The Alter Rhein (; German for ''Old Rhine'') is the old river bed of the Alpine Rhine in St. Gallen and

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest popu ...

in the Alpine Rhine Valley, which was cut off when the Rhine was straightened during the 20th century. These cut-off arms have become valuable recreational areas and a nature reserve. In 1900, the short-cut at Fussach was completed, linking the natural course of the Rhine just upstream of Höchst and St. Margrethen directly to a new outflow into

Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...

. The old river course downstream of this point, via Rheineck to Altenrhein on the shore of

, became known as the ''Alter Rhein'' and continues to form the border between

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. The arm is navigable from the lake to Rheineck, and is used by the Swiss shipping services on the lake to reach landing stages adjacent to Rheineck railway station. In 1906, the ("Rhine Valley Inland Canal") was dug, connecting Sennwald to St. Margrethen. In 1923, another short-cut was completed at Diepoldsau, creating another dead branch, also named ''Alter Rhein''. For the straightening of the Alpine Rhine, the so-called Rhine Regulation, an industrial railway, the International Rhine Regulation Railway, was constructed on both sides of the river, the tracks of which still mostly exist today. The area between the Old and New Rhine forms the nature reserve ''Rhine Delta'' (not to be confused with the Rhine Delta in the Netherlands).

References

External links

* Rhine Rivers of Vorarlberg Rivers of Switzerland Tributaries of Lake Constance Rivers of the canton of St. Gallen Rivers of Austria International rivers of Europe {{Austria-river-stub