The Rur Dam (german: Rurtalsperre Schwammenauel) is a 77.2 metre high dam located in the southwestern part of the state 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 ...

in Germany. It was built in 1939 and impounds the River Rur to form the Rur Reservoir (''Rurstausee'' or ''Rursee'') which is 7.83 km² in area. It lies within the districts of

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th ...

and

Düren Düren (; ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne on the river Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the territory of the Eburones, a peopl ...

History

The original dam was built between 1934 and 1938 from earth and stone, with an inner lining of

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand ( particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...

, coming into service in 1939. During the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, on February 10, 1945, to impede the advance of the Anglo-Canadian

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established in ...

during

Operation Veritable Operation Veritable (also known as the Battle of the Reichswald) was the northern part of an Allied pincer movement that took place between 8 February and 11 March 1945 during the final stages of the Second World War. The operation was conduc ...

, water was released from the

sluice gates Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

; this delayed supportive action (

Operation Grenade During World War II, Operation Grenade was the crossing of the Roer river between Roermond and Düren by the U.S. Ninth Army, commanded by Lieutenant General William Hood Simpson, in February 1945, which marked the beginning of the Allied ...

) by the American Ninth Army for two weeks. Construction from 1955 to 1959 raised the height of the dam by 20 meters to its present height of 77 meters above the riverbed.

Headwaters and tailwaters

The headwaters of the Rur Reservoir, with their length in kilometres (km), according to the ''Deutsche Grundkarte'' map (sorted alphabetically):Rurtalsperre Schwammenauel
(accessed on 30 December 2011) * Allersbach (2.9 km); from Buhlert Ridge flowing from the west-northwest, empties into the central section of the reservoir * Büdenbach (1.1 km); from the

Kermeter The Kermeter is an upland region, up to , which is part of the Rureifel within the North Eifel in the districts of Aachen, Düren and Euskirchen in the southwestern part of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. The Kermeter ridge is ...

flowing from the south, discharges near the dam wall in the northeastern part of the reservoir * Eschbach (1 km); from the Kermeter flowing from the south, empties into the northeastern part of the reservoir * Hohenbach (2.1 km); from the Kermeter flowing from the south, empties into the northeastern part of the reservoir * Lederbach (1.1 km); from the Buhlert Ridge near the hamlet of Klaus flowing from the northwest, discharges into the central part of the reservoir * Morsbach (1.2 km); from Schmidt-Eschauel flowing from the north, discharges into the central part of the reservoir * Rur (164.5 km), the main headwater, flowing from the south and emptying into the southern end of the reservoir; forms the only natural tailwater * Welchenbach (3.5 km); from the Monschauer Heckenland/from the direction of

Simmerath Simmerath is a municipality in the district of Aachen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 20 km south-east of Aachen, near the border to Belgium. The administrative area was expanded in 1972 and includes the fol ...

in the west, discharges into the southern part of the reservoir * Wolfsbach (2.2 km); from the Monschauer Heckenland/from Steckenborn (Simmerath) flowing from the west, discharges into the southern part of the reservoir * Schilsbach, from Hechelscheidt/ Klaus, empties near Woffelsbach/ Schilsbachtal * Weidenbach, empties near Rurberg/ Weidenbachtal

Panorama

References

Literature

* ''Talsperren in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland'', Peter Franke, Wolfgang Frey: DNK - DVWK 1987,

External links

NRW dam information

Available measurement stations and time series for the Rur Dam at wver.de

Webcam with view from Buoy 2 towards Buoy 1

{{Authority control Dams completed in 1939 Rhineland RRurtalsperre Dams in North Rhine-Westphalia ceb:Rurtalsperre de:Rurtalsperre