The Our (; , ) 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 wate ...
in
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 ...
,
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
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-hand
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 river
Sauer/Sûre. Its total length is .
The source of the Our is in the
High Fens
The High Fens (german: Hohes Venn; french: Hautes Fagnes; nl, Hoge Venen), which were declared a nature reserve in 1957, are an upland area, a plateau region in Liège Province, in the east of Belgium and adjoining parts of Germany, between the ...
in southeastern Belgium, near
Manderfeld. It flows southwards, more or less along the German-Belgian border, and after
Ouren
Ouren is a village in Belgium with a population of 129 inhabitants. Ouren is a part of the municipality of Burg-Reuland and thus belongs to the German-speaking Community of Belgium.
Geography
Ouren is located at the Tripoint, border triangle of B ...
, along the German-Luxembourg border. The historic town of
Vianden
Vianden ( lb, Veianen or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the Oesling, north-eastern Luxembourg, with over 1,800 inhabitants. It is the capital of the canton of Vianden, which is part of the district of Diekirch. Vianden lies on t ...
lies on the Our. The Our empties into 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 f ...
in
Wallendorf.
Course
The
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 wate ...
rises in the eastern
Ardennes
The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...
and western
Eifel
The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...
on
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...
soil. Its source near the village of
Losheimergraben lies northeast of the ''Eichelsberg'' mountain (653 m) at 643 m near the
B 265. Just a few hundred metres away is the source of the
River Kyll
The Kyll (), noted by the Roman poet Ausonius as ''Celbis'',Ausonius, ''Mosella'', v. 359 is a river in western Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate), left tributary of the Moselle. It rises in the Eifel mountains, near the b ...
. The Our initially follows the B 265, which is also the Belgian-German state border. The river continues alternating between Belgium and Germany. 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 ...
by the
Europa Monument
Europa may refer to:
Places
* Europe
* Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace
* Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro
* Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development
* Europa Cliffs, ...
between
Ouren
Ouren is a village in Belgium with a population of 129 inhabitants. Ouren is a part of the municipality of Burg-Reuland and thus belongs to the German-speaking Community of Belgium.
Geography
Ouren is located at the Tripoint, border triangle of B ...
(B),
Sevenig (D) and
Lieler
Lieler ( lb, Léiler) is a village in the commune of Clervaux, in northern Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, G ...
(L) it runs almost entirely on the German-Luxembourg border until it reaches
Wallendorf in Germany where it empties into the Sauer. It flows mainly from north to south but also
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 bank ...
s in places.
For the section where it runs along the German-Luxembourg border the Our is a jointly managed
condominium
A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...
(the "Joint German-Luxembourg Sovereign Area"). Unilateral sovereignty only begins at the respective shore. In its upper reaches between Germany and Belgium, the state border lies, as is normal on the
thalweg
In geography and fluvial geomorphology, a thalweg or talweg () is the line of lowest elevation within a valley or watercourse.
Under international law, a thalweg is the middle of the primary navigable channel of a waterway that defines the bounda ...
of the river.
Tributaries
– Location of the confluences measured from the source of the Our –
*
Auw (left, at km 9)
*
Ihrenbach (left, at km 21)
* Braunlauf (right, at km 23)
*
Irmisch (left, near km 26)
*
Ulf
Ulf, or Ulv is a masculine name common in Scandinavia and Germany. It derives from the Old Norse word for "wolf" (''úlfr'', see Wulf).
The oldest written record of the name's occurrence in Sweden is from a runestone of the 11th century.
The fe ...
(right, near km 30)
*
Irsen (left, near km 67)
;Length of tributaries over 5 km
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from:start till:5.9 $left text:Auw (5.9 km)
from:start till:7.5 $right text:Medenderbach (7.5 km)
from:start till:8.7 $right text:Kolvenderbach (8.7 km)
from:start till:6.1 $right text:Weberbach (6.1 km)
from:start till:15.9 $left text:Ihrenbach (15.9 km)
from:start till:17.8 $right text:Braunlauf (17.8 km)
from:start till:17.8 $right text:Ulf (17.8 km)
from:start till:35.5 $left text:Irsen (35.5 km)
from:start till:5.0 $left text:Teggelbach (5.0 km)
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A comprehensive list that also includes the smaller tributaries is
here
Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to:
Software
* Here Technologies, a mapping company
* Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here
Television
* Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...
.
Villages on the Our
The border village of
Vianden
Vianden ( lb, Veianen or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the Oesling, north-eastern Luxembourg, with over 1,800 inhabitants. It is the capital of the canton of Vianden, which is part of the district of Diekirch. Vianden lies on t ...
, one of the most important tourist resorts in Luxembourg, lies on the Our. The Our Valley Route is a circular route that runs through Belgium and North Luxembourg. Especially worth seeing is the section between
Manderfeld (Belgium) and Lieler (Luxembourg), where the route follows the Our almost all the way. It runs ''inter alia'' past
Reuland Castle
Reuland Castle is a castle in southeast Belgium, Burg-Reuland, near the border of Germany, probably built after 1148 by the von Reuland nobles.
The castle was sold in 1322 to Count John the Blind and the
King of Bohemia. On 24 May 1384 King Wen ...
(Ouren) and the
Europa Monument
Europa may refer to:
Places
* Europe
* Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace
* Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro
* Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development
* Europa Cliffs, ...
at the German-Belgian-Luxembourg
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 ...
.
Other villages are:
*
Roth an der Our
Roth an der Our is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous coun ...
*
Ouren
Ouren is a village in Belgium with a population of 129 inhabitants. Ouren is a part of the municipality of Burg-Reuland and thus belongs to the German-speaking Community of Belgium.
Geography
Ouren is located at the Tripoint, border triangle of B ...
*
Sevenig
*
Dahnen
Dahnen is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, 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 Eur ...
*
Dasburg
Dasburg is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. Before the French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping ...
*
Rodershausen
Rodershausen is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers a ...
*
Obereisenbach
*
Stolzembourg
Stolzembourg (, ) is a village in the commune of Putscheid, in north-eastern Luxembourg. , the village has a population of 170.
Stolzembourg Castle is located on a hill in the centre of the village. The current building was built on the ruins of ...
*
Bettel
*
Gentingen
Gentingen is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany.
References
External linksTV portrait of Gentingenbroadcast by Südwestrundfunk
Südwestrundfunk (SWR; ''Southwest Broadcasting'') is a ...
*
Ammeldingen an der Our
*
Schönberg
*
Wallendorf near
Bollendorf
Bollendorf is a German municipality in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, located on the left bank of the Sauer river, opposite the Luxembourgish town of Bollendorf-Pont
Bollendorf-Pont (, ) is a village in the commune of Berdorf, in easte ...
.
*
Grüfflingen near
St. Vith
St. Vith (german: Sankt Vith ; french: Saint-Vith ; lb, Sankt Väit ; wa, Sint-Vit) is a city and municipality of East Belgium located in the Walloon province of Liège. It was named after Saint Vitus.
On January 1, 2006, St. Vith had a total ...
*
Auel (village in
Burg-Reuland
Burg-Reuland () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège.
The name of the municipality refers to the castle "Burg-Reuland", which is located in the center of the community. On January 1, 2006, Burg-Reuland had a total populat ...
)
Usage
The Our is impounded north of
Vianden
Vianden ( lb, Veianen or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the Oesling, north-eastern Luxembourg, with over 1,800 inhabitants. It is the capital of the canton of Vianden, which is part of the district of Diekirch. Vianden lies on t ...
by the Our Dam and forms the lower basin of the
Vianden Pumped Storage Plant
The Vianden Pumped Storage Plant is located just north of Vianden in Diekirch District, Luxembourg. The power plant uses the pumped-storage hydroelectric method to generate electricity and serves as a peaking power plant. Its lower reservoir is l ...
.
References
Literature
* Leonard Palzkill: ''Ourtal ohne Grenzen.'' Neuerburg, 2006, .
External links
*
Official home page of the Our Nature Park with information on tourism, the ecology and local events for North Luxembourg
*
Ensebach - Upper Our Nature ReserveHochwassermeldezentrum The Moselle in Trier
{{DEFAULTSORT:Our (River)
International rivers of Europe
Belgium–Germany border
Germany–Luxembourg border
Rivers of the Ardennes (Belgium)
Rivers of the Ardennes (Luxembourg)
Rivers of Rhineland-Palatinate
Rivers of Belgium
Rivers of Luxembourg
Rivers of Wallonia
Rivers of Liège Province
Rivers of Luxembourg (Belgium)
Büllingen
Vianden
Rivers of the Eifel
Rivers of Germany
Border rivers