Corinth Canal (1893): Cutting Through the Isthmus of Greece

The Corinth Canal is a narrow waterway cut through the Isthmus of Corinth in southern Greece, linking the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf and the Aegean Sea. Opened on 25 July 1893, it fulfilled a dream that went back to antiquity, but its narrow width meant it never became the busy shipping route its builders had hoped for.

An ancient dream

The isthmus, only about 6 km wide at its narrowest point, joins the Peloponnese to mainland Greece. Ships sailing between the Ionian and Aegean seas otherwise had to go around the dangerous capes of the Peloponnese, a detour of more than 300 km.

Around 600 BC Periander, the ruler of Corinth, is said to have considered a canal but instead built the Diolkos, a paved trackway over which ships or their cargoes were hauled across the land. Its remains can still be seen near the canal’s western end. Later figures including Demetrius Poliorcetes, Julius Caesar and Caligula are reported to have planned a canal.

The emperor Nero actually began work in AD 67, turning the first earth himself, according to Suetonius. The historian Josephus records that 6,000 Jewish prisoners from the war in Judaea were sent to dig. The project stopped after Nero’s death in AD 68. Corinth itself had a long history, including its destruction by Rome in the sack of Corinth in 146 BC.

Construction, 1882–1893

After Greek independence the idea revived, and the success of the Suez Canal in 1869 encouraged new investors. In 1881 the Greek government granted a concession to a company led by the Hungarian general István Türr, a veteran of Garibaldi’s campaigns. The Hungarian engineer Béla Gerster drew up the plans.

Work began in 1882 with King George I of Greece attending the opening ceremony. Workers blasted and dug a straight channel through limestone and marl, removing millions of cubic metres of rock. The original company ran into financial trouble and collapsed in 1889. The Greek banker Andreas Syngros organised a new Greek company that completed the work, and the canal was formally opened on 25 July 1893.

The cut was made almost entirely through the high middle of the isthmus, where workers had to remove rock to a depth of more than 80 metres. The engineers chose almost vertical walls to reduce the amount of excavation, a decision that saved money at the time but left the sides exposed to erosion and rockfalls for generations afterwards.

Dimensions

The finished canal is about 6.4 km (6,343 m) long, roughly 24.6 m wide at the water’s surface and 21.3 m at the bottom, and about 8 m deep. Its vertical walls rise up to around 80–90 metres above the water, making it one of the most dramatic artificial waterways in the world.

Limited success

From the start the canal disappointed commercially. It was too narrow for many steamships, strong currents made navigation tricky, and ships often needed tugs. Shipowners frequently preferred the longer sea route. Within a few decades the trend toward ever larger ships meant that most merchant vessels could not use it at all.

Because the channel is so narrow, larger ships must pass one at a time in a single direction, usually under tow or at very low speed. Waiting times, tolls and the risk of grounding all discouraged regular users.

The soft rock walls also caused repeated landslides, which have closed the canal many times. During the German retreat from Greece in 1944, German forces blocked the canal with debris and demolished bridges; it reopened in 1948. In the 2020s it was again closed for long periods for repairs to unstable walls.

Key people

• István Türr (1825–1908), Hungarian soldier and promoter who had fought with Garibaldi in Italy; he obtained the 1881 concession and led the original canal company.
• Béla Gerster (1850–1923), Hungarian engineer who prepared the plans for the cutting.
• Andreas Syngros (1830–1899), wealthy Greek banker and philanthropist whose company completed the work after 1889.
• King George I of Greece (reigned 1863–1913), who attended the start of construction in 1882 and presided over the opening in 1893.
• Nero (reigned AD 54–68), the Roman emperor whose ancient attempt to dig a canal was abandoned after his death.

Legacy

Today the canal is used mostly by yachts, small cargo ships and cruise and tourist boats, and it is a popular sightseeing spot. Visitors watch from the high bridges as ships pass far below, and bungee jumping from one bridge has become an attraction. Submersible bridges at Isthmia and Posidonia, at either end, sink below the water to let vessels through.

The canal is often compared with the much larger Panama Canal as an example of the late nineteenth-century enthusiasm for cutting through land to shorten sea routes.

Timeline

• c. 600 BC: Periander of Corinth builds the Diolkos ship trackway.
• AD 67: Nero begins digging a canal; work stops after his death in 68.
• 1881: Greece grants a concession to István Türr’s company.
• 1882: Construction begins in the presence of King George I.
• 1889: The original company collapses; a Greek company takes over.
• 1893, 25 July: The Corinth Canal is formally opened.
• 1944: Retreating German forces block the canal.
• 1948: The canal reopens to shipping.

Why it matters

The Corinth Canal turned a 2,500-year-old ambition into reality and remains a striking feat of nineteenth-century engineering. Its story also shows how quickly changes in ship size could overtake even a long-awaited project.