The Red Main Spring (german: Rotmainquelle) is the source of the Red Main river, the left-hand and southern headstream of the

River Main The Main () is the longest tributary of the Rhine. It rises as the White Main in the Fichtel Mountains of northeastern Bavaria and flows west through central Germany for to meet the Rhine below Rüsselsheim, Hesse. The cities of Mainz and Wies ...

in Germany. It is located in the Lindenhardt Forest, ten kilometres south of

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 ...

near Hörlasreuth at a height of on the southern slopes of the Tannenberg (596 m). Although the Red Main is several kilometres longer than the Weiße Main, the stronger

White Main Spring The White Main Spring (german: Weißmainquelle) is the source of the White Main river, the right-hand and northern headstream of the River Main, a major tributary of the Rhine in Germany. It is located at a height of 887 metres above sea level on t ...

is seen as the source of the Main itself. The Red Main Spring was enclosed in stone in 1907 and, from there, the water flows along a narrow wooden pipe. The source region lies in the

Franconian Switzerland Franconian Switzerland (german: Fränkische Schweiz) is an upland in Upper Franconia, Bavaria, Germany and a popular tourist retreat. Located between the River Pegnitz in the east and the south, the River Regnitz in the west and the River Main i ...

Veldenstein Forest The Veldenstein Forest (german: Veldensteiner Forst) lies in the east of the Franconian Switzerland-Veldenstein Forest Nature Park between the towns of Pegnitz and Plech. Its name is derived from Veldenstein Castle, a large, well preserved, med ...

Nature Park and belongs geologically to the

Brown Jura The Brown Jurassic or Brown Jura (german: Brauner Jura or ''Braunjura'') in earth history refers to the middle of the three lithostratigraphic units of the South German Jurassic, the latter being understood not as a geographical, but a geological ...

. The river gets its name from the

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

gy red subsoil and the associated fluvial sediment that gives it its red appearance. In the vicinity of the Red Main Spring is the origin of the Fichtenohe, the upper course of the River Pegnitz.

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External links

{{Coord, 49.855555, N, 11.531954, E, type:waterbody_region:DE-BY, display=title, format=dms Springs of Germany SRed Main Spring