canals near the flat coastland in Belgium were built during the rennaissance, but Brussels-Charleroi didn t happen until the industrial era. After false starts in 1656 and 1802, work began in earnest in 1827, to be completed in 1832. It has been renovated numerous times since, most recently in 1968 with the Ronquieres Inclined Plane.
