The Rur Dam () is a 77.2 metre high dam located in the southwestern part of the state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

in Germany. It was built in 1939 and impounds the

Roer The Roer (, ) or Rur (; ) is a major river that flows through portions of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. It is a right (eastern) tributary to the Meuse (). About 90 percent of the river's course is in Germany. It is not to be conf ...

to form the Roer Reservoir (''Rurstausee'' or ''Rursee'') which is 7.83 km² in area. It lies within the districts of

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

and

Düren Düren (; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne, on the river Rur (river), Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the ter ...

History

The original dam was built between 1934 and 1938 from earth and stone, with an inner lining of

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...

, coming into service in 1939. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, on February 10, 1945, to impede the advance of the Anglo-Canadian

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established ...

during

Operation Veritable Operation Veritable (also known as the Battle of the Reichswald) was the northern part of an Allies of World War II, Allied pincer movement that took place between 8 February and 11 March 1945 during the final stages of the World War II, Second ...

, water was released from the

sluice gates A sluice ( ) is a water channel containing a sluice gate, a type of lock to manage the water flow and water level. There are various types of sluice gates, including flap sluice gates and fan gates. Different depths are calculated when design s ...

; this delayed supportive action (

Operation Grenade During World War II, Operation Grenade was the crossing of the Roer river between Roermond and Düren by the U.S. Ninth Army, commanded by Lieutenant General William Hood Simpson, in February 1945, which marked the beginning of the Allied inv ...

) by the American Ninth Army for two weeks. Construction from 1955 to 1959 raised the height of the dam by 20 meters to its present height of 77 meters above the riverbed.

Headwaters and tailwaters

The headwaters of the Rur Reservoir, with their length in kilometres (km), according to the ''Deutsche Grundkarte'' map (sorted alphabetically):Rurtalsperre Schwammenauel
(accessed on 30 December 2011) * Allersbach (2.9 km); from Buhlert Ridge flowing from the west-northwest, empties into the central section of the reservoir * Büdenbach (1.1 km); from the

Kermeter The Kermeter is an upland region, up to , which is part of the Rureifel within the North Eifel in the districts of Aachen, Düren and Euskirchen in the southwestern part of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. The Kermeter ridge is ...

flowing from the south, discharges near the dam wall in the northeastern part of the reservoir * Eschbach (1 km); from the Kermeter flowing from the south, empties into the northeastern part of the reservoir * Hohenbach (2.1 km); from the Kermeter flowing from the south, empties into the northeastern part of the reservoir * Lederbach (1.1 km); from the Buhlert Ridge near the hamlet of Klaus flowing from the northwest, discharges into the central part of the reservoir * Morsbach (1.2 km); from Schmidt-Eschauel flowing from the north, discharges into the central part of the reservoir * Rur (164.5 km), the main headwater, flowing from the south and emptying into the southern end of the reservoir; forms the only natural tailwater * Welchenbach (3.5 km); from the

Monschauer Heckenland The cultural landscape of the Monschau Hedge Land () or Monschau Hedge Region includes the uplands of the Eifel and the villages around the town of Monschau in the Region of Aachen, covering an area of 94 km², in which historical hedge stru ...

/from the direction of

Simmerath Simmerath () is a municipality in the Aachen (district), district of Aachen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 20 km south-east of Aachen, near the border to Belgium. The administrative area was expanded in 1972 ...

in the west, discharges into the southern part of the reservoir * Wolfsbach (2.2 km); from the Monschauer Heckenland/from Steckenborn (Simmerath) flowing from the west, discharges into the southern part of the reservoir * Schilsbach, from Hechelscheidt/ Klaus, empties near Woffelsbach/ Schilsbachtal * Weidenbach, empties near Rurberg/ Weidenbachtal

Panorama

References

Literature

* ''Talsperren in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland'', Peter Franke, Wolfgang Frey: DNK - DVWK 1987,

External links

NRW dam information

Available measurement stations and time series for the Rur Dam at wver.de

Webcam with view from Buoy 2 towards Buoy 1

{{Authority control Dams completed in 1939 Rhineland RRurtalsperre Dams in North Rhine-Westphalia ceb:Rurtalsperre