The Rench is an eastern tributary 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 ...

in the

Ortenau The Ortenau (), originally called Mortenau, is a historic region in the present-day German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the right bank of the river Rhine, stretching from the Upper Rhine Plain to the foothill zone of the Black F ...

in Central Baden,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It rises on the southern edge of the

Northern Black Forest The Northern Black Forest () refers to the northern third of the Black Forest in Germany or, less commonly today, to the northern half of this mountain region. Geography The Northern Black Forest is bounded in the north by a line from Karlsruh ...

at Kniebis near Bad Griesbach im Schwarzwald. The source farthest from the mouth is that of the ''Schöngrundbächle'' which rises at a height of around in the parish of Zuflucht. After flowing through its steep mountainside ''

klinge Klinge () is a village in the Lower Lusatia region, east of the city of Cottbus in Brandenburg. It is a part (''Gemeindeteil'') of the municipality of Wiesengrund Wiesengrund (Lower Sorbian language, Lower Sorbian Łukojce) is a Municipalities ...

'' it is joined by other streams to form, first, the Old (''Alter''), then the Wild Rench (''Wilder Rench''), which first becomes the Rench below Bad Griesbach. The Rench runs in a prominent southerly arc through the

Central Black Forest The Central Black Forest (), also called the Middle Black Forest, is a natural or cultural division of the Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It generally refers to a region of deeply incised valleys from the Rench valley and southern ...

and crosses the hilly region of Ortenau with its orchards and vineyards before breaking out into the Rhine Plain. After just under 57 km it, together with the Mühlbach, confluences with the Rhine at 314.7 km between Helmlingen ( Rheinau) and Lichtenau. The upper Rench valley around

Bad Peterstal-Griesbach Bad Peterstal-Griesbach () is a municipality in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Matthias Erzberger was murdered here on August 26, 1921, for signing the 1918 Armistice for the German Empire. Two former military fortifi ...

initially cuts into the forested

bunter sandstone The Buntsandstein (German for ''coloured'' or ''colourful sandstone'') or Bunter sandstone is a lithostratigraphic and allostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Buntsands ...

plateau before entering a more open, very steep rugged valley, near the town of

Oppenau Oppenau () is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It has a population of 4,700 inhabitants. Geography Oppenau is situated in the Rench valley in the Black Forest. The nearest major cities are Offenburg and Freudenstadt. ...

. There it is joined from the east by the

Lierbach Lierbach is a river of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It flows into the Rench in Oppenau. See also *List of rivers of Baden-Württemberg A list of rivers of Baden-Württemberg, Germany: A *Aal (Kocher), Aal *Aalbach (Main), Aalbach *Aalenbach ...

, well known for the

All Saints Waterfalls The All Saints Waterfalls () are located in the Black Forest on the territory of the town of Oppenau in the German state of Baden-Württemberg at an elevation of about . The Lierbach stream, also called the Grindenbach, cascades, as a natural ...

. In Lautenbach the valley abruptly broadens into the Foothill Zone with the town of Oberkirch at the foot of the vineyards and the little town of

Renchen Renchen () is a small city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, part of the district of Ortenau. Geography Renchen is located in the foothills of the northern Black Forest at the entrance to the Rench valley at the edge of the Upper Rhine River Plains ...

. The B 28 federal road, long an important route through the Black Forest, runs through the Rench valley linking the

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

area with the upper

Neckar The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern States of Germany, 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 ...

region. It climbs steeply above Bad Griesbach in hairpin bends to the Alexanderschanze (968 m). The Rench Valley Railway starts at

Appenweier Appenweier () is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany in the district of Ortenau. Geography Appenweier consists of the main municipal Appenweier (4,075 inhabitants), Urloffen (4,301 inhabitants), kn ...

and runs as far as

Bad Griesbach Bad Griesbach im Rottal (, ; ), or just Bad Griesbach, is a town in the district of Passau in Bavaria in Germany. History "Burg Griesbach" is first mentioned in a document from around 1076. The place was part of Landshut. It was raided and des ...

. It has also contributed to the development of the thermal baths in the Rench valley, which had already been established in the 16th century in Bad Griesbach, but which soon extended to Bad Antogast near Oppenau (especially for the nobility), Bad Peterstal and Bad Freiersbach (today part of Bad Peterstal-Griesbach). The "Rench Flood Canal" was built between 1936 and 1953 at the Acher Rench Correction to divert floodwaters. It branches off the Rench at Erlach, picks up the Acher Canal at Rheinau and merges with the actual Rench at Memprechtshofen.

Gallery

File:Rench river in Oppenau.JPG, The Rench in Oppenau File:Rench Helmlingen 2.jpg, The Rench near Helmlingen at low water File:Rench Helmlingen.jpg, The Rench in riparian woods near Helmlingen File:Renchmündung.jpg, Confluence of the Rench and the Rhine

References

External links

* "LUBW-BRSWEB": * , especially the map sections and layers ** the Landesanstalt für Umwelt, Messungen und Naturschutz Baden-Württemberg (LUBW) *** "LUBW-FG10": Rivers, 1:10,000 scale *** "LUBW-SG10": Lakes and reservoirs, 1:10,000 scale *** "LUBW-GEZG": Catchments
Map of the Rench from source to mouth
at

OpenStreetMap OpenStreetMap (abbreviated OSM) is a free, Open Database License, open geographic database, map database updated and maintained by a community of volunteers via open collaboration. Contributors collect data from surveying, surveys, trace from Ae ...

{{Authority control Rivers of Baden-Württemberg Rivers of the Black Forest Rivers of Germany