__NOTOC__ The Ruhr 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 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 ...

(

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

), a right tributary (east-side) of the

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

Description and history

The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous

Sauerland The Sauerland () is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited. The Sauerland is the largest tourist region in ...

region, at an elevation of approximately . It flows into the lower

at an elevation of only in the municipal area of

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...

. Its total length is , its average discharge is at

Mülheim Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr () and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home to many compan ...

near its mouth. Thus, its discharge is, for example, comparable to that of the river Ems in Northern Germany or the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The Ruhr first passes the towns of

Meschede Meschede () is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district Hochsauerlandkreis. Education One of the five branches of South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences (also: Fachh ...

Arnsberg Arnsberg (; wep, Arensperg) is a town in the Hochsauerland county, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the location of the Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg administration and one of the three local administration offices of the Hoch ...

Wickede Wickede (), officially Wickede (Ruhr), is a municipality in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Wickede lists the town of Jemielnica in Poland as its twin city and enjoys the cultural exchange and relationship. Geography ...

Fröndenberg Fröndenberg (; Westphalian: ''Frönnenbiärg'') is a town in the district of Unna, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Fröndenberg is situated in the Ruhr valley, approx. 10 km south-east of the district capital Unna, near the ...

Holzwickede Holzwickede () is a municipality in the district of Unna in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is twinned with Weymouth, Louviers and Colditz Colditz () is a small town in the district of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Co ...

Iserlohn Iserlohn (; Westphalian: ''Iserlaun'') is a city in the Märkischer Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city by population and area within the district and the Sauerland region. Geography Iserlohn is locat ...

, and

Schwerte Schwerte ( Westphalian: ''Schweierte'') is a town in the district of Unna, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Schwerte is situated in the Ruhr valley, at the south-east border of the Ruhr Area. South of Schwerte begins the mountainous ...

. Then the river marks the southern limit of the

Ruhr area The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

, passing

Hagen Hagen () is the Largest cities in Germany, 41st-largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany. The municipality is located in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the south eastern edge of the R ...

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

Herdecke Herdecke () is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located south of Dortmund in the Ruhr Area. Its location between the two Ruhr reservoirs Hengsteysee and Harkortsee has earned it the nickname ...

, Wetter,

Witten Witten () is a city with almost 100,000 inhabitants in the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis (district) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Witten is situated in the Ruhr valley, in the southern Ruhr area. Bordering municipalities * Bochum * Dortmu ...

Bochum Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous Germany, German federal state o ...

Hattingen Hattingen is a town in the northern part of the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. History Hattingen is located on the south bank of the River Ruhr in the south of the Ruhr region. The town was first mentioned in 13 ...

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

, and

. The

was Germany's primary industrial area during the early- to mid-20th century. Most factories were located there. The occupation of the Ruhr from 1923-24 by French forces, due to the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

's failure to continue paying reparations from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, provoked

passive resistance Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, ...

, which saw production in the factories grind to a halt. As a result, the German

hyperinflation In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimize their holdings in that currency as t ...

crisis grew even worse. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, two of the dams on the Ruhr, the

Möhne Dam The Möhne () is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Ruhr. The Möhne passes the towns of Brilon, Rüthen and Warstein. There is a large artificial lake near the mouth of the river, the Möhne Reservoir, us ...

and the

Sorpe Dam The Sorpe Dam (german: Sorpetalsperre) is a dam on the Sorpe river, near the small town of Sundern in the district of Hochsauerland in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Together with the Biggesee, the Möhne Reservoir, and the Verse reservoir ...

were targets for

Operation Chastise Operation Chastise or commonly known as the Dambusters Raid was an attack on Nazi Germany, German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by No. 617 Squadron RAF, 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using sp ...

, in which special "bouncing bombs" were developed to take out the dams and flood the valley, with the hope of seriously affecting the German industries there. The story was told in a 1951

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...

and the popular 1955 film made from it, '' The Dam Busters''.

Lakes

There are five Ruhr reservoirs on the river, often used for leisure activities. *

Hengsteysee The Hengsteysee (Lake Hengstey) is a reservoir on the Ruhr river between the cities of Hagen, Dortmund and Herdecke, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was built in 1929 and is one of five reservoirs on the Ruhr. The reservoir is about l ...

between Dortmund and Hagen, surface area: 1.36 km² height of 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 ...

4.5m * Harkortsee between

and Wetter; surface area: 1.37 km², height of the weir 7.8m * Kemnader See between Witten and Bochum; surface area: 1.25 km², height of the weir 2m * Baldeneysee in

Essen-Werden Werden is a southern borough of the city of Essen in Germany. It belongs to the city district ''IX Werden/Kettwig/Bredeney'' and has 9,998 inhabitants as of June 30, 2006. The borough occupies a space of and is situated at a median height of . __ ...

; surface area: 2.64 km², height of the weir 8.5m * Kettwiger See in

Essen-Kettwig Kettwig is the southernmost borough of the city of Essen in western Germany and, until 1975, was a town in its own right. Kettwig is situated next to the Ruhr river, at a median height of 53 metres above sea level. It is the most recently incor ...

; surface area: 0.55 km², height of the weir 6m

Tributaries

The main tributaries of the Ruhr are (from source to mouth): *Left: Berkelbach, Voßmecke,

Neger The ''Neger'' (German for ''Negro'') was a torpedo-carrying craft generally described as a human torpedo which could not submerge, but was difficult to see during night operations. The vessel was used by Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' betwee ...

Elpe Elpe is a river of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It flows into the Ruhr near Bestwig. See also *List of rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia A list of rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany: A * Aa, left tributary of the Möhne * Aa, lef ...

, Valme, Nierbach, Henne, Kelbke,

Wenne Wenne is a river of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The river springs in a forest area near Obringhausen. It flows through the villages of Niederberndorf, Menkhausen, Grimminghausen (Schmallenberg), Lochtrop, Frielinghausen, Bremke, Wenholt ...

, Mühlenbach, Röhr, Bachumer Bach, Haßbach, Scheebach, Wimberbach,

Hönne The Hönne is a left tributary river to the Ruhr, flowing through the northern Sauerland hills in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The spring of the Hönne is located in the west of Neuenrade at 437m above sea level. After 33 km the river ...

, Abbabach,

Baarbach Baarbach is a river of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, a left tributary of the Ruhr. See also *List of rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia A list of rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany: A * Aa, left tributary of the Möhne * Aa, left tr ...

Elsebach Elsebach (in its upper course, upstream from the Lollenbach, also: ''Reingser Bach'') is a small river of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Its source is north of Oestrich (a district of Iserlohn).NRW Wanderkarte 1:25000. 17: Hagen, Gevelsberg, Is ...

, Wannebach (Ergste),

Lenne The Lenne is a tributary of the river Ruhr in the Sauerland hills, western Germany. It has caused flooding in recent years. Having its source on top of the ''Kahler Asten'' near Winterberg in an intermittent spring at an elevation of , the Len ...

Volme The Volme is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and is a tributary of the river Ruhr. It is long, of which about lie within the city limits of Hagen. Its largest tributary is the Ennepe. The Volme rises at above sea level in the sout ...

, Sprockhöveler Bach, Deilbach, Oefter Bach, Rinderbach *Right: Hillebach, Gierskoppbach, Gebke (Meschede), Kleine Gebke, Gebke (Wennemen), Wanne,

Möhne The Möhne () is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Ruhr. The Möhne passes the towns of Brilon, Rüthen and Warstein. There is a large artificial lake near the mouth of the river, the Möhne Reservoir, us ...

, Wannebach (Westhofen), Borbach, Wannenbach, Hörsterholzer Bach, Knöselsbach, Rumbach

References

Notes Sources *

External links

* {{Authority control Rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia Rivers of Germany