Kromme Rijn

The Kromme Rijn () ("Crooked Rhine", for its many bends) is a river in the central

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. 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 ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

times, this northernmost branch of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

was the main distributary of this major European river. Along its banks the Romans built their frontier

castella is a kind of ''wagashi'' (a Japanese traditional confectionery) originally developed in Japan based on the "Nanban confectionery" (confectionery imported from abroad to Japan during the Azuchi–Momoyama period). The batter is poured into larg ...

part of the ''

Limes Germanicus The (Latin for ''Germanic frontier'') 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 Empire and the unsub ...

''. Since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, however, the stream lost its importance as it silted up, and eventually it is nearly cut off from the

Nederrijn 300px, Course of the Nederrijn Nederrijn (; "Lower Rhine"; not to be confused with the section called Lower Rhine further upstream) is the name of the Dutch part of the Rhine from the confluence at the town of Angeren of the cut-off Rhine bend ...

Lek Lek or LEK may refer to: * Lek mating, mating in a lek, a type of animal territory in which males of a species gather * Albanian lek, the currency of Albania * Lek (magazine), a Norwegian softcore pornographic magazine * Lek (pharmaceutical comp ...

main artery. Yet it retained the name "Rhine". The Kromme Rijn splits off the Nederrijn-Lek main artery at the old town of

Wijk bij Duurstede Wijk bij Duurstede () is a 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 Duurstede, 2013.'' City The city ...

(called

Dorestad Dorestad (''Dorestat, Duristat'') was an early medieval emporium, located in the southeast of the province of Utrecht in the Netherlands, close to the modern-day town of Wijk bij Duurstede. It flourished during the 8th to early 9th centuries, ...

in the early medieval period), after which it twists and turns through the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

, past the towns of

Cothen Cothen is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Wijk bij Duurstede, and lies about southeast of Houten. The skyline of Cothen is characterized by a church and a windmill called ''Oog In 't Zeil''. Histo ...

Werkhoven Werkhoven is a town in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Bunnik, and lies about 5 km east of Houten. Castle Beverweerd is located on the other side of the river. Werkhoven used to be a separate municipality. I ...

Odijk Odijk is a town in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Bunnik, and lies about south of Zeist. Odijk used to be a separate municipality. It merged with Bunnik and Werkhoven in 1964. Overview The village was first ...

and

Bunnik Bunnik () is a municipality and village in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands. The recorded history of the village dates back nearly 2000 years, when the Romans constructed a fort at Fectio (now Vechten) with a harbour facing the river Rhine, w ...

, and ends in the

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

of the city of

. Originally, the city of Utrecht was built by the Romans at a

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

near the place where the Kromme Rijn forks into rivers Vecht (north) and

Leidse Rijn The Leidse Rijn (Dutch for "Leiden's Rhine") is a canal in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands. It was dug since the Middle Ages when the meandering old Rhine course silted up. The Leidse Rijn has a length of 13 km. Towns along the Leidse Rijn ...

(west); the last stretch within the

city wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

s, however, was channelised to form the

Oudegracht The Oudegracht, or "old canal", runs through the center of Utrecht, the Netherlands. It starts in the southeast of the city. Here the Kromme Rijn (the original main bed of the Rhine river) and the Vaartse Rijn (a medieval canal reconnecting Utrec ...

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

. Rivers Leidse Rijn and Vecht extend from the city moat and are the continuation of the Kromme Rijn. Kromme-Rijn Tamboersdijk Utrecht Nederland

{{Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta Rivers of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta Rivers of the Netherlands Rivers of Utrecht (province) Transport in Utrecht (city) Wijk bij Duurstede