Mosel Bei Konz vom Freilichtmuseum Roscheiderhof

The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

that rises in the

Vosges mountains The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

and flows through north-eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

to western

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 ...

. It is a

left bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terra ...

tributary of the

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

, which it joins at Koblenz. A small part of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

is in its basin as it includes the

Sauer The Sauer (German and Luxembourgish, , ) or Sûre ( French, ) is a river in Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. A left tributary of the Moselle, its total length is . Rising near Vaux-sur-Sûre in the Ardennes in southeastern Belgium, the Sauer ...

and the

Our Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regulato ...

. Its lower course "twists and turns its way between

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

and Koblenz along one of Germany's most beautiful river valleys."''Moselle: Holidays in one of Germany's most beautiful river valleys''
at www.romantic-germany.info. Retrieved 23 Jan 2016. In this section the land to the north is the Eifel which stretches into

; to the south lies the Hunsrück. The river flows through a region that was cultivated by the Romans. Today, its hillsides are covered by terraced vineyards where "some of the best

Riesling Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling wh ...

s grow". Many castle ruins sit on the hilltops above wine villages and towns along the slopes.

Traben-Trarbach Traben-Trarbach on the Middle Moselle is a town in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'' and a state-recognized climatic spa (''Luftkurort''). The city lies in the ...

with its art nouveau architecture and

Bernkastel-Kues Bernkastel-Kues () is a town on the Middle Moselle in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a well-known winegrowing centre. The town is a state-recognized health resort (''Erholungsort''), seat of the ''Ver ...

with its traditional market square are two of the many tourist attractions on the Moselle river.

Name

The name Moselle is derived from the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

name form, ''Mosela'', via the

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 ...

''Mosella'', a diminutive form of ''Mosa'', the Latin description of the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

, which used to flow parallel to the Moselle. So the ''Mosella'' was the "Little Meuse". The Moselle is first recorded by

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

in Book 13 of his ''

Annals Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between ann ...

'' and in Book 4 of his '' Histories''. The

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 lette ...

poet

Ausonius Decimius Magnus Ausonius (; – c. 395) was a Roman poet and teacher of rhetoric from Burdigala in Aquitaine, modern Bordeaux, France. For a time he was tutor to the future emperor Gratian, who afterwards bestowed the consulship on him ...

made it a literary theme as early as the 4th century. In his poem dated 371, called ''

Mosella The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koble ...

'', which was published in 483

hexameter Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...

s, this poet of the

Late Antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...

and teacher at the Trier Imperial Court (''Kaiserhof'') described a journey from Bingen over the Hunsrück hills to the Moselle and then following its course to Trier on the road named after him, the Via Ausonius. Ausonius describes flourishing and rich landscapes along the river and in the valley of the Moselle, thanks to the policies of their Roman rulers. The river subsequently gave its name to two French republican

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

s: Moselle and

Meurthe-et-Moselle Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. It had a population of 733,760 in 2019.Bussang Bussang (; or ''Büssing'') is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in Northeastern France. Known as the source of the Moselle River The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges moun ...

on the western slopes of the Ballon d'Alsace in the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

. After it discharges into the

at the

Deutsches Eck ''Deutsches Eck'' (, "German Corner") is the name of a promontory in Koblenz, Germany, where the Mosel river joins the Rhine. Named after a local commandry of the Teutonic Order ("Teutonischer Orden"), it became known for a monumental equest ...

in Koblenz at a height of above NHN sea level. The length of the river in France is , for it forms the border between Germany and Luxembourg, and is solely within Germany. The Moselle flows through the

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

region, west of the Vosges. Further downstream, in Germany, the Moselle valley forms the division between the Eifel and Hunsrück mountain regions. The average flow rate of the Moselle at its mouth is ,Hydrologischer Atlas der Schweiz 2002, Tab. 5.4 ''Natürliche Abflüsse 1961-1980'' (natural discharges)
see map
) making it the second largest tributary of the Rhine by volume after the

Aare The Aare () or Aar () is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about , during which distance it descen ...

() and bigger than the

Main Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries ...

and Neckar.

River sections

The section of the Moselle from the

–

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

near

Schengen The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...

to its confluence with the

Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name *Saar Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player * Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist *Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), Est ...

near

Konz Konz ( la, link=no, Contionacum) is a city in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Saar and Moselle, approx. 8 km southwest of Trier. Konz is the seat of the ''Verbandsg ...

shortly before

is in Germany known (geographically incorrectly) as the

Upper Moselle The Upper Moselle (german: Obermosel) is the section of the River Moselle, 45 kilometres long, that runs from the Franco-German-Luxembourg tripoint near Perl to its confluence with the Saar near Konz shortly before Trier. From the tripoint to its ...

. The section from Trier to

Pünderich Pünderich is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Zell, whose sea ...

is the

Middle Moselle The Middle Moselle or Central Moselle (german: Mittelmosel) refers to the approximately 120-kilometre-long section of the river Moselle, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany from the city of Trier to Zell. The subsequent section of t ...

, the section between Pünderich and its mouth in Koblenz as the Lower Moselle or Terraced Moselle (''Terrassenmosel''). Characteristic of the Middle and Lower Moselle are its wide

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex ba ...

s cut deeply into the highlands of the Rhenish Massif, the most striking of which is the ''Cochemer Krampen'' between

Bremm Bremm is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to ...

and

Cochem Cochem is the seat of and the biggest town in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With just over 5,000 inhabitants, Cochem falls just behind Kusel, in the Kusel district, as Germany's second smallest district seat. Since 7 J ...

. Also typical are its vineyard terraces. From the tripoint the Moselle marks the entire Saarland–Luxembourg border.

Catchment

The

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

of the Moselle is in area. The French part covers , about 54 percent of the entire catchment. The German state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

has , the

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...

, Luxembourg ,

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

in Belgium and

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

, .

Tributaries

The three largest

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 ...

of the Moselle are, in alphabetical order, the Meurthe, the

and the

. The Meurthe was the old upper course of the Moselle, until the latter captured the former upper reaches of the

and took it over. However, the Meuse only delivered a little more water than the Meurthe at its confluence. The Saar is the biggest of all the tributaries () as well as the longest (). The Sauer is the largest left-hand tributary and drains the region on either side of the German-Luxembourg border. The largest tributary relative to the Moselle at its confluence is the

Moselotte The Moselotte () is a river in Lorraine, in the French department of Vosges. It is a direct right tributary of the Moselle, and thus a sub-tributary of the Rhine. Geography The Moselotte rises in the massif des Vosges at the fontaine de l ...

, which is about 40% greater by volumetric flow and thus represents the main branch of the Moselle system. At its mouth, the Moselle delivers of water into the Rhine after flowing for . TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:xxxx ImageSize = width:500 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = left:10 right:10 top:10 bottom:40 AlignBars = justify Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(0.97,0.97,0.97) BackgroundColors = canvas:canvas Period = from:0 till:250 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:30 start:0 gridcolor:blue BarData= barset:Riverlength PlotData= width:18 fontsize:M textcolor:black color:skyblue shift:(20,-6) anchor:from barset:Riverlength from:start till:end width:20 color:drabgreen Text:The_10_longest_tributaries fontsize:10 from:start till:end width:20 color:canvas from:start till:227 text:

(227 km) from:start till:173 text:

(173 km) from:start till:161 text: Meurthe (161 km) from:start till:142 text: Kyll (142 km) from:start till:138 text: Seille (138 km) from:start till:97 text:

Madon The Madon () is a long river in the Vosges and Meurthe-et-Moselle ''départements'', northeastern France. Its source is near Vioménil. It flows generally north. It is a left tributary of the Moselle into which it flows at Pont-Saint-Vincen ...

(97 km) from:start till:86 text:

Orne Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Lieser (74 km) from:start till:63 text:

Salm Salm may refer to People * Constance de Salm (1767–1845), poet and miscellaneous writer; through her second marriage, she became Princess of Salm-Dyck * Salm ibn Ziyad, an Umayyad governor of Khurasan and Sijistan * House of Salm, a European ...

(63 km) from:start till:59 text:

Elzbach The Elzbach (also: ''Elz'') is a small river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, a left tributary of the Moselle. It rises in the Eifel, near Kelberg. The Elz flows through Monreal and past Eltz Castle. It flows into the Moselle in Moselkern, i ...

(59 km) TextData= fontsize:M pos:(10,20) text:km TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:xxxx ImageSize = width:500 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = left:10 right:10 top:10 bottom:40 AlignBars = justify Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(0.97,0.97,0.97) BackgroundColors = canvas:canvas Period = from:0 till:80 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:0 gridcolor:blue BarData= barset:Riverlength PlotData= width:18 fontsize:M textcolor:black color:skyblue shift:(20,-6) anchor:from barset:Riverlength from:start till:end width:20 color:drabgreen Text:The_10_largest_tributaries_by_volume fontsize:10 from:start till:end width:20 color:canvas from:start till:78.2 text:

(78.2 m³/s) from:start till:53.8 text:

(53.8 m³/s) from:start till:41.1 text: Meurthe (41.1 m³/s) from:start till:13.7 text:

(13.7 m³/s) from:start till:12.4 text:

Orne Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Madon The Madon () is a long river in the Vosges and Meurthe-et-Moselle ''départements'', northeastern France. Its source is near Vioménil. It flows generally north. It is a left tributary of the Moselle into which it flows at Pont-Saint-Vincen ...

(11.1 m³/s) from:start till:10.5 text: Seille (10.5 m³/s) from:start till:10.2 text: Kyll (10.2 m³/s) from:start till:9.7 text:

Vologne The Vologne () is a river of the Vosges department in France. It is a right tributary of the Moselle. Its source is in the Vosges Mountains, on the northwestern slope of the Hohneck. It flows through the lakes of Retournemer and Longemer, and pa ...

(9.7 m³/s) from:start till:4.5 text: Alf (4.5 m³/s) TextData= fontsize:M pos:(10,20) text:m³/s TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:xxxx ImageSize = width:500 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = left:10 right:10 top:10 bottom:40 AlignBars = justify Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(0.97,0.97,0.97) BackgroundColors = canvas:canvas Period = from:0 till:7500 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1000 start:0 gridcolor:blue BarData= barset:Riverlength PlotData= width:18 fontsize:M textcolor:black color:skyblue shift:(20,-6) anchor:from barset:Riverlength from:start till:end width:20 color:drabgreen Text:The_10_largest_catchments_of_the_tributaries fontsize:10 from:start till:end width:20 color:canvas from:start till:7431 text:

(7,431 km²) from:start till:4259 text:

(4,259 km²) from:start till:3085 text: Meurthe (3,085 km²) from:start till:1348 text: Seille (1,348 km²) from:start till:1268 text:

(1,032 km²) from:start till:843 text: Kyll (843 km²) from:start till:402 text: Lieser (402 km²) from:start till:385 text:

Rupt de Mad The Rupt de Mad () is a long river in the Meuse and Meurthe-et-Moselle'' départements'', northeastern France. Its source is several small streams which rise at Geville, northwest of Toul. It flows generally northeast. It is a left tributary of ...

(385 km²) from:start till:369 text:

(369 km²) TextData= fontsize:M pos:(10,20) text:km²

List of tributaries

;From the left:

, Terrouin, Esch,

Orne Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Fensch The Fensch or Fentsch is a river in the Moselle department of the Grand Est region of France. It is a left tributary of the Moselle, and thus a sub-tributary of the Rhine. Geography The Fensch is long. It rises in Fontoy in the west of the M ...

, Gander, Syre,

, Kyll,

, Lieser, Alf, Endert, Brohlbach, Elz. ;From the right:

, Meurthe, Seille,

, Olewiger Bach, Avelsbach,

Ruwer The Ruwer is a river in Germany with a length of . It is a right tributary of the Moselle. The valley of the Ruwer is a part of the Moselle wine-growing region near Trier in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is famous for its Riesling wines ...

Feller Bach The Feller Bach is a right tributary of the Moselle in Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany). Its source is in the Hunsrück mountains. It flows through the villages Lorscheid (''Verbandsgemeinde'' Ruwer), Fell and Riol (''Verbandsgemeinde'' Schweic ...

, Dhron, Ahringsbach,

Kautenbach Kautenbach ( lb, Kautebaach) is a village in the commune of Kiischpelt, in northern Luxembourg. In 2005, the village had a population of 120. Kautenbach was a commune in the canton of Wiltz Wiltz ( lb, Wolz or (locally) ) is a commune ...

, Lützbach, Flaumbach, Altlayer Bach, Baybach, Ehrbach.

Towns

Towns along the Moselle are: * in France:

Épinal Épinal (; german: Spinal) is a commune in northeastern France and the prefecture of the Vosges department. Geography The commune has a land area of . It is situated on the river Moselle, south of Nancy. Épinal station has rail connecti ...

Toul Toul () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, and the river Moselle and Canal de la Marne au Rhin. Climate Toul ...

Pont-à-Mousson Pont-à-Mousson () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Its inhabitants are known as ''Mussipontains'' in French. It is an industrial town (mainly steel industry), situated on the river Moselle. Pont-à-Mous ...

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

and

Thionville Thionville (; ; german: Diedenhofen ) is a city in the northeastern French department of Moselle. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz. History Thionville was settled as early as the time of th ...

* in Luxembourg:

Remich Remich ( lb, Réimech ) is a commune with town status in south-eastern Luxembourg with a population of 3,645 inhabitants . It is the capital of the canton of Remich. Remich lies on the left bank of the river Moselle, which forms part of the borde ...

Grevenmacher Grevenmacher (; ) is a commune with town status in eastern Luxembourg, near the border with Germany. It gives its name to and is the capital of the canton of Grevenmacher, and, until its abolition in 2015, the district of Grevenmacher. The town ...

and Wasserbillig * in Germany:

Schweich Schweich is a town in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the river Moselle, approx. northeast of Trier. Schweich is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Schweich an der ...

Zell Zell may refer to: Places Austria * Zell am See, in Salzburg state * Zell am Ziller, in Tyrol * Zell, Carinthia, in Carinthia * in Upper Austria: ** Bad Zell ** Zell am Moos ** Zell an der Pram ** Zell am Pettenfirst Germany * Zell im Fichtelg ...

and Koblenz

Adjacent mountain ranges

From Trier downstream the Moselle separates the two

Central Upland The Central UplandsDickinson (1964), p.18 ff. (german: die MittelgebirgeN.B. In German die ''Mittelgebirge'' (plural) refers to the Central Uplands; das ''Mittelgebirge'' refers to a low mountain range or upland region (''Mittel'' = "medium" and ...

ranges of the Eifel (to the northwest) and the Hunsrück (to the southeast).

Geology

The

, the present source region of the Moselle, were formed about 50 million years ago. In the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

and

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58ancient Rhine (''Ur-Rhein''). When, in the Quaternary period, the Rhenish Massif slowly rose, the meanders of the Moselle were formed between the

Valley and the

Neuwied Basin Neuwied () is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne. Th ...

Water levels

The highest navigable water level (HSW) is and normal level (NSt) is at the Trier Gauge (''Pegel Trier'').

High water Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ca ...

: * , Trier Gauge on 21 December 1993 * , Trier Gauge on 28 May 1983 * , Trier Gauge on 23 January 1995 * , Trier Gauge on 12 April 1983 * , Trier Gauge on 27 February 1997

Low water Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ca ...

: * in Bernkastel on 28 July 1921

History

The Moselle was known to the Romans by the name of ''Flumen Musalla'' (in the ''

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The map is a 13th-ce ...

''), and the river was romanticised by the poet

around 371. From 1815, the Moselle formed the border between the

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

and

Prussia 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 ...

( German Empire in 1871). In the act of 10 April 1952 ratifying the treaty instituted by the ECSC, Article 2 charged the

French Government The Government of France (French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who i ...

"to initiate, before the establishment of the

Common Market The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

, negotiations with the governments concerned in order to achieve a rapid implementation of the canalisation of the Moselle between

and Koblenz. The River was canalised between

and

, via a canal opened in 1964 by the Grand Duchess,

Charlotte of Luxembourg Charlotte (Charlotte Adelgonde Elisabeth Marie Wilhelmine; 23 January 1896 – 9 July 1985) reigned as Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 14 January 1919 until her abdication on 12 November 1964. She acceded to the throne on 14 January 1919 foll ...

, the Federal Chancellor of Germany,

Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman who served as the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of the Christian Dem ...

and their host, Charles de Gaulle, President of France. It is on the Moselle, at the site of the France–Germany–Luxembourg tripoint, that the

Schengen Agreement The Schengen Agreement ( , ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the t ...

was signed in 1992, establishing the free movement of goods and people in the

European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

Economy

The Moselle valley between Metz and Thionville is an industrial area, with

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

mining and steel manufacturers. The Moselle valley is famous for its scenery and wine. Most well-known is the German Mosel wine region, while the Luxembourg

winegrowing Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

region is called ''Moselle Luxembourgeoise'' and the French region is called ''

AOC Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of ...

Moselle''. Most notable among the wines produced here are

Elbling Elbling is a variety of white grape (sp. ''Vitis vinifera'') which today is primarily grown in the upstream parts of the Mosel region in Germany and in Luxembourg, where the river is called Moselle. The variety has a long history, and used t ...

Müller-Thurgau Müller-Thurgau is a white grape variety (sp. ''Vitis vinifera'') which was created by Hermann Müller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882 at the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute in Germany. It is a crossing of Riesling with Madeleine ...

, Kerner, and Auxerrois. The German part of the Moselle is a tourist destination.

Navigation

After the Second World War, France pressed to be able to ply the Moselle with larger ships in order to be able to link the industrial regions of

. When, in 1955, the population on the Saar voted to belong to West Germany, France demanded as "compensation" an upgrade of the Moselle. On 27 October 1956 they concluded the Moselle Treaty with Germany and Luxembourg for a canalisation of the Moselle and conceded to Germany in return the extension of the

Grand Canal d'Alsace The Grand Canal of Alsace (, ) is a canal in eastern France, channeling the Upper Rhine river. It is 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) long between Kembs and Vogelgrun, and provides access to the region from the Rhine River, Basel in Switzerland, ...

on the

Upper Rhine The Upper Rhine (german: Oberrhein ; french: Rhin Supérieur) is the section of the Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany, surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometres 170 to 529 (the ...

instead of an extension of the canal via Breisach. In 1958 work began and by 26 May 1964 the Moselle could be officially opened from Metz to Koblenz as a major waterway for shipping with 14

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

s. France extended it by 1979 as far as

Neuves-Maisons Neuves-Maisons (, literally ''New Houses'') is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France, on the banks of the Moselle. The city had a great steel industry during the 19th and 20th century. Neuves-Maisons erected a ...

. With that, of the Moselle have been upgraded with a total of 28 locks. In the years 1992 to 1999 the navigable channel was deepened from to , which enables 1,500-tonne freighters to use the river, a 20% increase in capacity. The channel has a width of , more on the bends. The Moselle Commission, founded in 1962 with its head office in Trier, is responsible for navigation. The Moselle Shipping Police Act which it has produced is valid in all three participant states from Metz to Koblenz. In 1921 the Moselle (Mo) became a

Reich ''Reich'' (; ) is a German noun whose meaning is analogous to the meaning of the English word "realm"; this is not to be confused with the German adjective "reich" which means "rich". The terms ' (literally the "realm of an emperor") and ' (lit ...

waterway, today it is a federal waterway (''Bundeswasserstraße'') from

Apach Apach (german: Apach) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Apach is from Sierck-les-Bains, from Thionville, and from Metz. It is on the border of Germany and Luxembourg, the municipalities just across t ...

at the tripoint to its mouth on the Rhine at kilometre point 592.29 in Koblenz. The waterway is long and managed by the Trier and Koblenz Water and Shipping Offices (''Wasser- und Schifffahrtsämtern Trier und Koblenz''). It is categorized as a European

waterway A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary b ...

of Class Vb. Its kilometrage begins at its mouth at kilometre point 0 and runs upstream. Since 1816 it has formed a long condominium from Apach, a common Germany–Luxembourg sovereign area with a division of responsibilities set out in a 1976 agreement. The International Moselle Company, initially set up in 1957 to finance the construction of the river's upgrade, manages the shipping charges and the operation and maintenance of the waterway which they are used to fund. Staustufe Fankel

Today the Moselle is navigable for large cargo ships up to long from the Rhine in Koblenz up to

, south of Nancy. For smaller ships it is connected to other parts of France through the

Canal de la Meuse The Canal de la Meuse is the current name of what used to be the northern branch of the Canal de l'Est ("canal of the east"). It is a canal in northeastern France, predominantly made up of the canalised river Meuse. The Canal de l'Est was built fro ...

and the

Canal de la Marne au Rhin 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 und ...

. There are

s in Koblenz,

Lehmen Lehmen is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Euro ...

, Müden, Fankel, Sankt Aldegund,

Enkirch Enkirch is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Ge ...

Zeltingen Zeltingen-Rachtig is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location The municipality ...

Wintrich Wintrich is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location The municipality lies in th ...

, Detzem,

Palzem Palzem is a municipality in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. History From 18 July 1946 to 6 June 1947 Palzem, in its then municipal boundary, formed part of the Saar Protectorate The Saar Protectorate (german: S ...

, Kœnigsmacker,

Richemont Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., commonly known as Richemont, is a Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company founded in 1988 by South African businessman Johann Rupert. Through its various subsidiaries, Richemont produces and sells j ...

, Talange,

Ars-sur-Moselle Ars-sur-Moselle (, literally ''Ars on Moselle''; german: Ars an der Mosel) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in northeastern France. History Ars-sur-Moselle was a part of Germany, in the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine ...

Pagny-sur-Moselle Pagny-sur-Moselle (, literally ''Pagny on Moselle'') is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department * Parc naturel régional de Lorraine Lorraine Regional N ...

Blénod-lès-Pont-à-Mousson Blénod-lès-Pont-à-Mousson (, literally ''Blénod near Pont-à-Mousson'') is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in northeastern France. Population See also * Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department The following is a lis ...

, Custines,

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

, Aingeray,

Fontenoy-sur-Moselle Fontenoy-sur-Moselle (, literally ''Fontenoy on Moselle'') is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department The following is a list of the 591 communes of the ...

, Villey-le-Sec, and Neuves-Maisons. By 1970 more than 10 million tonnes of goods were being transported on the Moselle, the majority on towed barges. Upstream freight mainly comprised fuel and ores; downstream the main goods were steel products, gravel and rocks. There is an

inland port An inland port is a port on an inland waterway, such as a river, lake, or canal, which may or may not be connected to the sea. The term "inland port" is also used to refer to a dry port. Examples The United States Army Corps of Engineers pub ...

, a transshipment site in

Zell (Mosel) Zell (Mosel) is a town in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Zell has roughly 4,300 inhabitants and is the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde''. Geography Location Zell is an hour's drive from both Koblenz and T ...

; and there are other ports in

Mertert Mertert () is a commune and town in eastern Luxembourg, on the border with Germany. It is part of the canton of Grevenmacher. The commune consists of the towns of Mertert and Wasserbillig. Mertert has a river port on the Moselle The Mo ...

and

Frouard Frouard () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in the region of Grand Est, north-eastern France. It is located 10 km north of Nancy near the confluence of the Moselle and Meurthe. It is noted for its Medieval mill; and was ...

. In addition to freighters there are also pleasure boats for tourists between the very busy wine villages and small towns of the Middle and Lower Moselle. There are also

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

ing or sports marinas in the following places: Koblenz,

Winningen Winningen is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in E ...

, Brodenbach, Burgen, Löf,

Hatzenport Hatzenport is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in ...

Senheim Senheim is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Cochem, whose sea ...

Treis Treis-Karden is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was the seat of the former like-named ''Verbandsg ...

, Kues, Neumagen, Pölich,

and

. The Moselle is linked near Toul via the

with ''inter alia'' the

, the

Saône The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île. The name ...

and the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

. Other canals link the river to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

and even the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

Locks and dams (weirs)

There is a total of 28 changes of level on the Moselle: * 16 in France near

, Villey-le-Sec,

, Aingeray,

-Pompey, Custines,

, Talange,

, Kœnigsmacker and

* 2 between Luxembourg and Germany near Stadtbredimus-

and

Wellen Wellen (; li, Wille) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On 1 January 2018, Wellen had a total population of 7,402. The total area is 26.72 km², giving a population density of 266 inhabitants per km2. The municip ...

* 10 in Germany near

, Detzem,

, St. Aldegund, Fankel, Müden,

and Koblenz. Detzem is the highest lock – – and at the upstream reach is the longest on the river; it is the only lock to be built on a canal of some length excavated outside the river bed. With the exception of Detzem, all the structures at each change in level are laid out side by side; the

is by one riverbank, the

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

in the middle and the

hydropower plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

on the other bank. Between the lock and weir are a boat slipway and channel and boat lock, while between the weir and the power station is the

fish ladder A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as move ...

. The structures have been blended into the landscape through their low-level design; this was achieved by the choice of sector gates for the weir, vertically lowering upper gates and mitred lower lock gates. The water levels and hydropower works are controlled by the Fankel Central Control Station (''Zentralwarte Fankel'') of the RWE Power Company at Fankel.

Tourism

Through the Moselle valley run the Moselle Wine Route and the Moselle Cycleway, which may be cycled from

via

to Koblenz on the River Rhine, a distance of . Between Koblenz and Trier, large sections run on the

trackbed The track bed or trackbed is the groundwork onto which a railway track is laid. Trackbeds of disused railways are sometimes used for recreational paths or new light rail links. According to Network Rail, the trackbed is the layers of ballast a ...

of the old Moselle Valley Railway, far from the noise and fumes of motor vehicles. Every year on the Sunday after Pentecost, the of road between

and

is also car-free as part of Happy Moselle Day. A number of notable castles and ruins adorn the heights above the Moselle valley and many are visible on a boat trip on the Moselle. In 1910, a hiking trail, the Moselle Ridgeway, was established which runs for on the Eifel side and on the Hunsrück side. Another unusual trail runs from

Ediger-Eller Ediger-Eller is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Cochem, whos ...

via the Calmont Trail to

through the steepest vineyard in Europe. Before the construction of barrages the Moselle was a popular route for

folding kayak A folding kayak is a direct descendant of the original Inuit kayak made of animal skins stretched over frames made from wood and bones. A modern folder has a collapsible frame made of some combination of wood, aluminium and plastic, and a skin ...

s which is why many of the weirs have boat channels. The river is still used today by

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...

ists, especially during the annual week-long lock closures when no commercial shipping is permitted. In April 2014 the Moselle Trail was opened, a path running for from Perl on the

to Koblenz. Numerous Moselle Trail "partner trails", the so-called side branches (''Seitensprünge'') and "dream paths" (''Traumpfade'') enhance the hiking network in the Moselle Valley. The

ADAC ADAC, officially the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (), is Europe's largest motoring association. ADAC is the largest club (Verein) in Germany with around 21 million members. It would be more aptly described today as an individual mo ...

Rallye Deutschland The ADAC Rallye Deutschland is a rally event held in Germany. The event was first held in 1982 and originally hosted by e.g. Frankfurt, Mainz and Koblenz. In 2000, the rally was relocated to the region around Trier. Previously part of the Europ ...

has taken place since 2000 in the vineyards along the Moselle at

Veldenz Veldenz is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the former main seat of the County of Veldenz, ...

, Dhron,

Piesport Piesport is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location The municipality lies sur ...

Minheim Minheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location The municipality lies on th ...

, Kesten, Trittenheim,

Fell A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of Man, pa ...

tal and

. At

Koblenz Locks Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman military post by Drusus around 8 B.C. Its name ...

the Mosellum offers exhibitions about the migration of fish in the Moselle as well as water ecology, navigation and power generation. With the construction of the visitor and information centre the most modern

along the Moselle was opened.

Wine

The Moselle winegrowing region lies along the Moselle with a cultivated area of about . The largest part, currently just under , is on German soil in the states of

and

; the Luxembourg part has an area of about (see Wine in Luxembourg). Upstream on the Moselle the vineyards extend into France as far as Seille in the region of Côtes de Moselle with an area of and to the region around

(

Côtes de Toul Côtes de Toul is an ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) for French wine produced in the département of Meurthe-et-Moselle in the Lorraine ''région''. The Côtes de Toul vineyards cover in an area close to Toul, to the west of the city ...

) covering . The German Moselle wine region, including its tributaries, bears the growing and manufacturing name of "Mosel". For marketing reasons the agricultural authorities of the region have divided it into six winegrowing areas. The wine literature and specialist press, by contrast, divide the region into four areas based on geomorphological, micro-climatic and also historical reasons: ; Upper Moselle: The valley sides of the

(also called the Burgundy Moselle, ''Burgundermosel'') with their overwhelmingly

muschelkalk The Muschelkalk (German for "shell-bearing limestone"; french: calcaire coquillier) is a sequence of sedimentary rock, sedimentary rock strata (a lithostratigraphy, lithostratigraphic unit) in the geology of central and western Europe. It has a Mid ...

soils belong geologically to the so-called

Paris Basin The Paris Basin is one of the major geological regions of France. It developed since the Triassic over remnant uplands of the Variscan orogeny (Hercynian orogeny). The sedimentary basin, no longer a single drainage basin, is a large sag in th ...

, which explains its low proportion of

– only around 10% in 2010 – and the increasing cultivation of

Pinot Blanc Pinot blanc is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane which produces white ...

and Pinot Noir grapes. ; Trier Region: Around the city of

and in the valleys of the

and

with their side valleys, the Riesling is the predominant grape on the shale soils, with over 80% of the crop. One climatic feature of this area is the frequent orientation of often small southwest-southeast facing locations in which the vegetation is exposed to stronger, cooler winds and, especially in the light of recent global warming, often achieve lower degrees of maturity than in the narrow, often deeply incised valley of the Middle and Lower Moselle. ; Middle Moselle: With around of vineyard the

is the largest winegrowing area of the Moselle. According to the wine experts and trade, the "greatest" wines of the Moselle, both in quantity and quality, are grown here on land that has been consolidated into large concerns with much vaunted steeply sloped vineyards. ; Lower Moselle: In the Lower Moselle Valley, there are a number of medieval castles, high above little villages, decorated with

timber-framed house Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

s, surrounded by steep slopes with small terraces in the narrow, winding valley. Here, cultivating vines is very labour-intensive and costly and it is difficult to make it economical. As a result, it is common for vineyards to fall into ruin here. The wine industry on the German Moselle has been declining for decades. In 2005, statistics showed there were of vineyard; by 2012 this had fallen to just . The vineyards that have fallen fallow are mostly those on extremely steep hillsides. There has been a major decline in the number of so-called ''Nebenerwerbswinzer'' (vintners for whom it is a secondary occupation), and the small, family farming operations that, until the end of the 1960s formed the majority of wine businesses. Comparative figures by the Chamber of Agriculture for Rhineland-Palatinate for several wine villages on the Lower Moselle show that there were still 797 wine businesses in the early 1960s, but by the early 2000s there were only just under 100. There has been the opposite trend amongst the established traditional wine estates and more recent vintners with a sound education in oenology and business management, who have increased their business through the reclamation of once renowned, but long forgotten sites. The end of the 20th century saw the rediscovery of the use of special

terroir (, ; from ''terre'', "land") is a French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, these contex ...

in order to improve quality and value, which has led to a more nuanced view of Moselle wine that, a few years before, had been characterised by overproduction, label scandals and cheap offers.

Moselle umbrella brand

On 10 November 2006 in

Burg The German word Burg means castle. Burg or Bürg may refer to: Places Placename element * ''-burg'', a combining form in Dutch, German and English placenames * Burg, a variant of burh, the fortified towns of Saxon England Settlements * Burg, Aar ...

, the Moselle Regional Initiative was founded. The introduction of the Moselle as an

umbrella brand Umbrella branding (also known as family branding) is a marketing practice involving the use of a single brand name for the sale of two or more related products. Umbrella branding is mainly used by companies with a positive brand equity (value o ...

was based on that of the Eifel region and covers products and services from the areas of agriculture, forestry, tourism, handicrafts and nature.

Moselle slate

Moselle slate (''Moselschiefer'') is a manufacturing and trade description for slate from the municipalities of

Mayen Mayen is a town in the Mayen-Koblenz District of the Rhineland-Palatinate Federal State of Germany, in the eastern part of the Volcanic Eifel Region. As well as the main town, additional settlements include Alzheim, Kürrenberg, Hausen-Betzing, ...

, Polch, Müllenbach,

and its surrounding area. Today only products from the roofing slate mines of in Mayen and Margareta in Polch bear the name Moselle Slate. The name is derived from the historical transport route for this slate along the Moselle to the

Lower Rhine The Lower Rhine (german: Niederrhein; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the river Rhine) flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hook of Holland, Netherlands (including the Nederrijn or "Nether Rhine" within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta); al ...

Railways

The following railway lines run or ran along the river: *

Koblenz–Trier railway The Koblenz–Trier Railway is a railway line in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, located mostly on the left (northern) bank of the Moselle, connecting Koblenz via Bullay to Trier. It is known in German as the ''Moselstrecke'', i.e. " ...

(''Moselstrecke''), between Koblenz and Bullay, and in Trier, mostly on the left (northern) bank * Pünderich–Traben-Trarbach railway, for its entire length, on the left (northern) bank * Moselle Railway, between Bullay and Trier, on the right (southern) bank. Closed in the 1960s. * Trier West Railway, between Ehrang and Igel, on the left (northern) bank *

Thionville–Trier railway The Thionville–Trier railway (also called in German the ''Obermoselstrecke'', Upper Moselle line) connects Thionville in the French region of Grand Est with Trier in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It also passes through the westernmos ...

(''Obermoselstrecke''), for its entire length, on the right (eastern) bank * CFL line 1a, between Wasserbillig and Grevenmacher, on the left (western) bank. No passenger service remains. *

Metz–Luxembourg railway The Metz–Luxembourg railway is a French/Luxembourgish railway line, that connects the French Lorraine region to Luxembourg. The railway was opened between 1854 and 1859. It is an important international railway connection. The part in Luxembourg ...

, between Thionville and Metz, mainly on the left bank * Lérouville–Metz railway, between Metz and Novéant, mainly on the left bank * Frouard–Novéant railway, mainly on the left bank * Paris–Strasbourg railway, between Frouard and Toul * Blainville-Damelevières–Lure railway, between Bayon and Épinal * Épinal–Bussang railway, between

and

Remiremont Remiremont (; german: Romberg or ) is a town and commune in the Vosges department, northeastern France, situated in southern Grand Est. The town has been an abbatial centre since the 7th century, is an economic crossroads of the Moselle and Mos ...

, on the left bank

Literature

*''Mosella'', a

Latin poem 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 ...

(4th century). *In the tale, "

The Seven Swabians The Seven Swabians (''Die Sieben Schwaben'') is a German fairy tale, collected by The Brothers Grimm in the second volume edition of their ''Kinder- und Hausmärchen'' (1857) under the number KHM119. The term '' Swabians'' refers to people fr ...

" of the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

, these Swabians drown trying to cross the Moselle. *Accounts of the river, its folklore and local history appear in ''Small Boat on the Moselle'' a 1968 book by Roger Pilkington.

Castles

* Château de Meinsberg (dit de Malbrouck): near Manderen, this castle was built in the 15th century but rebuilt in the 1990s. Today it is used for numerous cultural events. * Château Fort de Sierck-les-Bains: situated just on the French-German border at

Sierck-les-Bains Sierck-les-Bains (, Lorraine Franconian: ''Siirk''/''Siirck'') is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Localities of the commune: Rudling, Kœnigsberg (German: Rudlingen, Königsberg) Language Revitalizatio ...

, this fortress of the

Duke of Lorraine The rulers of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were kings of ...

dates back to the 11th century. Most of today's castle was constructed in the 18th century, following plans from Vauban. *Schloss Berg: a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

castle at

Nennig Nennig is a village in the Saarland, Germany, part of the municipality of Perl. It is situated on the river Moselle, opposite Remich, Luxembourg. Overview Nennig is known for a Roman villa containing well-preserved mosaics that were excavated in t ...

, today a hotel and a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

. * Alte Burg: a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

built in 1360 at

Longuich Longuich is a municipality in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It lies on the river Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through no ...

. One of the few surviving manor houses in rural Rhineland-Palatinate. * Schloss Lieser: a palace at Lieser built from 1884 to 1887 in historistic style. * Landshut Castle: a castle built by the Electorate of Trier in the 13th century at

. * Grevenburg: ruins of a castle at

built by Johann III of Sponheim-Starkenburg about 1350, destroyed, after many sieges, in 1734. *Marienburg: a 12th-century castle and later

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

near

and Alf. *

Arras Castle Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of t ...

: a 12th-century castle in Alf. *

Metternich Castle Metternich Castle is an ancient castle in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is also known as the Beilstein Castle (''Burg Beilstein''), being within the municipal bounds of in Beilstein, Rhineland-Palatinate. ...

: a castle built around 1120 at Beilstein, today partly in ruins. * Cochem Castle: The castle in

was originally built in the 11th century, but was completely destroyed by French soldiers in 1689. The present castle was rebuilt later in the 19th century. *

Thurant Castle The ruins of the Thurant Castle (german: Burg Thurant, also ''Thurandt'' or ''Thurand'') stand on a wide slate hill spur above the villages of Alken on the Moselle in Germany. The castle is in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinat ...

: Above the town of Alken is Thurant Castle, built in the 13th century. It is the only twin-towered castle along the Moselle. The fortress was built by the Count Palatine Henry of the house of Guelph between 1198 and 1206. From 1246 to 1248, it was the two archbishops of Cologne and Trier. Following conquest, it was divided by a partition wall into two halves, each with a keep (tower). During the 19th century, Thurant disintegrated, becoming a ruin; and in 1911 was acquired by Privy Councilor, Dr. Robert Allmers, who had it rebuilt. Since 1973, the castle has been owned by the Allmers and Wulf families. * Ehrenburg: a 12th-century castle built by the Electorate of Trier at Brodenbach. *

Eltz Castle Eltz Castle (german: Burg Eltz) is a medieval castle nestled in the hills above the Moselle between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. It is still owned by a branch of House of Eltz who have lived there since the 12th century. Eltz Castle along with B� ...

: The von Eltz family castle, whose history dates back to the 12th century. It remains in private hands to this day but it is open to visitors. *Lower and Upper Castle,

Kobern-Gondorf Kobern-Gondorf is a municipality in the Mayen-Koblenz, district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. It is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Rhein-Mosel. Above the village are the two castles of Niederburg, Kobern, Nieder ...

: two 11th-century castles, today mostly in ruins. * Pyrmont Castle: This 13th-century castle near Roes was remodelled and extended several times during the Baroque era. * Bischofstein Castle: Across the river from the municipality of Burgen is this 13th-century castle, which was destroyed during the Nine Years' War, but was reconstructed and now serves as a retreat centre for the Fichte Gymnasium in

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, i ...

References

Publius Cornelius Tacitus: Der Text ist verfügbar in der lateinischen Wikisource: Kapitel LIII, at la.wikisource.org Publius Cornelius Tacitus: Der Text ist verfügbar in der lateinischen Wikisource; erwähnt ist die Mosel in Kapitel 71 und Kapitel 77, at la.wikisource.org The

, with a volumetric discharge of is not considered, since it has not officially been a tributary of the Rhine since 1970 (although it is hydrologically). Verzeichnis A, Lfd. Nr. 39 der Chronik
, Wasser- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes, at wsv.de
, Wasser- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes, at wsv.de von

am Dreiländereck bis zu ihrer Mündung in den Rhein bei Rhein-km 592,29 ''Gliederung Bundeswasserstraßen''
, mit Informationen u. a. zu Längen (in km) der Hauptschifffahrtswege (Hauptstrecken und bestimmte Nebenstrecken) der Binnenwasserstraßen des Bundes, bei der Wasser- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes, at wsv.de ''Moselsteig entfacht das Wanderfieber''
In: Trierischer Volksfreund, dated 26 September 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014, at volksfreund.de Von der Mehrzahl der Winzer nicht genutzte Herkunftsbezeichnung Stuart Pigott, Chandra Kurt, Manfred Lüer: ''Stuart Pigotts Weinreisen – Mosel.'' Scherz, Frankfurt am Main, 2009, , pp. 103 ff. Daniel Deckers (Hg.), ''Zur Lage des deutschen Weins – Spitzenlagen und Spitzenweine'', Stuttgart 2003, pp. 137–187 Publications by the Statistical Office of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Bibliography

* Decimius Magnus Ausonius: ''Mosella escription of a journey by ship on the Moselle around 371 A. D.' http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0619 * Jakob Hölscher (ed.): ''Das Moselthal von Trier bis Coblenz. In malerischen Ansichten, nach der Natur gezeichnet von C. Bodmer, in acqua tinta geätzt von R. Bodmer''. 30 pages. Koblenz, 1831–1833 * Johann August Klein: ''Moselthal zwischen Koblenz und Konz,'' printed by Heriot, Coblenz, 1831 * Johann August Klein: ''Das Moselthal zwischen Koblenz und Zell mit Städten, Ortschaften, Ritterburgen, historisch, topographisch, malerisch''. Heriot, Koblenz, 1831 * Wilhelm Haag: ''Ausonius und seine Mosella''. Gaertner, Berlin, 1900 * Michael Gerhard: ''Die Mosel, dargestellt in ihrem Lauf, ihrer Entstehung und ihrer Bedeutung für den Menschen.'' Prüm, 1910
Online edition dilibri Rhineland-Palatinate
* Carl Hauptmann: ''Die Mosel von Cochem bis Bernkastel.'' Bonn 1910
Online edition dilibri Rhineland-Palatinate
* Carl Hauptmann: ''Die Mosel von Coblenz bis Cochem in Wanderbildern.'' Bonn, 1911
Online edition dilibri Rhineland-Palatinate
* Ludwig Mathar: ''Die Mosel (Die Rheinlande, Bilder von Land, Volk und Kunst, Zweiter Band: Die Mosel)'' Cologne o. J. (around 1925), 607 S. (with 117 illustrations and a map of the Moselle Valley from Trier to Coblenz) * Rudolf G. Binding: ''Moselfahrt aus Liebeskummer – Novelle einer Landschaft'', Frankfurt am Main, 1933 (51.–75. Tausend) * Josef Adolf Schmoll alias Eisenwerth: ''Die Mosel von der Quelle bis zum Rhein'' (Deutsche Lande – Deutsche Kunst). 2nd edition, Munich/Berlin, 1972 * Willy Leson (ed.): ''Romantische Reise durch das Moseltal-Von Koblenz nach Trier (with graphics by Carl Bodmer and text by Johann August Klein and Christian von Stramberg)'', Cologne, 1978 * Heinz Cüppers, Gérard Collot, Alfons Kolling, Gérard Thill (Red.): ''Die Römer an Mosel und Saar (Zeugnisse der Römerzeit in Lothringen, in Luxemburg, im Raum Trier und im Saarland)'', Mainz, 1983, Zabern: 2nd revised edition (with 46 colour and 346 black and white photographs) * Heinz Held: ''Die Mosel von der Mündung bei Koblenz bis zur Quelle in den Vogesen: Landschaft, Kultur, Geschichte'' (DuMont-Kunst-Reiseführer). 3rd edition, Cologne, 1989 * Jean-Claude Bonnefont, Hubert Collin (dir.), ''Meurthe-et-Moselle'', edition Bonneton, Paris, 1996, 318 pages. * M. Eckoldt (ed.), Flüsse und Kanäle, Die Geschichte der deutschen Wasserstraßen, DSV-Verlag, 1998 * Ulrich Nonn: ''Eine Moselreise im 4. Jahrhundert-Decimus Magnus Ausonius und seine "Mosella"''. In: Koblenzer Beiträge zur Geschichte und Kultur, Vol. 8, Koblenz: Görres-Verlag 2000, pp. 8–24 (with map and illustrations) * Reinhold Schommers: ''Die Mosel'' (DuMont-Reise-Taschenbücher). DuMont, Ostfildern 2001, * Ludwin Vogel: ''Deutschland, Frankreich und die Mosel. Europäische Integrationspolitik in den Montan-Regionen Ruhr, Lothringen, Luxemburg und der Saar.'' Klartext, Essen, 2001, * Decimius Magnus Ausonius: ''Mosella. Lateinisch-deutsch.'' Published, translated and commented on by Paul Dräger. Tusculum Studienausgaben. Artemis und Winkler, Düsseldorf, 2004, * Uwe Anhäuser: ''Die Ausoniusstraße. Ein archäologischer Reise- und Wanderführer.'' Rhein-Mosel, Alf/Mosel, 2006, * Karl-Josef Gilles: ''Das Moseltal zwischen Koblenz und Trier 1920 bis 1950'' (series of archive photographs), Sutton, Erfurt, 2006, . * Wasser- und Schifffahrtsdirektion Südwest: Kompendium der Wasser- und Schifffahrtsdirektion Südwest. Organisatorische und technische Daten, Binnenschifffahrt, Aufgaben, Wasserstraßen. self-publication, Mainz, June 2007 * Alexander Thon / Stefan Ulrich: ''Von den Schauern der Vorwelt umweht... Burgen und Schlösser an der Mosel''. Schnell + Steiner, Regensburg 2007, 1st edition, 180 pp. numerous photographs, 2 overview maps of the Moselle * Wolfgang Lambrecht: ''Malerische Mosel – Gemälde und Druckgraphik aus 100 Jahren'', [Farbbroschüre mit Werken u. a. von Carl Bodmer, Clarkson Stanfield, Rowbotham, Compton, Wolfsberger, Benekkenstein, Burger, Thoma, Nonn, Möhren, Zysing und Bayer, published by the Sparkasse Mittelmosel and the Lions-Förderverein Cochem], Cochem, 2007 * Karl-Josef Schäfer und Wolfgang Welter: ''Ein Jakobsweg von Koblenz-Stolzenfels nach Trier. Der Pilgerwanderführer für den Mosel-Camino.'' Books on Demand, Norderstedt, 2009 (2nd updated edition) * Xavier Deru: ''Die Römer an Maas und Mosel'', Zabern-Verlag, Mainz, 2010 * Groben, Josef: ''Mosella. Historisch-kulturelle Monographie'', Trier, 2011, 311 pp., 237 photographs. * Stefan Barme: ''Nacktarsch, Viez und Ledertanga – Ausflüge in die Kulturgeschichte des Mosellandes''. Stephan Moll Verlag, 2012 (1st edition) * Joachim Gruber: Decimus Magnus Ausonius, "Mosella" ''Kritische Ausgabe, Übersetzung, Kommentar''. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin. Series: Texts and commentaries, Vol. 42, 2013, XI, 370 pp.

Name

River sections

Catchment

Tributaries

List of tributaries

Towns

Adjacent mountain ranges

Geology

Water levels

History

Economy

Navigation

Locks and dams (weirs)

Tourism

Wine

Moselle umbrella brand

Moselle slate

Railways

Literature

Castles

References

Bibliography

External links