Selzerbeek (or Senserbach, Sinselbeek, Sinselbaach, Selzerbaek) is a river of

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 ...

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 ...

and

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It stretches over approximately from its source at Aachen to its mouth near

Gulpen Gulpen (; li, Gullepe ) is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is approximately midway between the Dutch city of Maastricht and the German city of Aachen. Gulpen was a separate municipality until 1999, when it merged with Wittem. The ...

into the

Geul , french: la Gueule , image = Geul river valley in Plombières, Belgium 100 0278.jpg , image_caption = The Geul valley in Plombières, Belgium , source1_location = near Lichtenbusch , mouth_location = Meuse near Bunde , m ...

Geography

The Selzerbeek originates in Germany below 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 ...

Germany-Belgium-Netherlands at

Vaalserberg The Vaalserberg (, Ripuarian: ) is a hill with a height of above NAP and is the highest point in the European part of the Netherlands, also known as "Dutch Mountains". The Vaalserberg is located in the province of Limburg, at the south-east ...

and flows through Vaalserquartier. From

Vaals Vaals (; Ripuarian: ) is a town in the extreme southeastern part of the Dutch province of Limburg, which is in the southeastern part of the Netherlands. The municipality covers an area of in the foothills of the Ardennes–Eifelrange ...

through

Lemiers Lemiers (, Ripuarian: ) is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It lies directly north-west of Vaals.''ANWB Topografische Atlas Nederland'', Topografische Dienst and ANWB, 2005. The village sits on the Dutch-German border and part of th ...

to Mamelis the Selzerbeek forms the natural border between the Netherlands and Germany. In this area, it flows to other small streams: the Orsbacher Puetz, the Zieversbach at Holset, the Herman Bach Lemiers and Harleserbach at Harles. Behind Mamelis flows Selzerbeek by the Netherlands, parallel to Provincial route 278 along the villages Nijswiller, Wahlwiller and Partij until it empties into the Geul (a direct tributary 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 ...

) near

Wittem Wittem (, ) is a small village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Gulpen-Wittem. History The village was first mentioned in 1125 as Witham, and means "means silted land in a bend in a waterway". Wittem develo ...

. The Selzerbeek runs for in Germany or on the border, and for solely in the Netherlands.

History

The area Vaals-Lemiers-

Vijlen Vijlen ( li, Viele) is a village in the South-East part of the Dutch province of Limburg. The village is constituted of a number of hamlets, among which Mamelis, Camerig, Harles and Cottessen. Including these hamlets, Vijlen has around 1,500 ...

belongs to the Netherlands since 1661. Since forming the Selzerbeek the old frontier.

Environment and water quality

After investigations by the MUNLV NRW in Selzerbeek's exposure to pesticides, metals and other pollutants low or below the detection limit (2008) Ministry Environment and Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of North Rhine-Westphalia:''More life for the worm and the Senserbach''. Boniface GmbH 2008, pp. 19-21.

Sites and monuments

At the Selzerbeek are several water mills: The Lemierser mill in the Mamelis Schoeërmolen, as well as in Wittem the mill of the monastery and the Wittemermolen.

References

Rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia Rivers of the Netherlands Rivers of South Limburg (Netherlands) Gulpen-Wittem Vaals Rivers of Germany Germany–Netherlands border International rivers of Europe Border rivers {{Netherlands-river-stub