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The Main () is the longest
tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
of the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
. It rises as the White Main in the Fichtel Mountains of northeastern
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
and flows west through central
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 ...
for to meet the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
below Rüsselsheim,
Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
. The cities of
Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
and
Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
are close to the confluence. The largest cities on the Main are
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
,
Offenbach am Main Offenbach am Main () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Hesse, Germany, on the left bank of the river Main (river), Main. It borders Frankfurt and is part of the Frankfurt urban area and the larger Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Aut ...
and
Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...
. It is the longest river lying entirely in Germany (if the
Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Bre ...
-
Werra The Werra (), a river in central Germany, is the right-bank headwater of the Weser. "Weser" is a synonym in an old dialect of German. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld in southern Thuringia. After the Werra joins the river Fulda in the ...
are considered separate).


Geography

The Main flows through the north and north-west of the
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
of
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
then across southern
Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
; against the latter it demarcates a third state,
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
, east and west of
Wertheim am Main Wertheim ( East Franconian: ''Wärde'') is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg with a population of around 23,400. It is located on the confluence of the rivers Tauber and Main. Wertheim is best known for its l ...
, the northernmost town of that state. The upper end of its basin opposes that of the
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
where the watershed is recognised by natural biologists, sea salinity studies (and hydrology science more broadly) as the European Watershed. The Main begins near Kulmbach in
Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...
at the joining of its two headstreams, the
Red Main The Red Main (german: Roter Main or ''Rotmain'') is a river in southern Germany. It is the southern, left headstream of the river Main. It rises in the hills of Franconian Switzerland, near Haag and flows generally northwest through the towns ...
(''Roter Main'') and the White Main (''Weißer Main''). The Red Main originates in the
Franconian Jura The Franconian Jura ( , , or ) is an upland in Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. Located between two rivers, the Danube in the south and the Main in the north, its peaks reach elevations of up to and it has an area of some 7053.8 km2. Emil Meyn ...
mountain range, in length, and runs through Creussen and
Bayreuth Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of U ...
. The White Main originates in the mountains of the
Fichtelgebirge The Fichtel MountainsRandlesome, C. et al. (2011). ''Business Cultures in Europe'', 2nd ed., Routledge, Abingdon and New York, p. 52. . (german: Fichtelgebirge, cs, Smrčiny), form a small horseshoe-shaped mountain range in northeastern Bavaria ...
; it is long. In its upper and middle section, the Main runs through the valleys of the German Highlands. Its lower section crosses the Lower Main Lowlands (
Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin The Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin is a subbasin of the Upper Rhine Graben southeast of Frankfurt am Main (Hesse, Bavaria, Germany). Location The Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin is located in the eastern part of the Lower Main lowlands. The river Main ( ...
and northern
Upper Rhine Plain The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben ( German: ''Oberrheinische Tiefebene'', ''Oberrheinisches Tiefland'' or ''Oberrheingraben'', French: ''Vallée du Rhin'') is a major rift, about and on average , between Basel in the ...
) to
Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
, where it discharges into the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
. Major tributaries of the Main are the
Regnitz The Regnitz is a river in Franconia, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Main and is in length. The river is formed by the confluence of the rivers Rednitz and Pegnitz, which meet in the city of Fürth. From there the Regnitz runs northwa ...
, the Franconian Saale, the
Tauber The Tauber () is a river in Franconia (Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria), Germany. It is a left tributary of the Main and is in length. The name derives from the Celtic word for water (compare: Dover). It flows through Rothenburg ob der Tauber ...
, and the Nidda. The name ''Main'' originates from
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''Moenis'', ''Moenus'' or ''Menus''. It is not related to the name of the city
Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
(Latin: ''Mogontiacum'' or ''Moguntiacum'').


Navigation

The Main is navigable for shipping from its mouth at the Rhine close to Mainz for to
Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...
. Since 1992, the Main has been connected to the Danube via the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and the highly regulated
Altmühl The Altmühl (, la, Alchmona, Alcmana, Almonus)
s.v. is a river in
river. The Main has been canalized with 34 large locks () to allow
CEMT class The Classification of European Inland Waterways is a set of standards for interoperability of large navigable waterways forming part of the Trans-European Inland Waterway network within Continental Europe and Russia. It was created by the Europea ...
V vessels () to navigate the total length of the river. The 16 locks in the adjacent Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and the Danube itself are of the same dimensions.


Weirs and locks

There are 34 weirs and locks along the 380 km navigable portion of the Main, from the confluence with the Regnitz near Bamberg, to the Rhine. * No.: Number of the lock (from upstream to downstream). * Name: Name of the lock. * Location: City or town where the lock is located. * Year built: Year when the lock was put into operation (replacement dates are also listed where applicable). * Main-km: Location on the Main, measured from the 0 km stone in Mainz-Kostheim. The reference point is the center of the lock or lock group. * Distance between locks: length in km of impoundment (between adjacent locks). * Altitude: height in meters above mean sea level of the upper water at normal levels. * Height: Height of the dam in meters (the height of the Kostheim lock depends on the water level of the Rhine). * Lock length: Usable length of the lock chamber in meters. * Lock width: Usable width of the lock chamber in meters.


Hydroelectric power generation

Most of the weirs or dams along the Main also have turbines for power generation. * No.: Number of the dam/weir (from upstream to downstream). * Name: Name of the dam/weir. * Height: Height of the dam/weir in meters (the height of the Kostheim dam depends on the water level of the Rhine). * Power: Maximum power generation capacity in megawatts. * Turbines: Type and number of turbines. * Operator: Operator of the hydroelectric plant.


Tributaries

Tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...
from source to mouth: Left *
Regnitz The Regnitz is a river in Franconia, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Main and is in length. The river is formed by the confluence of the rivers Rednitz and Pegnitz, which meet in the city of Fürth. From there the Regnitz runs northwa ...
*
Tauber The Tauber () is a river in Franconia (Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria), Germany. It is a left tributary of the Main and is in length. The name derives from the Celtic word for water (compare: Dover). It flows through Rothenburg ob der Tauber ...
*
Mümling The Mümling is a river of Hesse and Bavaria, Germany. It is long and lends its name to the Mümlingtal (Mümling valley) in Odenwald. In Bavaria it is sometimes called Mömling in official documents. It is a left tributary of the Main. Etymol ...
Right *
Rodach (Main) Rodach is a river of Bavaria, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Main, which it joins near Hochstadt am Main. Its largest tributaries are the Wilde Rodach, Haßlach and Steinach. See also *List of rivers of Bavaria A list of rivers of ...
*
Itz The Itz is a river of Thuringia and Bavaria, Germany. The Itz is long and a right tributary of the Main. The Itz begins in Sachsenbrunn (Stelzen), Thuringia and flows southward through Bachfeld and Schalkau. It crosses into Bavaria and feeds ...
* Franconian Saale *
Aschaff The Aschaff (in its uppermost course: ''Kleinaschaff'') is a river in the northern Spessart in Bavaria, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Main and is long. It begins at the Aschaffquelle near Waldaschaff. Loosely translated the name Aschaf ...
* Kahl * Kinzig * Nidda File:Mainfest Frankfurt.jpg, The Main in
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
at night Image:Offenbach 4.jpg, Main in
Offenbach am Main Offenbach am Main () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Hesse, Germany, on the left bank of the river Main (river), Main. It borders Frankfurt and is part of the Frankfurt urban area and the larger Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Aut ...
Image:Mainspitze fg01.JPG, Confluence into the Rhine at
Mainz-Kostheim Mainz-Kostheim is a district administered by the city of Wiesbaden, Germany. Its population is 14,381 (). Mainz-Kostheim was formerly a district of the city of Mainz, until the public administration by the city of Wiesbaden was decided on 10 Aug ...


Ports and municipalities

Around Frankfurt are several large inland ports. Because the river is rather narrow on many of the upper reaches, navigation with larger vessels and push convoys requires great skill. The largest cities along the Main are
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
,
Offenbach am Main Offenbach am Main () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Hesse, Germany, on the left bank of the river Main (river), Main. It borders Frankfurt and is part of the Frankfurt urban area and the larger Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Aut ...
and
Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...
. The Main also passes the following towns:
Burgkunstadt Burgkunstadt is a town in the district of Lichtenfels, in northern Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Main, 15 km west of Kulmbach, and 24 km southeast of Coburg. History The earliest archeological evidence of se ...
, Lichtenfels, Bad Staffelstein,
Eltmann Eltmann () is a town of 5256 inhabitants (in the Haßberge district of Lower Franconia, in Bavaria, Germany. It lies on the south bank of the Main river, west of Bamberg. It comprises the town proper, and its outlying districts, Dippach, Eschen ...
,
Haßfurt Haßfurt (; English: Hassfurt) is a town in Bavaria, Germany, capital of the Haßberge district. It is situated on the river Main, 20 km east of Schweinfurt and 30 km northwest of Bamberg. In 1852, Ludwig's Western Railway reached the ...
,
Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban ag ...
,
Volkach Volkach is a town in the district of Kitzingen in the ''Regierungsbezirk Unterfranken'' (Lower Franconia) in Bavaria, Germany. It lies on the river Main and has a population of around 8,700. History Located outside the town but inside the mu ...
,
Kitzingen Kitzingen () is a town in the German state of Bavaria, capital of the district Kitzingen. It is part of the Franconia geographical region and has around 21,000 inhabitants. Surrounded by vineyards, Kitzingen County is the largest wine producer ...
,
Marktbreit Marktbreit am Main () is a town in the district of Kitzingen in the Regierungsbezirk Unterfranken in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated at the most southern point of the Main river. Marktbreit is the birthplace of Alois Alzheimer who first identi ...
,
Ochsenfurt Ochsenfurt () is a town in the district of Würzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. Ochsenfurt is located on the left bank of the River Main and has around 11,000 inhabitants. This makes it the largest town in Würzburg district. Name Like Oxford, the t ...
, Karlstadt, Gemünden, Lohr,
Marktheidenfeld Marktheidenfeld () is a town in the Main-Spessart district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany and the seat (but not a member) of the ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' (municipal association) of Markth ...
, Wertheim,
Miltenberg Miltenberg () is a town in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named district and has a population of over 9,000. Geography Location The old town lies on the Mai ...
,
Obernburg Obernburg am Main (officially ''Obernburg a.Main'', short version: ''Obernburg,'' ) is a town in the Miltenberg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It has a population of around 8,500. ...
, Erlenbach/Main,
Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...
,
Seligenstadt Seligenstadt is a town in the Offenbach (district), Offenbach district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Seligenstadt is one of Germany's oldest towns and was already of great importance in Carolingian ...
, Hainburg,
Hanau Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ...
, Hattersheim, Flörsheim, and Rüsselsheim. The river has gained enormous importance as a vital part of European " Corridor VII", the inland waterway link from
the North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
to the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
.


Main line

In a historical and political sense, the Main line is referred to as the northern border of
Southern Germany Southern Germany () is a region of Germany which has no exact boundary, but is generally taken to include the areas in which Upper German dialects are spoken, historically the stem duchies of Bavaria and Swabia or, in a modern context, Bavaria ...
, with its predominantly
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
population. The river roughly marked the southern border of the
North German Federation The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...
, established in 1867 under
Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
leadership as the predecessor of the
German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
. The river course also corresponds with the
Speyer line In German dialectology, the Speyer line or Main line (Main River) is an isogloss separating the Central German dialects to the north, which have a stop in words like ''Appel'' "apple", from the Upper German dialects to the south, which have ...
isogloss between
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and
Upper German Upper German (german: Oberdeutsch ) is a family of High German dialects spoken primarily in the southern German-speaking area (). History In the Old High German time, only Alemannic and Bairisch are grouped as Upper German. In the Middle High G ...
dialects, sometimes mocked as ''
Weißwurstäquator "" (; ''white sausage equator'') is a humorous term describing the supposed cultural boundary separating Southern Germany from the northern parts, especially Bavaria from Central Germany. It is named for the Weisswurst sausage of Bavaria, and ...
''.


Recreation

The
Main-Radweg The Main Cycleway (german: Main-Radweg) is a major German bicycle path running for about 600 km along the River Main in Germany. It starts from either Creußen or Bischofsgrün and ends in Mainz. The General German Bicycle Club (ADFC) rat ...
is a major German bicycle path alongside the river. Approximately , it is the first long-distance instance awarded 5 stars by the General German Bicycle Club ( ADFC) in 2008. It starts from
Creußen Creußen is a town in the district of Bayreuth in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the Red Main river, 13 km southeast of Bayreuth. Creußen is famous for its stoneware beer steins. Creußen is the starting point of the Red Main bra ...
or
Bischofsgrün Bischofsgrün is a municipality in the district of Bayreuth in Bavaria in Germany. Bischofsgrün is situated within the Fichtelgebirge mountain range between the range's two largest mountains; Schneeberg (1051 m) and the Ochsenkopf (1024 m). T ...
and ends in
Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
.


Sights

* Roman camp at Marktbreit


Notes and references

;Footnotes ;Citations


Bibliography

* Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte (ed.), Main und Meer - Porträt eines Flusses. Exhibition Catalogue to the Bayerische Landesausstellung 2013 (German). WBG. .


External links


''Main River''
Website on the River Main by the Tourist Board of Franconia. * * *
Water levels of Bavarian rivers



Main Cycleway

Historical map of the Main confluence at Steinenhausen
from ''BayernAtlas'' {{Authority control Rivers of Hesse Rivers of Bavaria Rivers of Baden-Württemberg Geography of Frankfurt Federal waterways in Germany Rivers of Germany