Rivers.
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Photo: Philipp Schiwek |
Rhine - 1,320 kms or 820 miles in length, the Rhine is one of the longest rivers and one of the most important waterways in Europe. Its life begins up in the Swiss Alps from the waters of Lake Tuma and the glacier near Rheinquellhorn. The Rhine feeds Lake Constance on the frontier of Liechtenstein and Austria and then picks up speed before crossing the border into Germany at the city of Basel.
Heading north, the Rhine forms a natural border to Franceup to Karlsruhe. After being joined by the flows of the Neckar at Mannheim, it picks up the waters of the Main in Mainz and the Nahe at the the small village of Bingen just west of Frankfurt. It then makes a sharp turn and meanders further north towards Koblenz, where it meets the Mosel coming in from the west and on to Duisburg to be joined by the Ruhr.
Flowing through five countries the Rhine finally empties its waters in the North Sea south of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
The relatively short piece of river between Bingen and Koblenz has been the site of many battles over the centuries. Caesar came up in 53 BC and the Americans crossed it at Remagen in 1945. In between, during the Thirty Years War for example, the Swedes came down from the north, the Spanish up from the south and the French from the west, all attacking the castles of the feudal overlords. In the end there wasn't much left of the 40 or more castles that had dotted the banks of this part of the Rhine. However, in the late 1800s many castles were rebuilt on the foundations of the old, stories were written, songs sung and the "Rhine Romantic" came to life and still lives today.
Beside the beautiful castles some of the most famous wines in the world are grown in vineyards along banks of the river. In areas such as the Pfalz, Alsace, Rheinhessen or Rheingau, the quantity and quality of wines is concentrated.
Don’t be confused if you book a boat trip “up” to Cologne. In Germany, all the rivers flow from southern higher areas to the northern lower ones. This is why ships travel “up” from Dusseldorf to Cologne, although it is located south.
Ruhr - As most rivers in North Rhine-Westphalia, the Ruhr is a tributary of the Rhine. It begins life near the winter sports town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region. Because of its importance in transportation, it has given its name to one of the mightiest industrial area in all of Europe, the Ruhr Area.
The Ruhr not only feeds many lakes but five reservoirs as well, giving not only recreation and drinking water to one of the most populated areas in the world but also creating large bird sanctuaries.
Dussel - The most important fact about the 46 kms or 29 miles long river Düssel is that, in prehistoric times, it helped form the Neandertal Valley that was the home of the famous "Neandertal Man" who was found in 1856 and for a long time thought to be the earliest connection to modern man. The Düssel also gave its name to the city of Düsseldorf, founded at the point where it flows into the Rhine.