The Alter Rhein (; German for ''Old Rhine'') is the old river bed of the

Alpine Rhine The Alpine Rhine Valley () is a glacial alpine valley, formed by the Alpine Rhine ( ), the part of the Rhine between the confluence of the Anterior Rhine and Posterior Rhine at Reichenau and Lake Constance. It covers three countries, with se ...

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 The Alpine Rhine Valley () is a glacial alpine valley, formed by the Alpine Rhine ( ), the part of the Rhine between the confluence of the Anterior Rhine and Posterior Rhine at Reichenau and Lake Constance. It covers three countries, with se ...

, 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 St. Margrethen (Saint Margrethen/Sankt Margrethen) is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It is located on the Swiss–Austrian border. Geography St. Margrethen has an ar ...

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 Rheineck is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Rheineck is first mentioned about 1163 as ''castellum Rinegge''. In 1218 it was mentioned as ''Rinegg''. An older ...

Altenrhein Thal is a village and municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rorschach in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Besides the village of Thal itself, the municipality also includes the villages of Altenrhein, Buechen, Buriet and ...

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 Rheineck railway station () is a railway station that serves the municipality of Rheineck, in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. The station is located on the eastern edge of Rheineck village centre, with the A1 motorway, the Alter Rhein r ...

. In 1906, the ("Rhine Valley Inland Canal") was dug, connecting

Sennwald Sennwald is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Werdenberg (Wahlkreis), Werdenberg in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of St. Gallen (canton), St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Sennwald is the ...

. In 1923, another short-cut was completed at

Diepoldsau Diepoldsau is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Diepoldsau is first mentioned in 891 as ''Thiotpoldesouua''. Schmitter is first mentioned in 1385. It was the cro ...

, creating another dead branch, also named ''Alter Rhein''. For the straightening of the Alpine Rhine, the so-called

Rhine Regulation The Regulation of the Rhine () or Rhine Correction ('), refers to the canalisation of the Alpine Rhine on the border between Austria and Switzerland in the late 19th/early 20th century. Its aim was to reduce the risk of flooding and to re-route t ...

, an industrial railway, the

International Rhine Regulation Railway The International Rhine Regulation Railway () was an industrial railway situated on both banks of the Alpine Rhine canal to the south of its outfall into Lake Constance. As this stretch of the River Rhine forms the border between Austria and Swit ...

, 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 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 ...

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