The Regnitz () is a river in

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is a left tributary of the Main and is in length. The river is formed by the confluence of the rivers

Rednitz The Rednitz () is a long river in Franconia, Germany, tributary of the Regnitz (more precisely: its southern, left headstream). Slightly richer in water than the other source river Pegnitz and also richer in tributaries, it is hydrographicall ...

and Pegnitz, which meet in the city of

Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is the Franconia#Towns and cities, s ...

. From there the Regnitz runs northwards through the cities of

Erlangen Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...

and

Forchheim Forchheim () is a Town#Germany, town in Upper Franconia () in northern Bavaria, and also the seat of the administrative Forchheim (district), district of Forchheim. Forchheim is a former royal city, and is sometimes called the Gateway to the Fr ...

. It finally meets the Main near the city of

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

. Including its source rivers Rednitz and Franconian Rezat, it is long, providing the furthest source (and hence length) of the Main's river system, the largest and longest right bank tributary of the river

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

. Small portions of the Regnitz near Bamberg are incorporated into a canal connecting the Main with the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

: the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, which otherwise runs parallel from Bamberg to Fürth. Between Fürth and Forchheim many norias for drawing water up were used from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

until the 19th century. Some are still there or were reconstructed. The origin of the name is uncertain. The first written evidence of the name refers to a large farm on the river. It is first mentioned in a Latin document from 1160 as Rekinzi. It may be based on Slavic Rakonica ('crab river').

Sources

*Bogner, Franz X. (2007): ''Rednitz und Regnitz. Eine Luftbildreise von Weißenburg bis Bamberg''. Verlag Fränkischer Tag, Bamberg,

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Bavaria Federal waterways in Germany Erlangen-Höchstadt Forchheim (district) Bamberg (district) Rivers of Germany