The Regulation of the Rhine (german: Rheinregulierung) or Rhine Correction ('), refers to the canalisation of the

Alpine Rhine The Alpine Rhine Valley (german: Alpenrheintal) is a glacial alpine valley, formed by the part of the Alpine Rhine (german: Alpenrhein ) between the confluence of the Anterior Rhine and Posterior Rhine at Reichenau and the Alpine Rhine's mouth at ...

on the border between Austria and Switzerland in the early 20th century. Its aim was to reduce the risk of

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

and to re-route the international border which ran along the old course of the Rhine.

History

The oldest record of flooding on the

dates to 1206. One of the worst instances took place on 28 September 1868, when almost the whole of the Rhine valley from

Sevelen Sevelen is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Werdenberg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Sevelen is first mentioned about 1160 as ''Sevellins''. Geography Sevelen has an area, , of . Of this area, 51.1% i ...

Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...

stood under water. The embankment broke at three points. The Alpine Rhine meandered through the

Alpine Rhine Valley The Alpine Rhine Valley (german: Alpenrheintal) is a glacial alpine valley, formed by the part of the Alpine Rhine (german: Alpenrhein ) between the confluence of the Anterior Rhine and Posterior Rhine at Reichenau and the Alpine Rhine's mouth at ...

in a riverbed 200 to 300 metres wide, accompanied on both sides by inland waters and embankments 500 to 1,000 metres apart. From 1861 to 1881, the Canton of St. Gallen, supported by the Swiss Federal Treasury, the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Austrian Empire, created a regular riverbed between Landquart and Au. However, the capacity of the river bed was still insufficient, which is why the embankments were raised again by 1890. More than 30 streams still flowed into the Alpine Rhine below Landquart. At high water these were filled up and flooded. As a result, the 20.8 km long Werdenberg Canal was built in less than two years, from 1882 to 1884, collecting all the tributaries between

Wartau Wartau is a municipality in the Werdenberg constituency of the Swiss canton of St. Gallen. The municipality consists of a number of villages on the eastern flank of the Alvier group, along the left shore of the Alpine Rhine. Geography Wart ...

and

Rüthi Rüthi is a municipality in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Rüthi is first mentioned in 820 as ''Reuti''. Until 1994 it was known as ''Rüthi (Rheintal)''. Geography Rüthi has an area, , of . Of this area, 47.9% is used fo ...

and feeding their waters into the Rhine. Twenty years later the Rhine Valley Canal was opened, collecting all the streams from Rüthi to Au. In 1910, the Vorarlberg Rhine Valley Canal was completed, which drained the area between the catchments of the

Frutz The Frutz is a river of Vorarlberg, Austria, a tributary of the Rhine. The Frutz is long. Its source is in the Frutz Alpine shieling. It flows in western direction through the valley in the area of Feldkirch to the Rhine. At Rankweil, the river ...

and

Dornbirner Ach The Dornbirner Ach (also called ''Dornbirner Ache'') is a stream in Vorarlberg, Austria, with its source in the mountains near the alpine village (belongs to Dornbirn). It flows through one of the largest and most gorgeous gorges in Central Europ ...

. The Liechtenstein Canal, just under 25 km long, was not finished until 1943.

1892 Treaty

The 1892 treaty between

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

and Switzerland on the regulation of the RhineSR 0.721.191.631
/ref> put to an end the many flood disasters on the

between

Sargans Sargans is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Sarganserland in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Sargans is known for its castle, which dates from before the founding of the Swiss Confederation in 1291. Sargans was also ...

and

, reducing the course of the river by means of two cuts in order to increase the gradient, raise the flow rate of the river and prevent deposition of sediments. The company, ''Internationale Rheinregulierung'' (IRR) is the umbrella under which the two countries, Austria and Switzerland, coordinated the construction and they still maintain the banks today. They have their head office in

Rorschach, Switzerland Rorschach () is a municipality, in the District of Rorschach in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It is on the south side of Lake Constance (''Bodensee''). History Rorschach is first mentioned in 850 as ''Rorscachun''. In 947, Otto I gr ...

, and a construction department in Austrian

Lustenau Lustenau (; gsw, Luschnou) is a town in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg in the district of Dornbirn. It lies on the river Rhine, which forms the border with Switzerland. Lustenau is Vorarlberg's fourth largest town. Geography Luste ...

and Swiss

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website ...

References

Literature

* Internationale Rheinregulierung (publ.): ''Der Alpenrhein und seine Regulierung. Internationale Rheinregulierung 1892–1992.'' 2nd edn., BuchsDruck, Rorschach, 1993, .

External links

Homepage of the IRR
* {{ANNO, abz, , , 1900, 90, Internationale Rheinregulierung in Vorarlberg, AUTOR=Philipp Krapf, k.k. Baurath, anno-plus=ja
Swisstopo, topografische Zeitreise von 1850 bis heute
Hydraulic engineering Rivers of the Alps