The Alzette (; ; ) 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 ...

with a length of in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

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 ...

. It is a right tributary of 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 ...

(a tributary to the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...

), and ultimately to the

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

. It rises in Thil near the town

Villerupt Villerupt (; lb, Weller) is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. A festival takes place in the commune each year in October-November. Population Notable people from Villerupt * Aurélie Filippetti * Olivi ...

in the

Meurthe-et-Moselle Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. It had a population of 733,760 in 2019.département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'', France. It crosses the border with Luxembourg after . At

Lameschmillen Lameschmillen, also known as the Bergemer Mühle, is located halfway between Bergem and Noertzange (Commune of Mondercange), at the confluence of the rivers Alzette and Mess. It is one of three watermills in Luxembourg with the same name. It mark ...

(near

Bergem Bergem (, ) is a town in the commune of Mondercange, in south-western Luxembourg. , the town has a population of 1,490 inhabitants. In close proximity to the town is the confluence of the Alzette and Mess The mess (also called a mess deck abo ...

) it is joined by the

Mess The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

. It flows through the Luxembourgish towns

Esch-sur-Alzette Esch-sur-Alzette (; lb, Esch-Uelzecht ; german: Esch an der Alzette or ''Esch an der Alzig'') is the second city of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the country's second-most populous commune, with a population of 35,040 inhabitants, . It lies ...

Luxembourg City Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Lu ...

and

Mersch Mersch ( ) is a commune and town in central Luxembourg, capital of the canton of Mersch. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Alzette, Mamer and Eisch. , the town of Mersch, which lies in the centre of the commune, has a population o ...

, and empties into the Sauer near

Ettelbruck Ettelbruck ( lb, Ettelbréck , german: Ettelbrück ) is a commune with town status in central Luxembourg, with a population of inhabitants. History Until 1850, both Erpeldange and Schieren were part of the Ettelbruck commune as well, but both ...

. The rocky cliffs above the Alzette in

are called '

Bock Bock is a strong beer in Germany, usually a dark lager. Several substyles exist, including: *Doppelbock (''Double Bock''), a stronger and maltier version *Eisbock (''Ice Bock''), a much stronger version made by partially freezing the beer an ...

'. This name was given to the Casemates du Bock; a honeycomb of tunnels colloquially named 'Paula', which runs under the ruins of the

Fortress of Luxembourg The Fortress of Luxembourg is the former fortifications of Luxembourg City, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, which were mostly dismantled beginning in 1867. The fortress was of great strategic importance for the control of the Left ...

. It protected

for centuries.

References

International rivers of Europe Rivers of the Ardennes (Luxembourg) Rivers of Luxembourg Rivers of France Rivers of Grand Est Rivers of Meurthe-et-Moselle Rivers of Ettelbruck Rivers of Luxembourg City Rivers of Mersch Esch-sur-Alzette {{Luxembourg-river-stub