The Vechte (, ) or Vecht (), often called Overijsselse Vecht () in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

to avoid confusion with its Utrecht counterpart, is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

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 ...

and the Netherlands. Its total length is , of which is in Germany. The Vechte originates in Oberdarfeld in the German 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 ...

near the city of

Coesfeld Coesfeld (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Koosfeld'') is the capital of the Coesfeld (district), district of Coesfeld in the Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. History Coesfeld received its city rights in 1197, but was first ...

and flows north into the state of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

, past the towns of

Nordhorn Nordhorn (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Nothoorn'', or ''Notthoarn'', ''Netthoarn,'' and Dutch: ''Noordhoorn'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the district seat of Grafschaft Bentheim, located in the southwest corner of the state, near th ...

and Emlichheim, across the border and then westwards into the Dutch province of

Overijssel Overijssel (; ; ; ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name comes from the perspective of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Episcopal principality of Utrecht ...

(hence its alternate Dutch designation). There, it flows through the north part of the

Salland Salland (; Low Saxon: ''Sallaand'') is a historical dominion in the west and north of the present Dutch province of Overijssel. Nowadays Salland is usually used to indicate a region corresponding to the part of the former dominion more or less to ...

region past

Hardenberg Hardenberg (; or '' 'n Arnbarg'') is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, Eastern Netherlands. The municipality of ...

and Ommen, taking in the water of the Regge stream along the way. Close to the city of

Zwolle Zwolle () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel ...

, the river suddenly bends north to end in

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

with the

Zwarte Water The Zwarte Water ("Black Water") is a river in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is formed just south of the city of Zwolle when two streams, the Soestwetering and the Nieuwe Wetering, merge. The Zwarte Water then flows north through Zwoll ...

river near the town of

Hasselt Hasselt (, , ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. As of 1 August 2023, Hasselt had a total population of 80,846. The old ...

. The Vechte is probably the Vidrus mentioned by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

in his map of Magna Germania. Image:Emlichheim, zicht op de Vecht 2007-09-23 15.15.JPG, The Vechte near Emlichheim Image:bij Neuenhaus, zicht op de Vechte 2008-08-30 11.29.JPG, The Vechte near Neuenhaus

References

Tributaries of the IJsselmeer Rivers of Lower Saxony Rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia Münster (region) Salland Rivers of Overijssel Rivers of the Netherlands Rivers of Germany International rivers of Europe {{NorthRhineWestphalia-river-stub

See also

References