The Our (; , ) is a
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...
in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
and
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 ...
. It is a left-hand
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...
of the river
Sauer/Sûre. Its total length is .
The source of the Our is in the
High Fens in southeastern Belgium, near
Manderfeld. It flows southwards, more or less along the German-Belgian border, and after
Ouren
Ouren is a village in Belgium with a population of 129 inhabitants. Ouren is a part of the municipality of Burg-Reuland and thus belongs to the German-speaking Community of Belgium.
Geography
Ouren is located at the border triangle of Belgium- ...
, along the German-Luxembourg border. The historic town of
Vianden
Vianden ( lb, Veianen or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the Oesling, north-eastern Luxembourg, with over 1,800 inhabitants. It is the capital of the canton of Vianden, which is part of the district of Diekirch. Vianden lies on t ...
lies on the Our. The Our empties into the
Sauer in
Wallendorf.
Course
The
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...
rises in the eastern
Ardennes and western
Eifel on
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
soil. Its source near the village of
Losheimergraben lies northeast of the ''Eichelsberg'' mountain (653 m) at 643 m near the
B 265. Just a few hundred metres away is the source of the
River Kyll
The Kyll (), noted by the Roman poet Ausonius as ''Celbis'',Ausonius, ''Mosella'', v. 359 is a river in western Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate), left tributary of the Moselle. It rises in the Eifel mountains, near the b ...
. The Our initially follows the B 265, which is also the Belgian-German state border. The river continues alternating between Belgium and Germany. From the
tripoint
A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...
by the
Europa Monument between
Ouren
Ouren is a village in Belgium with a population of 129 inhabitants. Ouren is a part of the municipality of Burg-Reuland and thus belongs to the German-speaking Community of Belgium.
Geography
Ouren is located at the border triangle of Belgium- ...
(B),
Sevenig (D) and
Lieler (L) it runs almost entirely on the German-Luxembourg border until it reaches
Wallendorf in Germany where it empties into the Sauer. It flows mainly from north to south but also
meander
A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex ba ...
s in places.
For the section where it runs along the German-Luxembourg border the Our is a jointly managed
condominium (the "Joint German-Luxembourg Sovereign Area"). Unilateral sovereignty only begins at the respective shore. In its upper reaches between Germany and Belgium, the state border lies, as is normal on the
thalweg
In geography and fluvial geomorphology, a thalweg or talweg () is the line of lowest elevation within a valley or watercourse.
Under international law, a thalweg is the middle of the primary navigable channel of a waterway that defines the boun ...
of the river.
Tributaries
– Location of the confluences measured from the source of the Our –
*
Auw (left, at km 9)
*
Ihrenbach (left, at km 21)
* Braunlauf (right, at km 23)
*
Irmisch (left, near km 26)
*
Ulf (right, near km 30)
*
Irsen (left, near km 67)
;Length of tributaries over 5 km
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from:start till:5.9 $left text:Auw (5.9 km)
from:start till:7.5 $right text:Medenderbach (7.5 km)
from:start till:8.7 $right text:Kolvenderbach (8.7 km)
from:start till:6.1 $right text:Weberbach (6.1 km)
from:start till:15.9 $left text:Ihrenbach (15.9 km)
from:start till:17.8 $right text:Braunlauf (17.8 km)
from:start till:17.8 $right text:Ulf (17.8 km)
from:start till:35.5 $left text:Irsen (35.5 km)
from:start till:5.0 $left text:Teggelbach (5.0 km)
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A comprehensive list that also includes the smaller tributaries is
here.
Villages on the Our
The border village of
Vianden
Vianden ( lb, Veianen or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the Oesling, north-eastern Luxembourg, with over 1,800 inhabitants. It is the capital of the canton of Vianden, which is part of the district of Diekirch. Vianden lies on t ...
, one of the most important tourist resorts in Luxembourg, lies on the Our. The Our Valley Route is a circular route that runs through Belgium and North Luxembourg. Especially worth seeing is the section between
Manderfeld (Belgium) and Lieler (Luxembourg), where the route follows the Our almost all the way. It runs ''inter alia'' past
Reuland Castle
Reuland Castle is a castle in southeast Belgium, Burg-Reuland, near the border of Germany, probably built after 1148 by the von Reuland nobles.
The castle was sold in 1322 to Count John the Blind and the
King of Bohemia. On 24 May 1384 King Wenz ...
(Ouren) and the
Europa Monument at the German-Belgian-Luxembourg
tripoint
A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...
.
Other villages are:
*
Roth an der Our
Roth an der Our is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous coun ...
*
Ouren
Ouren is a village in Belgium with a population of 129 inhabitants. Ouren is a part of the municipality of Burg-Reuland and thus belongs to the German-speaking Community of Belgium.
Geography
Ouren is located at the border triangle of Belgium- ...
*
Sevenig
*
Dahnen
*
Dasburg
*
Rodershausen
Rodershausen is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers a ...
*
Obereisenbach
*
Stolzembourg
*
Bettel
*
Gentingen
*
Ammeldingen an der Our
*
Schönberg
*
Wallendorf near
Bollendorf.
*
Grüfflingen near
St. Vith
*
Auel (village in
Burg-Reuland)
Usage
The Our is impounded north of
Vianden
Vianden ( lb, Veianen or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the Oesling, north-eastern Luxembourg, with over 1,800 inhabitants. It is the capital of the canton of Vianden, which is part of the district of Diekirch. Vianden lies on t ...
by the Our Dam and forms the lower basin of the
Vianden Pumped Storage Plant
The Vianden Pumped Storage Plant is located just north of Vianden in Diekirch District, Luxembourg. The power plant uses the pumped-storage hydroelectric method to generate electricity and serves as a peaking power plant. Its lower reservoir is l ...
.
References
Literature
* Leonard Palzkill: ''Ourtal ohne Grenzen.'' Neuerburg, 2006, .
External links
*
Official home page of the Our Nature Park with information on tourism, the ecology and local events for North Luxembourg
*
Ensebach - Upper Our Nature ReserveHochwassermeldezentrum The Moselle in Trier
{{DEFAULTSORT:Our (River)
International rivers of Europe
Belgium–Germany border
Germany–Luxembourg border
Rivers of the Ardennes (Belgium)
Rivers of the Ardennes (Luxembourg)
Rivers of Rhineland-Palatinate
Rivers of Belgium
Rivers of Luxembourg
Rivers of Wallonia
Rivers of Liège Province
Rivers of Luxembourg (Belgium)
Büllingen
Vianden
Rivers of the Eifel
Rivers of Germany
Border rivers