The Ruwer is a river in

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 ...

with a length of . It is a right tributary of the Moselle. The valley of the Ruwer is a part of the Moselle wine-growing region near

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 ...

in the 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 ...

. It is famous for its

Riesling Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling wh ...

wines, see Ruwer (region), and, prior to 1 August 2007, the Moselle region used to be known as ''Moselle-Saar-Ruwer''. In the lower Ruwer valley are the villages of Waldrach,

Kasel Kasel is a municipality in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after R ...

, Mertesdorf, Eitelsbach and Ruwer.

History

The Roman city of Trier (

Augusta Treverorum Trier in Rhineland-Palatinate, whose history dates to the Roman Empire, is often claimed to be the oldest city in Germany. Traditionally it was known in English by its French name of Treves. Prehistory The first traces of human settlement in ...

) was supplied with water by the Roman Ruwer Aqueduct, which delivered up to 25,000 cubic metres per day. In A.D. 371, the Ruwer was mentioned by the Roman poet,

Ausonius Decimius Magnus Ausonius (; – c. 395) was a Roman poet and teacher of rhetoric from Burdigala in Aquitaine, modern Bordeaux, France. For a time he was tutor to the future emperor Gratian, who afterwards bestowed the consulship on him ...

, in his poem, ''Mosella'' as follows: ''"The Ruwer turns the corn-grinding millstones in giddy whirls and draws the shrieking saws through smooth

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

blocks."''

Tributaries

Other tributaries of the Ruwer include the Apfelbach, Borgraben, Eitelsbach, Gusterather Waschbach, Kundelbach, Labach, Moertschelbach, Rimperterbach, Wenigbach, Wenzelbach and the Wilzenburger Waschbach.

Mills

There are, or were, several

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...

s in the Ruwer region: ''Alte Mühle'' Kell am See, ''Mühlscheider Hof'' in Kahlbach, Schillingen Mill Lehbach, Niederkell Mill, ''Unterste Mühle'' at Burkelsbach,

Saw mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ( dimens ...

at Burkelsbach, Waldweiler Mill, Niederzerfer Mill on the Ruwer, Hauser Mill on the Ruwer, Mill at Großbach in

Zerf Zerf is a municipality in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. History From 18 July 1946 to 6 June 1947 Zerf, in its then municipal boundary, formed part of the Saar Protectorate The Saar Protectorate (german: Saarp ...

, ''Kramesmühle'' Hentern, Hentern Mill, Lampaden Mill at Reiperter Bach, Benrath Mill at Klinkbach, Burg Heid Mill, Hinzenburg Mill, Heddert Mill on the Rauruwer, Little Geizenburg Mill, '' Pluwiger Hammer'', Mill at Enterbach, ''Raulsmühle'' near Lonzenburg, Mill in Sommerau and another mill, Korlingen Mill, ''Herrgottsmühle'' ( Morscheid Mill), ''Studentenmühle'', ''Lichtenthalsmühle'', '' Schleifmühle'' at the Riveris mouth in Waldrach, ''Schmelzmühle'' Waldrach, ''Schneidemühle'' Riveris, ''Feilensmühle'' Riveris, '' Osburger Mühle'' on the Riveris, ''Alte Dorfmühle'' Waldrach (''Scherfsmühle''), Ölmühle, ''Welschmühle'' Waldrach, Mills in

, '' Karlsmühle'' Mertesdorf, ''Reisenmühle'', Grünhäuser Mill, ''Hüstermühle'' Trier-Ruwer, ''Lambertysmühle'', ''Felsenmühle'', etc.

Biology

In and by the Ruwer live numerous rare and protected species, such as the bullhead,Mentioned in Project Natura 2000
/ref> dipperl,

purple emperor ''Apatura iris'', the purple emperor, is a Palearctic butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Description Adults have dark brown wings with white bands and spots, and a small orange ring on each of the hindwings. Males have a wingspan of , an ...

butterfly and the

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

. Until the 1940s,

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

s were still caught in the Ruwer.Report on salmon in the Ruwer
(pdf; 138 kB)

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Rhineland-Palatinate Rivers of the Hunsrück Rivers of Germany

History

Tributaries

Mills

Biology

See also

References