The Lower Rhine region or Niederrhein is a region around the
Lower Rhine
The Lower Rhine (german: Niederrhein; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the river Rhine) flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hook of Holland, Netherlands (including the Nederrijn or "Nether Rhine" within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta); al ...
section of the river
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
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, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
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in
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
between approximately
Oberhausen and
Krefeld in the East and the
Dutch border around
Kleve in the West. As the region can be defined either geographically, linguistically, culturally, or by political, economic and traffic relations throughout the centuries, as well as by more recent political subdivisions, its precise borders are disputable and occasionally may be seen as extending beyond the Dutch border. Yet, while the Dutch half of the Lower Rhine geographic area is called
Nederrijn
300px, Course of the Nederrijn
Nederrijn (; "Lower Rhine"; not to be confused with the section called Lower Rhine further upstream) is the name of the Dutch part of the Rhine from the confluence at the town of Angeren of the cut-off Rhine be ...
in Dutch, it is a separate territory from the adjoining German Niederrhein region, despite both names being a translation of the other.
A cultural bond of the German Lower Rhine region is its
Low Franconian
Low Franconian, Low Frankish, NetherlandicSarah Grey Thomason, Terrence Kaufman: ''Language Contact, Creolization, and Genetic Linguistics'', University of California Press, 1991, p. 321. (Calling it "Low Frankish (or Netherlandish)".)Scott Shay ...
language, specifically the Cleverlander dialect (Dutch: ''Kleverlands'', German: ''Kleverländisch''), which is closely related to the Dutch dialects of
South Guelderish
South Guelderish ( nl, Zuid-Gelders , german: Südgeldersch, ''Kleverländisch'') refers to the easternmost group of Dutch dialects spoken along the lower Rhine (Dutch Nederrijn and German Niederrhein). In its narrower sense, the term refers str ...
just across the border. In the region's southeastern portion
Bergish is spoken, which is the easternmost dialect of
Limburgish. Other typicalities of the area include the predominantly Catholic background as well as the Rhenish
Carnival tradition.
The area basically covers the districts of
Cleves,
Wesel,
Viersen and
Neuss as well as the independent cities of
Duisburg
Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in No ...
,
Mönchengladbach and
Krefeld. While disputable,
Oberhausen and
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...
may also be seen as part of the Lower Rhine region.
The Lower Rhine region's landscape is mostly flat green grassland with wide views of the horizon. Sights include the historic town centers of Cleves and
Xanten, as well as Xanten's Roman archeological museum, the castle "
Schloss Moyland" in
Bedburg-Hau or the Catholic pilgrimage town of
Kevelaer.
Tourismus & Wallfahrt
kevelaer.de
See also
* Regierungsbezirk Düsseldorf Government region
* Weeze Airport
Weeze Airport , less commonly known as ''Niederrhein Airport'', is a minor international airport in the Lower Rhine region of Germany. It is used by Ryanair. The airport is situated southwest of the municipality of Weeze () and northwest of ...
References
External links
www.niederrhein-tourismus.de
{{Authority control
Regions of North Rhine-Westphalia
Rhineland