Mosel Bei Konz vom Freilichtmuseum Roscheiderhof

The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) 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 ...

that rises in the

Vosges mountains The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a singl ...

and flows through north-eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

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 ...

to western

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 betwee ...

. It is a left bank tributary of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

, which it joins at

Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman military post by Drusus around 8 B.C. Its nam ...

. A small part of

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 ...

is in its basin as it includes the

Sauer The Sauer (German and Luxembourgish, , ) or Sûre (French, ) is a river in Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. A left tributary of the Moselle, its total length is . Rising near Vaux-sur-Sûre in the Ardennes in southeastern Belgium, the Sauer ...

and the Our. Its lower course "twists and turns its way between

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

and Koblenz along one of Germany's most beautiful river valleys."''Moselle: Holidays in one of Germany's most beautiful river valleys''
at www.romantic-germany.info. Retrieved 23 Jan 2016. In this section the land to the north is the Eifel which stretches into

; to the south lies the

Hunsrück The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced mountain range, upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the Moselle (river), Moselle-Saar (north-to-west), the Nahe (south), and the Rhine (east). It is continued ...

. The river flows through a region that was cultivated by the Romans. Today, its hillsides are covered by terraced vineyards where "some of the best Rieslings grow". Many castle ruins sit on the hilltops above wine villages and towns along the slopes. Traben-Trarbach with its

art nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

architecture and Bernkastel-Kues with its traditional market square are two of the many tourist attractions on the Moselle river.

Name

The name Moselle is derived from the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

name form, ''Mosela'', via the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

''Mosella'', a diminutive form of ''Mosa'', the Latin description of the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a ...

, which used to flow parallel to the Moselle. So the ''Mosella'' was the "Little Meuse". The Moselle is first recorded by

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

in Book 13 of his '' Annals'' and in Book 4 of his ''

Histories Histories or, in Latin, Historiae may refer to: * the plural of history * ''Histories'' (Herodotus), by Herodotus * ''The Histories'', by Timaeus * ''The Histories'' (Polybius), by Polybius * ''Histories'' by Gaius Sallustius Crispus (Sallust), ...

''. The

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

poet Ausonius made it a literary theme as early as the 4th century. In his poem dated 371, called '' Mosella'', which was published in 483 hexameters, this poet of the

Late Antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English h ...

and teacher at the Trier Imperial Court (''Kaiserhof'') described a journey from Bingen over the

hills to the Moselle and then following its course to Trier on the road named after him, the

Via Ausonius Via or VIA may refer to the following: Science and technology * MOS Technology 6522, Versatile Interface Adapter * ''Via'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Noctuidae * Via (electronics), a through-connection * VIA Technologies, a Taiwan ...

. Ausonius describes flourishing and rich landscapes along the river and in the valley of the Moselle, thanks to the policies of their Roman rulers. The river subsequently gave its name to two French republican

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

s: Moselle and Meurthe-et-Moselle.

Geography

The source of the Moselle is at above sea level on the Col de

Bussang Bussang (; or ''Büssing'') is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in Northeastern France. Known as the source of the Moselle River The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mount ...

on the western slopes of the

Ballon d'Alsace The Ballon d'Alsace german: Elsässer Belchen (el. 1247 m.), sometimes also called the Alsatian Belchen to distinguish it from other mountains named " Belchen" is a mountain at the border of Alsace, Lorraine, and Franche-Comté. From its top, vie ...

in the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a singl ...

. After it discharges into the

at the Deutsches Eck in

at a height of above NHN sea level. The length of the river in France is , for it forms the border between Germany and Luxembourg, and is solely within Germany. The Moselle flows through the Lorraine region, west of the Vosges. Further downstream, in Germany, the Moselle valley forms the division between the Eifel and

mountain regions. The average flow rate of the Moselle at its mouth is ,Hydrologischer Atlas der Schweiz 2002, Tab. 5.4 ''Natürliche Abflüsse 1961-1980'' (natural discharges)
see map
) making it the second largest tributary of the Rhine by volume after the Aare () and bigger than the Main and

Neckar The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis near Schwen ...

River sections

The section of the Moselle 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 ...

near

Schengen The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and ...

to its confluence with the

Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name * Saar Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player * Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist * Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), E ...

near Konz shortly before

is in Germany known (geographically incorrectly) as the

Upper Moselle The Upper Moselle (german: Obermosel) is the section of the River Moselle, 45 kilometres long, that runs from the Franco- German-Luxembourg tripoint near Perl to its confluence with the Saar near Konz shortly before Trier. From the tripoint to it ...

. The section from Trier to Pünderich is the

Middle Moselle The Middle Moselle or Central Moselle (german: Mittelmosel) refers to the approximately 120-kilometre-long section of the river Moselle, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany from the city of Trier to Zell. The subsequent section of t ...

, the section between Pünderich and its mouth in Koblenz as the

Lower Moselle The Lower Moselle (german: Untermosel or ''Terrassenmosel'') is the name given to the lower reaches of the Moselle river - just under 100 kilometres long - in Germany between Pünderich and the Moselle's confluence with the Rhine at Koblenz. The ...

or Terraced Moselle (''Terrassenmosel''). Characteristic of the Middle and Lower Moselle are its wide

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 ban ...

s cut deeply into the highlands of the

Rhenish Massif The Rhenish Massif, Rhine Massif or Rhenish Uplands (german: Rheinisches Schiefergebirge, : 'Rhenish Slate Uplands') is a geologic massif in western Germany, eastern Belgium, Luxembourg and northeastern France. It is drained centrally, south t ...

, the most striking of which is the ''Cochemer Krampen'' between

Bremm Bremm is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Cochem, whose seat ...

and Cochem. Also typical are its vineyard terraces. From the tripoint the Moselle marks the entire Saarland–Luxembourg border.

Catchment

The

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

of the Moselle is in area. The French part covers , about 54 percent of the entire catchment. The German state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

has , the

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, a ...

, Luxembourg ,

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—al ...

in Belgium and

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 ...

, .

Tributaries

The three largest

tributaries 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 drain ...

of the Moselle are, in alphabetical order, the Meurthe, the

and the

. The Meurthe was the old upper course of the Moselle, until the latter captured the former upper reaches of the

and took it over. However, the Meuse only delivered a little more water than the Meurthe at its confluence. The Saar is the biggest of all the tributaries () as well as the longest (). The Sauer is the largest left-hand tributary and drains the region on either side of the German-Luxembourg border. The largest tributary relative to the Moselle at its confluence is the Moselotte, which is about 40% greater by volumetric flow and thus represents the main branch of the Moselle system. At its mouth, the Moselle delivers of water into the Rhine after flowing for . TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:xxxx ImageSize = width:500 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = left:10 right:10 top:10 bottom:40 AlignBars = justify Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(0.97,0.97,0.97) BackgroundColors = canvas:canvas Period = from:0 till:250 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:30 start:0 gridcolor:blue BarData= barset:Riverlength PlotData= width:18 fontsize:M textcolor:black color:skyblue shift:(20,-6) anchor:from barset:Riverlength from:start till:end width:20 color:drabgreen Text:The_10_longest_tributaries fontsize:10 from:start till:end width:20 color:canvas from:start till:227 text:

(227 km) from:start till:173 text:

(173 km) from:start till:161 text: Meurthe (161 km) from:start till:142 text: Kyll (142 km) from:start till:138 text: Seille (138 km) from:start till:97 text:

Madon The Madon () is a long river in the Vosges and Meurthe-et-Moselle ''départements'', northeastern France. Its source is near Vioménil. It flows generally north. It is a left tributary of the Moselle into which it flows at Pont-Saint-Vincen ...

(97 km) from:start till:86 text: Orne (86 km) from:start till:74 text: Lieser (74 km) from:start till:63 text: Salm (63 km) from:start till:59 text:

Elzbach The Elzbach (also: ''Elz'') is a small river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, a left tributary of the Moselle. It rises in the Eifel, near Kelberg. The Elz flows through Monreal and past Eltz Castle. It flows into the Moselle in Moselkern, in ...

(59 km) TextData= fontsize:M pos:(10,20) text:km TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:xxxx ImageSize = width:500 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = left:10 right:10 top:10 bottom:40 AlignBars = justify Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(0.97,0.97,0.97) BackgroundColors = canvas:canvas Period = from:0 till:80 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:0 gridcolor:blue BarData= barset:Riverlength PlotData= width:18 fontsize:M textcolor:black color:skyblue shift:(20,-6) anchor:from barset:Riverlength from:start till:end width:20 color:drabgreen Text:The_10_largest_tributaries_by_volume fontsize:10 from:start till:end width:20 color:canvas from:start till:78.2 text:

(78.2 m³/s) from:start till:53.8 text:

(53.8 m³/s) from:start till:41.1 text: Meurthe (41.1 m³/s) from:start till:13.7 text: Moselotte (13.7 m³/s) from:start till:12.4 text: Orne (12.4 m³/s) from:start till:11.1 text:

(11.1 m³/s) from:start till:10.5 text: Seille (10.5 m³/s) from:start till:10.2 text: Kyll (10.2 m³/s) from:start till:9.7 text: Vologne (9.7 m³/s) from:start till:4.5 text: Alf (4.5 m³/s) TextData= fontsize:M pos:(10,20) text:m³/s TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:xxxx ImageSize = width:500 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = left:10 right:10 top:10 bottom:40 AlignBars = justify Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(0.97,0.97,0.97) BackgroundColors = canvas:canvas Period = from:0 till:7500 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1000 start:0 gridcolor:blue BarData= barset:Riverlength PlotData= width:18 fontsize:M textcolor:black color:skyblue shift:(20,-6) anchor:from barset:Riverlength from:start till:end width:20 color:drabgreen Text:The_10_largest_catchments_of_the_tributaries fontsize:10 from:start till:end width:20 color:canvas from:start till:7431 text:

(7,431 km²) from:start till:4259 text:

(4,259 km²) from:start till:3085 text: Meurthe (3,085 km²) from:start till:1348 text: Seille (1,348 km²) from:start till:1268 text: Orne (1,268 km²) from:start till:1032 text:

(1,032 km²) from:start till:843 text: Kyll (843 km²) from:start till:402 text: Lieser (402 km²) from:start till:385 text:

Rupt de Mad The Rupt de Mad () is a long river in the Meuse and Meurthe-et-Moselle'' départements'', northeastern France. Its source is several small streams which rise at Geville, northwest of Toul. It flows generally northeast. It is a left tribut ...

(385 km²) from:start till:369 text: Vologne (369 km²) TextData= fontsize:M pos:(10,20) text:km²

List of tributaries

;From the left:

, Terrouin, Esch,

, Orne,

Fensch The Fensch or Fentsch is a river in the Moselle department of the Grand Est region of France. It is a left tributary of the Moselle, and thus a sub-tributary of the Rhine. Geography The Fensch is long. It rises in Fontoy in the west of the ...

, Gander, Syre,

, Kyll, Salm, Lieser, Alf, Endert, Brohlbach, Elz. ;From the right: Moselotte, Vologne, Meurthe, Seille,

, Olewiger Bach, Avelsbach, Ruwer, Feller Bach, Dhron, Ahringsbach,

Kautenbach Kautenbach ( lb, Kautebaach) is a village in the commune of Kiischpelt, in northern Luxembourg. In 2005, the village had a population of 120. Kautenbach was a commune in the canton of Wiltz until January 1, 2006, when it was merged with the comm ...

, Lützbach, Flaumbach, Altlayer Bach, Baybach, Ehrbach.

Towns

Towns along the Moselle are: * in France: Épinal, Toul, Pont-à-Mousson,

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

and Thionville * in Luxembourg:

, Remich, Grevenmacher and Wasserbillig * in Germany: Konz,

, Schweich, Bernkastel-Kues, Traben-Trarbach, Zell, Cochem and

Adjacent mountain ranges

From Trier downstream the Moselle separates the two

Central Upland The Central UplandsDickinson (1964), p.18 ff. (german: die MittelgebirgeN.B. In German die ''Mittelgebirge'' (plural) refers to the Central Uplands; das ''Mittelgebirge'' refers to a low mountain range or upland region (''Mittel'' = "medium" and ...

ranges of the Eifel (to the northwest) and the

(to the southeast).

Geology

The

, the present source region of the Moselle, were formed about 50 million years ago. In the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

and

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58ancient Rhine (''Ur-Rhein''). When, in the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million year ...

period, the

slowly rose, the meanders of the Moselle were formed between the

Valley and the Neuwied Basin.

Water levels

The

highest navigable water level The reference water levels are used on inland waterways to define a range of water levels allowing the full use of the waterway for navigation. Ship passage can be limited by the water levels that are too low, when the fairway might become too sha ...

(HSW) is and normal level (NSt) is at the Trier Gauge (''Pegel Trier'').

High water Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tabl ...

: * , Trier Gauge on 21 December 1993 * , Trier Gauge on 28 May 1983 * , Trier Gauge on 23 January 1995 * , Trier Gauge on 12 April 1983 * , Trier Gauge on 27 February 1997 Low water: * in Bernkastel on 28 July 1921

History

The Moselle was known to the Romans by the name of ''Flumen Musalla'' (in the '' Tabula Peutingeriana''), and the river was romanticised by the poet Ausonius around 371. From 1815, the Moselle formed the border between the

Grand Duchy of 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

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

(

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

in 1871). In the act of 10 April 1952 ratifying the treaty instituted by the ECSC, Article 2 charged the

French Government The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...

"to initiate, before the establishment of the Common Market, negotiations with the governments concerned in order to achieve a rapid implementation of the canalisation of the Moselle between Thionville and

. The River was canalised between

and Thionville, via a canal opened in 1964 by the Grand Duchess, Charlotte of Luxembourg, the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Konrad Adenauer and their host,

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...

, President of France. It is on the Moselle, at the site of the France–Germany–Luxembourg tripoint, that the Schengen Agreement was signed in 1992, establishing the free movement of goods and people in the

European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lis ...

Economy

The Moselle valley between Metz and Thionville is an industrial area, with

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

mining and

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistan ...

manufacturers. The Moselle valley is famous for its scenery and wine. Most well-known is the German Mosel wine region, while the Luxembourg

winegrowing Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ra ...

region is called ''Moselle Luxembourgeoise'' and the French region is called '' AOC Moselle''. Most notable among the wines produced here are Riesling, Elbling,

Müller-Thurgau Müller-Thurgau is a white grape variety (sp. '' Vitis vinifera'') which was created by Hermann Müller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882 at the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute in Germany. It is a crossing of Riesling with Madelein ...

, Kerner, and Auxerrois. The German part of the Moselle is a tourist destination.

Navigation

After the Second World War, France pressed to be able to ply the Moselle with larger ships in order to be able to link the industrial regions of Lorraine. When, in 1955, the population on the Saar voted to belong to West Germany, France demanded as "compensation" an upgrade of the Moselle. On 27 October 1956 they concluded the Moselle Treaty with Germany and Luxembourg for a canalisation of the Moselle and conceded to Germany in return the extension of the Grand Canal d'Alsace on the

Upper Rhine The Upper Rhine (german: Oberrhein ; french: Rhin Supérieur) is the section of the Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany, surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometres 170 to 529 (the sc ...

instead of an extension of the canal via Breisach. In 1958 work began and by 26 May 1964 the Moselle could be officially opened from Metz to Koblenz as a major waterway for shipping with 14 locks. France extended it by 1979 as far as Neuves-Maisons. With that, of the Moselle have been upgraded with a total of 28 locks. In the years 1992 to 1999 the navigable channel was deepened from to , which enables 1,500-tonne freighters to use the river, a 20% increase in capacity. The channel has a width of , more on the bends. The Moselle Commission, founded in 1962 with its head office in Trier, is responsible for navigation. The Moselle Shipping Police Act which it has produced is valid in all three participant states from Metz to Koblenz. In 1921 the Moselle (Mo) became a Reich waterway, today it is a federal waterway (''Bundeswasserstraße'') from Apach at the tripoint to its mouth on the Rhine at kilometre point 592.29 in Koblenz. The waterway is long and managed by the Trier and Koblenz Water and Shipping Offices (''Wasser- und Schifffahrtsämtern Trier und Koblenz''). It is categorized as a European

waterway A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary ...

of Class Vb. Its kilometrage begins at its mouth at kilometre point 0 and runs upstream. Since 1816 it has formed a long condominium from Apach, a common Germany–Luxembourg sovereign area with a division of responsibilities set out in a 1976 agreement. The International Moselle Company, initially set up in 1957 to finance the construction of the river's upgrade, manages the shipping charges and the operation and maintenance of the waterway which they are used to fund. Staustufe Fankel

Today the Moselle is navigable for large

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

s up to long from the Rhine in Koblenz up to Neuves-Maisons, south of Nancy. For smaller ships it is connected to other parts of France through the

Canal de la Meuse The Canal de la Meuse is the current name of what used to be the northern branch of the Canal de l'Est ("canal of the east"). It is a canal in northeastern France, predominantly made up of the canalised river Meuse. The Canal de l'Est was built fr ...

and the Canal de la Marne au Rhin. There are locks in

Lehmen Lehmen is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has ...

, Müden, Fankel, Sankt Aldegund, Enkirch,

Zeltingen Zeltingen-Rachtig is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location The municipality ...

, Wintrich, Detzem,

, Grevenmacher, Palzem, Apach,

Kœnigsmacker Kœnigsmacker (; Lorraine Franconian: ''Maacher''/''Kinneksmaacher''; ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Kœnigsmacker was the birthplace of Father Jean-Vincent Scheil (1858–1940), a French Dominic ...

, Thionville, Richemont, Talange,

, Ars-sur-Moselle,

Pagny-sur-Moselle Pagny-sur-Moselle (, literally ''Pagny on Moselle'') is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department The following is a list of the 591 communes of the Meurt ...

, Blénod-lès-Pont-à-Mousson, Custines,

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

Aingeray Aingeray is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in northeastern France. Population Inhabitants are called ''Aingerois''. See also *Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department The following is a list of the 591 communes of the M ...

, Fontenoy-sur-Moselle, Toul, Villey-le-Sec, and Neuves-Maisons. By 1970 more than 10 million tonnes of goods were being transported on the Moselle, the majority on towed barges. Upstream freight mainly comprised fuel and ores; downstream the main goods were steel products, gravel and rocks. There is an inland port at

, a

transshipment site Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination. One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g. ...

Zell (Mosel) Zell (Mosel) is a town in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Zell has roughly 4,300 inhabitants and is the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde''. Geography Location Zell is an hour's drive from both Koblenz and ...

; and there are other ports in Mertert, Thionville,

and

Frouard Frouard () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in the region of Grand Est, north-eastern France. It is located 10 km north of Nancy near the confluence of the Moselle and Meurthe. It is noted for its Medieval mill; and w ...

. In addition to freighters there are also pleasure boats for tourists between the very busy wine villages and small towns of the Middle and Lower Moselle. There are also

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

ing or sports marinas in the following places:

, Winningen,

Brodenbach Brodenbach is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and ...

, Burgen,

Löf Löf is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has ab ...

Hatzenport Hatzenport is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and ...

Senheim Senheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Cochem, whose sea ...

Treis Treis-Karden is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was the seat of the former like-named ''Verbands ...

, Traben-Trarbach,

Kues UES may refer to: * C.D. Universidad de El Salvador, a professional football team representing the University of El Salvador * Estadio Universitario UES, a multi-use stadium in San Salvador, El Salvador * FGC UES, the owner and operator of the el ...

, Neumagen, Pölich, Schweich,

and Konz. The Moselle is linked near Toul via the Canal de la Marne au Rhin with ''inter alia'' the

, the

Saône The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île. The name d ...

and the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

. Other canals link the river to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

and even the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

Locks and dams (weirs)

There is a total of 28 changes of level on the Moselle: * 16 in France near Neuves-Maisons, Villey-le-Sec, Toul, Fontenoy-sur-Moselle,

-Pompey, Custines, Blénod-lès-Pont-à-Mousson,

, Ars-sur-Moselle,

, Talange, Richemont, Thionville,

and Apach * 2 between Luxembourg and Germany near

Stadtbredimus Stadtbredimus () is a commune and small town in south-eastern Luxembourg. It is part of the canton of Remich. , the town of Stadtbredimus, which lies in the south-east of the commune, has a population of 676. Other towns within the commune inclu ...

- Palzem and Grevenmacher-

Wellen Wellen (; li, Wille) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On 1 January 2018, Wellen had a total population of 7,402. The total area is 26.72 km², giving a population density of 266 inhabitants per km2. The mun ...

* 10 in Germany near

, Detzem, Wintrich,

, Enkirch, St. Aldegund, Fankel, Müden,

and

. Detzem is the highest lock – – and at the upstream reach is the longest on the river; it is the only lock to be built on a canal of some length excavated outside the river bed. With the exception of Detzem, all the structures at each change in level are laid out side by side; the lock is by one riverbank, the

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

in the middle and the hydropower plant on the other bank. Between the lock and weir are a boat slipway and channel and boat lock, while between the weir and the power station is the fish ladder. The structures have been blended into the landscape through their low-level design; this was achieved by the choice of sector gates for the weir, vertically lowering upper gates and mitred lower lock gates. The water levels and hydropower works are controlled by the Fankel Central Control Station (''Zentralwarte Fankel'') of the RWE Power Company at Fankel.

Tourism

Through the Moselle valley run the Moselle Wine Route and the Moselle Cycleway, which may be cycled from

via

on the River Rhine, a distance of . Between Koblenz and Trier, large sections run on the trackbed of the old Moselle Valley Railway, far from the noise and fumes of motor vehicles. Every year on the Sunday after

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers ...

, the of road between Schweich and Cochem is also car-free as part of Happy Moselle Day. A number of notable castles and ruins adorn the heights above the Moselle valley and many are visible on a boat trip on the Moselle. In 1910, a hiking trail, the Moselle Ridgeway, was established which runs for on the Eifel side and on the Hunsrück side. Another unusual trail runs from

Ediger-Eller Ediger-Eller is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Cochem, whos ...

via the Calmont Trail to

through the steepest vineyard in Europe. Before the construction of barrages the Moselle was a popular route for

folding kayak A folding kayak is a direct descendant of the original Inuit kayak made of animal skins stretched over frames made from wood and bones. A modern folder has a collapsible frame made of some combination of wood, aluminium and plastic, and a skin ...

s which is why many of the weirs have boat channels. The river is still used today by

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...

ists, especially during the annual week-long lock closures when no commercial shipping is permitted. In April 2014 the

Moselle Trail The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. ...

was opened, a path running for from Perl on the

. Numerous Moselle Trail "partner trails", the so-called side branches (''Seitensprünge'') and "dream paths" (''Traumpfade'') enhance the hiking network in the Moselle Valley. The ADAC's Rallye Deutschland has taken place since 2000 in the vineyards along the Moselle at Veldenz, Dhron, Piesport, Minheim, Kesten,

Trittenheim Trittenheim on the Middle Moselle is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Trier-Saarburg district (before January 2012: Bernkastel-Wittlich district) in Rhineland-P ...

, Fell, Ruwertal and

. At Koblenz Locks the Mosellum offers exhibitions about the migration of fish in the Moselle as well as water ecology, navigation and power generation. With the construction of the visitor and information centre the most modern fish ladder along the Moselle was opened.

Wine

The Moselle winegrowing region lies along the Moselle with a cultivated area of about . The largest part, currently just under , is on German soil in the states of

and

; the Luxembourg part has an area of about (see

Wine in Luxembourg Luxembourg wine is primarily produced in the southeastern part of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, with vineyards overlooking the river Moselle. Along this river, which for 42 km makes up part of the border between Luxembourg and Germany, wine ...

). Upstream on the Moselle the vineyards extend into France as far as Seille in the region of Côtes de Moselle with an area of and to the region around Toul (

Côtes de Toul Côtes de Toul is an '' Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) for French wine produced in the département of Meurthe-et-Moselle in the Lorraine ''région''. The Côtes de Toul vineyards cover in an area close to Toul, to the west of the cit ...

) covering . The German Moselle wine region, including its tributaries, bears the growing and manufacturing name of "Mosel". For marketing reasons the agricultural authorities of the region have divided it into six winegrowing areas. The wine literature and specialist press, by contrast, divide the region into four areas based on geomorphological, micro-climatic and also historical reasons: ; Upper Moselle: The valley sides of the

(also called the Burgundy Moselle, ''Burgundermosel'') with their overwhelmingly

muschelkalk The Muschelkalk (German for "shell-bearing limestone"; french: calcaire coquillier) is a sequence of sedimentary rock strata (a lithostratigraphic unit) in the geology of central and western Europe. It has a Middle Triassic (240 to 230 million ...

soils belong geologically to the so-called Paris Basin, which explains its low proportion of Riesling – only around 10% in 2010 – and the increasing cultivation of Pinot Blanc and

Pinot Noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French words for ''pine'' and ''black.'' The word ''pine ...

grapes. ; Trier Region: Around the city of

and in the valleys of the

and Ruwer with their side valleys, the Riesling is the predominant grape on the shale soils, with over 80% of the crop. One climatic feature of this area is the frequent orientation of often small southwest-southeast facing locations in which the vegetation is exposed to stronger, cooler winds and, especially in the light of recent global warming, often achieve lower degrees of maturity than in the narrow, often deeply incised valley of the Middle and

. ; Middle Moselle: With around of vineyard the

is the largest winegrowing area of the Moselle. According to the wine experts and trade, the "greatest" wines of the Moselle, both in quantity and quality, are grown here on land that has been consolidated into large concerns with much vaunted steeply sloped vineyards. ; Lower Moselle: In the

Valley, there are a number of medieval castles, high above little villages, decorated with timber-framed houses, surrounded by steep slopes with small terraces in the narrow, winding valley. Here, cultivating vines is very labour-intensive and costly and it is difficult to make it economical. As a result, it is common for vineyards to fall into ruin here. The wine industry on the German Moselle has been declining for decades. In 2005, statistics showed there were of vineyard; by 2012 this had fallen to just . The vineyards that have fallen fallow are mostly those on extremely steep hillsides. There has been a major decline in the number of so-called ''Nebenerwerbswinzer'' (vintners for whom it is a secondary occupation), and the small, family farming operations that, until the end of the 1960s formed the majority of wine businesses. Comparative figures by the Chamber of Agriculture for Rhineland-Palatinate for several wine villages on the Lower Moselle show that there were still 797 wine businesses in the early 1960s, but by the early 2000s there were only just under 100. There has been the opposite trend amongst the established traditional wine estates and more recent vintners with a sound education in

oenology Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...

and business management, who have increased their business through the reclamation of once renowned, but long forgotten sites. The end of the 20th century saw the rediscovery of the use of special terroir in order to improve quality and value, which has led to a more nuanced view of Moselle wine that, a few years before, had been characterised by overproduction, label scandals and cheap offers.

Moselle umbrella brand

On 10 November 2006 in Burg, the Moselle Regional Initiative was founded. The introduction of the Moselle as an umbrella brand was based on that of the Eifel region and covers products and services from the areas of agriculture, forestry, tourism, handicrafts and nature.

Moselle slate

Moselle slate (''Moselschiefer'') is a manufacturing and trade description for

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

from the municipalities of Mayen, Polch,

Müllenbach Müllenbach is a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and h ...

and its surrounding area. Today only products from the roofing slate mines of in Mayen and Margareta in Polch bear the name Moselle Slate. The name is derived from the historical transport route for this slate along the Moselle to 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); ...

Railways

The following railway lines run or ran along the river: * Koblenz–Trier railway (''Moselstrecke''), between Koblenz and Bullay, and in Trier, mostly on the left (northern) bank * Pünderich–Traben-Trarbach railway, for its entire length, on the left (northern) bank *

Moselle Railway The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koble ...

, between Bullay and Trier, on the right (southern) bank. Closed in the 1960s. * Trier West Railway, between Ehrang and Igel, on the left (northern) bank *

Thionville–Trier railway The Thionville–Trier railway (also called in German the ''Obermoselstrecke'', Upper Moselle line) connects Thionville in the French region of Grand Est with Trier in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It also passes through the westernmos ...

(''Obermoselstrecke''), for its entire length, on the right (eastern) bank *

CFL line 1a The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

, between Wasserbillig and Grevenmacher, on the left (western) bank. No passenger service remains. *

Metz–Luxembourg railway The Metz–Luxembourg railway is a French/Luxembourgish railway line, that connects the French Lorraine region to Luxembourg. The railway was opened between 1854 and 1859. It is an important international railway connection. The part in Luxembou ...

, between Thionville and Metz, mainly on the left bank * Lérouville–Metz railway, between Metz and Novéant, mainly on the left bank * Frouard–Novéant railway, mainly on the left bank * Paris–Strasbourg railway, between Frouard and Toul * Blainville-Damelevières–Lure railway, between Bayon and Épinal * Épinal–Bussang railway, between Épinal and

Remiremont Remiremont (; german: Romberg or ) is a town and commune in the Vosges department, northeastern France, situated in southern Grand Est. The town has been an abbatial centre since the 7th century, is an economic crossroads of the Moselle and Mos ...

, on the left bank

Literature

*''Mosella'', a

Latin poem Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

by Ausonius (4th century). *In the tale, "

The Seven Swabians The Seven Swabians (''Die Sieben Schwaben'') is a German fairy tale, collected by The Brothers Grimm in the second volume edition of their ''Kinder- und Hausmärchen'' (1857) under the number KHM119. The term ''Swabians'' refers to people from ...

" of the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among th ...

, these Swabians drown trying to cross the Moselle. *Accounts of the river, its folklore and local history appear in ''Small Boat on the Moselle'' a 1968 book by Roger Pilkington.

Castles

* Château de Meinsberg (dit de Malbrouck): near

Manderen Manderen (, lb, Manneren) is a former commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Manderen-Ritzing.Château Fort de Sierck-les-Bains: situated just on the French-German border at Sierck-les-Bains, this fortress of the Duke of Lorraine dates back to the 11th century. Most of today's castle was constructed in the 18th century, following plans from Vauban. *Schloss Berg: a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

castle at Nennig, today a hotel and a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live enterta ...

. * Alte Burg: a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals ...

built in 1360 at

Longuich Longuich is a municipality in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It lies on the river Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through no ...

. One of the few surviving manor houses in rural Rhineland-Palatinate. *

Schloss Lieser Schloss Lieser (Castle of Lieser) in the Mosel valley nearby Bernkastel-Kues is one of the most striking buildings within the village of Lieser, Germany. The building currently houses a 49-room Autograph Hotel, called Schloss Lieser, Autogra ...

: a palace at Lieser built from 1884 to 1887 in historistic style. * Landshut Castle: a castle built by the

Electorate of Trier The Electorate of Trier (german: Kurfürstentum Trier or ' or Trèves) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the end of the 9th to the early 19th century. It was the temporal possession of the prince- ...

in the 13th century at Bernkastel-Kues. * Grevenburg: ruins of a castle at Traben-Trarbach built by Johann III of Sponheim-Starkenburg about 1350, destroyed, after many sieges, in 1734. *Marienburg: a 12th-century castle and later

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

near Pünderich and Alf. *

Arras Castle Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the A ...

: a 12th-century castle in Alf. * Metternich Castle: a castle built around 1120 at Beilstein, today partly in ruins. *

Cochem Castle Cochem is the seat of and the biggest town in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With just over 5,000 inhabitants, Cochem falls just behind Kusel, in the Kusel district, as Germany's second smallest district seat. Since 7 ...

: The castle in Cochem was originally built in the 11th century, but was completely destroyed by

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

soldiers in 1689. The present castle was rebuilt later in the 19th century. *

Thurant Castle The ruins of the Thurant Castle (german: Burg Thurant, also ''Thurandt'' or ''Thurand'') stand on a wide slate hill spur above the villages of Alken on the Moselle in Germany. The castle is in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palati ...

: Above the town of Alken is Thurant Castle, built in the 13th century. It is the only twin-towered

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

along the Moselle. The fortress was built by the Count Palatine Henry of the house of Guelph between 1198 and 1206. From 1246 to 1248, it was the two archbishops of Cologne and Trier. Following conquest, it was divided by a partition wall into two halves, each with a keep (tower). During the 19th century, Thurant disintegrated, becoming a ruin; and in 1911 was acquired by Privy Councilor, Dr. Robert Allmers, who had it rebuilt. Since 1973, the castle has been owned by the Allmers and Wulf families. * Ehrenburg: a 12th-century castle built by the

. * Eltz Castle: The von Eltz family castle, whose history dates back to the 12th century. It remains in private hands to this day but it is open to visitors. *Lower and Upper Castle,

Kobern-Gondorf Kobern-Gondorf is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. It is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Rhein-Mosel Rhein-Mosel is a ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") in the district ...

: two 11th-century castles, today mostly in ruins. * Pyrmont Castle: This 13th-century castle near Roes was remodelled and extended several times during the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

era. * Bischofstein Castle: Across the river from the municipality of Burgen is this 13th-century castle, which was destroyed during the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between Kingdom of France, France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by t ...

, but was reconstructed and now serves as a retreat centre for the Fichte Gymnasium in

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, ...

References

Publius Cornelius Tacitus: Der Text ist verfügbar in der lateinischen Wikisource: Kapitel LIII, at la.wikisource.org Publius Cornelius Tacitus: Der Text ist verfügbar in der lateinischen Wikisource; erwähnt ist die Mosel in Kapitel 71 und Kapitel 77, at la.wikisource.org The

, with a volumetric discharge of is not considered, since it has not officially been a tributary of the Rhine since 1970 (although it is hydrologically). Verzeichnis A, Lfd. Nr. 39 der Chronik
, Wasser- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes, at wsv.de
, Wasser- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes, at wsv.de von Apach am Dreiländereck bis zu ihrer Mündung in den Rhein bei Rhein-km 592,29 ''Gliederung Bundeswasserstraßen''
, mit Informationen u. a. zu Längen (in km) der Hauptschifffahrtswege (Hauptstrecken und bestimmte Nebenstrecken) der Binnenwasserstraßen des Bundes, bei der Wasser- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes, at wsv.de ''Moselsteig entfacht das Wanderfieber''
In: Trierischer Volksfreund, dated 26 September 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014, at volksfreund.de Von der Mehrzahl der Winzer nicht genutzte Herkunftsbezeichnung Stuart Pigott, Chandra Kurt, Manfred Lüer: ''Stuart Pigotts Weinreisen – Mosel.'' Scherz, Frankfurt am Main, 2009, , pp. 103 ff. Daniel Deckers (Hg.), ''Zur Lage des deutschen Weins – Spitzenlagen und Spitzenweine'', Stuttgart 2003, pp. 137–187 Publications by the Statistical Office of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Bibliography

* Decimius Magnus Ausonius: ''Mosella escription of a journey by ship on the Moselle around 371 A. D.' http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0619 * Jakob Hölscher (ed.): ''Das Moselthal von Trier bis Coblenz. In malerischen Ansichten, nach der Natur gezeichnet von C. Bodmer, in acqua tinta geätzt von R. Bodmer''. 30 pages. Koblenz, 1831–1833 * Johann August Klein: ''Moselthal zwischen Koblenz und Konz,'' printed by Heriot, Coblenz, 1831 * Johann August Klein: ''Das Moselthal zwischen Koblenz und Zell mit Städten, Ortschaften, Ritterburgen, historisch, topographisch, malerisch''. Heriot, Koblenz, 1831 * Wilhelm Haag: ''Ausonius und seine Mosella''. Gaertner, Berlin, 1900 * Michael Gerhard: ''Die Mosel, dargestellt in ihrem Lauf, ihrer Entstehung und ihrer Bedeutung für den Menschen.'' Prüm, 1910
Online edition dilibri Rhineland-Palatinate
* Carl Hauptmann: ''Die Mosel von Cochem bis Bernkastel.'' Bonn 1910
Online edition dilibri Rhineland-Palatinate
* Carl Hauptmann: ''Die Mosel von Coblenz bis Cochem in Wanderbildern.'' Bonn, 1911
Online edition dilibri Rhineland-Palatinate
* Ludwig Mathar: ''Die Mosel (Die Rheinlande, Bilder von Land, Volk und Kunst, Zweiter Band: Die Mosel)'' Cologne o. J. (around 1925), 607 S. (with 117 illustrations and a map of the Moselle Valley from Trier to Coblenz) * Rudolf G. Binding: ''Moselfahrt aus Liebeskummer – Novelle einer Landschaft'', Frankfurt am Main, 1933 (51.–75. Tausend) * Josef Adolf Schmoll alias Eisenwerth: ''Die Mosel von der Quelle bis zum Rhein'' (Deutsche Lande – Deutsche Kunst). 2nd edition, Munich/Berlin, 1972 * Willy Leson (ed.): ''Romantische Reise durch das Moseltal-Von Koblenz nach Trier (with graphics by Carl Bodmer and text by Johann August Klein and Christian von Stramberg)'', Cologne, 1978 * Heinz Cüppers, Gérard Collot, Alfons Kolling, Gérard Thill (Red.): ''Die Römer an Mosel und Saar (Zeugnisse der Römerzeit in Lothringen, in Luxemburg, im Raum Trier und im Saarland)'', Mainz, 1983, Zabern: 2nd revised edition (with 46 colour and 346 black and white photographs) * Heinz Held: ''Die Mosel von der Mündung bei Koblenz bis zur Quelle in den Vogesen: Landschaft, Kultur, Geschichte'' (DuMont-Kunst-Reiseführer). 3rd edition, Cologne, 1989 * Jean-Claude Bonnefont, Hubert Collin (dir.), ''Meurthe-et-Moselle'', edition Bonneton, Paris, 1996, 318 pages. * M. Eckoldt (ed.), Flüsse und Kanäle, Die Geschichte der deutschen Wasserstraßen, DSV-Verlag, 1998 * Ulrich Nonn: ''Eine Moselreise im 4. Jahrhundert-Decimus Magnus Ausonius und seine "Mosella"''. In: Koblenzer Beiträge zur Geschichte und Kultur, Vol. 8, Koblenz: Görres-Verlag 2000, pp. 8–24 (with map and illustrations) * Reinhold Schommers: ''Die Mosel'' (DuMont-Reise-Taschenbücher). DuMont, Ostfildern 2001, * Ludwin Vogel: ''Deutschland, Frankreich und die Mosel. Europäische Integrationspolitik in den Montan-Regionen Ruhr, Lothringen, Luxemburg und der Saar.'' Klartext, Essen, 2001, * Decimius Magnus Ausonius: ''Mosella. Lateinisch-deutsch.'' Published, translated and commented on by Paul Dräger. Tusculum Studienausgaben. Artemis und Winkler, Düsseldorf, 2004, * Uwe Anhäuser: ''Die Ausoniusstraße. Ein archäologischer Reise- und Wanderführer.'' Rhein-Mosel, Alf/Mosel, 2006, * Karl-Josef Gilles: ''Das Moseltal zwischen Koblenz und Trier 1920 bis 1950'' (series of archive photographs), Sutton, Erfurt, 2006, . * Wasser- und Schifffahrtsdirektion Südwest: Kompendium der Wasser- und Schifffahrtsdirektion Südwest. Organisatorische und technische Daten, Binnenschifffahrt, Aufgaben, Wasserstraßen. self-publication, Mainz, June 2007 * Alexander Thon / Stefan Ulrich: ''Von den Schauern der Vorwelt umweht... Burgen und Schlösser an der Mosel''. Schnell + Steiner, Regensburg 2007, 1st edition, 180 pp. numerous photographs, 2 overview maps of the Moselle * Wolfgang Lambrecht: ''Malerische Mosel – Gemälde und Druckgraphik aus 100 Jahren'', [Farbbroschüre mit Werken u. a. von Carl Bodmer, Clarkson Stanfield, Rowbotham, Compton, Wolfsberger, Benekkenstein, Burger, Thoma, Nonn, Möhren, Zysing und Bayer, published by the Sparkasse Mittelmosel and the Lions-Förderverein Cochem], Cochem, 2007 * Karl-Josef Schäfer und Wolfgang Welter: ''Ein Jakobsweg von Koblenz-Stolzenfels nach Trier. Der Pilgerwanderführer für den Mosel-Camino.'' Books on Demand, Norderstedt, 2009 (2nd updated edition) * Xavier Deru: ''Die Römer an Maas und Mosel'', Zabern-Verlag, Mainz, 2010 * Groben, Josef: ''Mosella. Historisch-kulturelle Monographie'', Trier, 2011, 311 pp., 237 photographs. * Stefan Barme: ''Nacktarsch, Viez und Ledertanga – Ausflüge in die Kulturgeschichte des Mosellandes''. Stephan Moll Verlag, 2012 (1st edition) * Joachim Gruber: Decimus Magnus Ausonius, "Mosella" ''Kritische Ausgabe, Übersetzung, Kommentar''. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin. Series: Texts and commentaries, Vol. 42, 2013, XI, 370 pp.