The Berkel () 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 the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

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 right

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

IJssel The IJssel (; nds-nl, Iessel(t) ) is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer (before the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee), a North Sea natural harbour. ...

. The river rises in

Billerbeck Billerbeck ( Westphalian: ''Billerbiëk'') is a municipality in the district of Coesfeld in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. Geography Neighbor towns/cities Billerbeck has boundaries to Rosendahl, Laer, Altenberge, Havixbeck, Nottuln and Coes ...

, near the German city of

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

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 ...

, and crosses the border with the Netherlands near

Vreden Vreden is a small town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany near the Dutch border. The town is located near the river Berkel. The first mentioning of the town is proven for the year 839. In 1252 Vreden obtained city rights. Demographics Religion ...

(Germany) and

Rekken Rekken is a village in the Dutch municipality of Berkelland. It lies in the most northeast corner of the province of Gelderland, about half a mile from the German border. The river Berkel enters The Netherlands east of Rekken. Rekken is also know ...

(Netherlands). From there, it flows through the province of

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

to join the IJssel at

Zutphen Zutphen () is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It lies some 30 km northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river Ijssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel. First mentioned in th ...

after about 115 kilometres. Before the coming of the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

, the Berkel was a major shipping route for goods from Münster to

Eibergen Eibergen ( Low Saxon: ''Eibarge'') is a town and former municipality in Gelderland in the Eastern Netherlands. It is part of the Achterhoek cultural region. The administrative cooperation of about 20 municipalities in this region is the Regio Acht ...

Borculo Borculo is a city in the eastern Netherlands, in the municipality of Berkelland, Gelderland. Borculo was an independent municipality until 2005, when it merged with Eibergen, Neede, and Ruurlo. Other population centers in the municipality of Borc ...

, and Zutphen, transported in flat-bottomed boats called ''Berkelzompen''. In the 1950s, the Dutch stretch of the river was channelized to prevent

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

ing and to improve

drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess of water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils is good enough to prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic condition ...

. Recently old bends have been reconnected to the straightened lengths of the river. Towns along the course of the Berkel include: *in Germany:

, Coesfeld, Gescher, Stadtlohn,

*in the Netherlands:

Lochem Lochem () is a city and municipality in the province of Gelderland in the Eastern Netherlands. In 2005, it merged with the municipality of Gorssel, retaining the name of Lochem. As of 2019, it had a population of 33,590. Population centres The ...

Almen Almen is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is in the municipality Lochem, about 7 km east of the city of Zutphen. It was first mentioned in 1188 as Almen, and means "settlement near elm trees". Castle Ehze was built around 1 ...

Warnsveld Warnsveld is a town in the eastern Netherlands, about 2 km east of Zutphen. History The first mention of the village in writing is from the year 1121 as Wansveld, and means "field of Warin or Warni (person)". Warnsveld developed in the Mid ...

Gallery

File:Berkelaue in Tungerloh, Gescher (04258).jpg, Berkel between Coesfeld and Gescher File:Bij Haarlo, de Berkel foto4 2015-08-21 10.56.jpg, Berkel in Berkelland File:Eibergen, de Berkel foto5 2015-08-21 11.53.jpg, Berkel in

Image:Bij Almen, de Berkel vanaf de brug IMG 2000 2018-04-07 09.23.jpg, Berkel in

References

{{Rhine Tributaries Rivers of Gelderland Rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia Rivers of the Netherlands Achterhoek Rivers of Germany International rivers of Europe