300px, Course of the Nederrijn The Nederrijn (; "Lower Rhine"; distinct from the

Lower Rhine Lower Rhine (, ; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Bonn in Germany and the North Sea at Hook of Holland in the Netherlands, including the '' Nederrijn'' () within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta; alternat ...

or further upstream) is the Dutch part of the

Rhine 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 ...

from the confluence at the town of

Angeren Angeren is a village in the municipality of Lingewaard, Gelderland province, Netherlands. It has a population of 2,851 (1 January 2009), and is located in the very eastern tip of the Betuwe, 2 km to the south of Huissen, between the cities ...

of the cut-off Rhine bend of

Oude Rijn (Gelderland) Oude Rijn ("Old Rhine"; not to be confused with the Alter Rhein) is the name of a long former bend in river Rhine in the Netherlands, Dutch Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Gelderland. In summer the bend became too shallow to be navigabl ...

and the

Pannerdens Kanaal The Pannerdens Kanaal (Pannerden Canal) is a canal in the Netherlands that was dredged between 1701 and 1709 to cut off a large, shallow bend of the river Rhine for improving river traffic and water regulation. The canal, now indistinguishable from ...

(which was dug to form the new connection between the

Waal WAAL (99.1 FM broadcasting, FM; "The Whale") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station licensed to Binghamton, New York. It airs a classic rock radio format and is owned by Townsquare Media. WAAL is the oldest FM radio station continuou ...

and Nederrijn branches). The city of

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

lies on the right (north) bank of the Nederrijn, just past the point where the

IJssel The IJssel (; ) 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. It more immediatel ...

branches off. The Nederrijn flows on to the city of

Wijk bij Duurstede Wijk bij Duurstede () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. Population centres *Cothen *Langbroek *Wijk bij Duurstede Topography ''Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Wijk bij Du ...

, from where it continues as the Lek. The once-important but now small

Kromme Rijn The Kromme Rijn (; "Crooked Rhine", for its many bends) is a river in the central Netherlands. In Roman times, this northernmost branch of the Rhine delta was the main distributary of this major European river. Along its banks the Romans buil ...

branch (in

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

times part of the

Limes Germanicus The (Latin for ''Germanic frontier''), or 'Germanic Limes', is the name given in modern times to a line of frontier () fortifications that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior and Raetia, dividing the Roman ...

and border river of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

) carries the name "Rhine" towards the city of

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

. From the city of Utrecht, the Kromme Rijn forks into the Vecht to the north, and into the

Oude Rijn (Utrecht and South Holland) The Oude Rijn ("Old Rhine") is a branch of the Rhine river delta, delta in the Netherlands, Dutch Provinces of the Netherlands, provinces of Utrecht (province), Utrecht and South Holland, starting west of Utrecht, at Harmelen, and running by a mec ...

to the west. The first part is channelised and known as the Leidse Rijn (Leiden Rhine). After the railway bridge near Harmelen (municipality

Woerden Woerden () is a city and a municipality in central Netherlands. Due to its central location between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht, and the fact that it has rail and road connections to those cities, it is a popular town for commu ...

) it is known as the Oude Rijn, flowing westward to the

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

. In order to regulate the distribution of drainage between the different branches of the Rhine, several

dams A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

have been constructed. If the dams were to be closed, there would be little flow in the Nederrijn and most of the water would be drained by the IJssel. As for the Old Rhine, there is a pumping station near the North Sea that protects the river from sea tides and silting.

Bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

s over the Nederrijn are in

(railway and three road bridges), in

Heteren Heteren is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Overbetuwe, about 12 km (7.4 mi) southwest of Arnhem on the south bank of the Rhine. Heteren was a separate municipality until 2001, when it beca ...

( A50) and

Rhenen Rhenen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. The municipality also includes the villages of Achterberg, and Elst (Utrecht), Elst. The town lies at a geographically interesting location, n ...

Ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

are found near

Doorwerth Doorwerth is a village in the eastern Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Renkum, Gelderland, about 8 km west of Arnhem and about 100 km southeast of Amsterdam. History The valley of the Seelbeek has been in residential us ...

Wageningen Wageningen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a historic city in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. It is famous for Wageningen University, which specialises in life sciences. The municipality had a ...

, Opheusden, Elst and

Amerongen Amerongen () is a town in the Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of Utrechtse Heuvelrug in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Province of Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands, on the border of the Utrecht Hill Ridge. It lies ab ...

History

In 1530, the Rhine near

was moved, a project that was completed in 1536. The city, which originated along the St. Jansbeek ("St. John's Brook'), could develop better now that it was closer to the river, and was also more easily defended against Habsburg expansionism into Guelders.

Gallery

File:John Frostbrug.jpg, Nederrijn at Arnhem File:Nederrijn.jpg, Nederrijn near Renkum File:Wenceslas Hollar - Wageningen.jpg, Plate made by Wenzel Hollar 1607-1677 File:Wageningen 1730.png, Wageningen 1730 File:Le Rhin à Wageningen.jpg, Panorama near Wageningen File:Rhine at Wagenigen.jpg, Nederrijn near Wageningen File:Weir_near_amerongen_NL.jpg, Weir near Amerongen File:Nederrijn.WijkBijDuurstede.jpg, The last stretch of the Nederrijn, near

References

{{Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, state=collapsed Rivers of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta Arnhem Rhenen Wageningen Rivers of Gelderland Rivers of Utrecht (province) Rivers of the Netherlands Distributaries of Europe

History

Gallery

See also

References