The Kendel, sometimes also called Hommersumer Kendel to distinguish it from other Kendels, is a river of
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
that originates near
Weeze
Weeze (, Dutch: ''Wees'') is a municipality in the Lower Rhine (Niederrhein) region, in the northwestern part of North Rhine-Westphalia in the district of Kleve in the region of Düsseldorf.
The municipality consists of the town of Weeze and th ...
and flows into the
Niers
The Niers (, ) is a river in Germany and The Netherlands, a right tributary of the river Maas (Meuse). Its wellspring is near Erkelenz, south of Mönchengladbach, in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany).
Course and length
The Niers flows through Mö ...
after about near
Goch
Goch (; archaic spelling: Gog, Dutch: Gogh) is a town in the district of Kleve, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated close to the border with the Siebengewald in Netherlands, approx. south of Kleve, and southeast of Nijmegen.
His ...
-Hommersum, on the border with the
Netherlands.
Geology
The Kendel follows almost its entire length, via five loops, a silted-up old channel of the Ur-Rhine (generally called "Kendel" on the Lower Rhine), which meanders through the Lower Rhine lowlands with a very slight gradient. This channel is already recognizable from
Krefeld and is known in its southern section as Niepkuhlen.
History
The Kendel branches off from the Ottersgraben to the west of Weeze. From Weeze, the Kendel runs roughly parallel to the German-Dutch border on the west side and the Niers and the A57 on the east side, past the Goch districts of Hülm, Gaesdonck and Hassum to Hommersum.
On the last 700 meters north of Hommersum to the confluence with the Niers, the Kendel is the border river between Germany (state of North Rhine-Westphalia) and the Netherlands (province of
Limburg with the village of Gennep-Ottersum). On this portion there is still a bridge over the Kendel, which is also a border crossing. There used to be a railway bridge here for the Boxteler Bahn; however, this bridge was blown up by
German troops in the final phase of the
Second World War during
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an Allies of World War II, Allied military operation during the World War II, Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a Salient (military), salient into G ...
on September 18, 1944.
Doublebordermarks.jpg, Bridge over the Kendel near Hommersum with German and Dutch boundary stones
462 Yshövelsche Mühle, Kendel, Goch-Hommersum.jpg, Kendel in Hommersum
462 Yshövelsche Mühle, Kendelbrücke, Goch-Hommersum.jpg, Pedestrian bridge near the Isshöveler mill
Kendel in Hülm.jpg, Kendel in Hülm
See also
*
List of rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia
References
Rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia
Rivers of Germany
{{NorthRhineWestphalia-river-stub