- Moselle River
Infobox River | river_name = Moselle
caption = The Mosel near Wolf.
origin =Vosges mountains
mouth =Rhine
coord|50|21|58|N|7|36|25|E|name=Rhine-Moselle|display=inline,title
basin_countries =France ,Germany ,Luxembourg ,Belgium
length = 545km
elevation = 715 m
discharge = 290 m³/s
watershed = 28,286 km²The Moselle ( _fr. Moselle, _de. Mosel, _lb. Musel) is ariver flowing throughFrance ,Luxembourg andGermany . It is a left tributary of theRhine river, joining it atKoblenz . A small part ofBelgium is also drained by the Mosel through the Our.Its name comes from the
Latin "Mosella", meaning the "Little Meuse" ("Mosa" inLatin ). The river gave its name to two Frenchdépartement s:Moselle andMeurthe-et-Moselle .Geography
The source of the Moselle is at the western slope of the
Ballon d'Alsace in theVosges mountains . The Moselle flows through the Lorraine region, west of the Vosges. Further downstream, in Germany, theMoselle valley forms the division between theEifel andHunsrück mountain regions. Its total length from source to mouth is approximately 545 km.Towns along the river Moselle are:
* in France:Épinal ,Toul ,Pont-à-Mousson ,Metz andThionville
* in Luxembourg: Schengen,Remich ,Grevenmacher , andWasserbillig
* in Germany:Trier ,Bernkastel-Kues ,Cochem andKoblenz Tributaries
From the left:
Madon ,Terrouin ,
Esch,Rupt de Mad ,
Orne,
Fensch,
Gander,Syre ,Sauer ,Kyll ,
Salm,
Lieser,
Alf,Endert ,
Brohlbach,
Elz.From the right:
Moselotte ,Vologne ,
Meurthe,Seille ,
Saar,Olewiger Bach ,Avelsbach ,
Ruwer,Feller Bach ,
Dhron,Ahringsbach ,
Kautenbach,Lützbach ,Flaumbach ,Altlayer Bach ,Baybach ,
Ehrbach.Economy
The Moselle valley between
Nancy , Metz and Thionville is an industrial area, withcoal mining andsteel manufacture.The Moselle has been made navigable for large
cargo ship s from the Rhine in Koblenz up toNeuves-Maisons , south of Nancy. For smaller ships it is connected to other parts of France through theCanal de l'Est and theCanal de la Marne au Rhin .The
Moselle valley is famous for its beautiful scenery and the excellentwine produced, most well-known is the German wine-growing region of "Mosel", while Luxembourg wine-growing region is called "Moselle Luxembourgeoise" and the French region is called "VDQS Moselle". Most notable among the wines produced here areRiesling ,Elbling ,Müller-Thurgau ,Kerner andAuxerrois . The German part of the Moselle is a popular tourist destination.Literature
The Moselle was celebrated in "Mosella", an ancient Roman poem by
Ausonius . In the twentieth century, the river and the folklore and local history of the towns along its banks were described by British travel writerRoger Pilkington .Castles
*Burg Thurant: Near the town of Alken stands Thurant castle,which was built in the 13th century. It is the only twin-towered
castle along the Mosel.
*Burg Eltz : The von Eltz family castle, whose history goes back to the 12th century,remains in private hands to this day but is open to visitors.
*Burg Pyrmont: This 13th century castle was remodelled and extended several times during theBaroque era.
*Castle of Cochem: The castle in Cochem was originally built in the 11th century, but was completely destroyed by French soldiers in 1869. The present castle was rebuilt later in the 19th century.
*Burg Bischofstein : Across from the town of Burgen stands this 13th century castle, which was destroyed during theWar of the Grand Alliance but was reconstructed and now serves as a retreat center for Fichte Gymnasium inKrefeld, Germany External links
* [http://www.die-mosel.de/ Die Mosel]
* [http://www.moseltal.de/ Moseltal]
* [http://www.mosel.com/ www.mosel.com]
* [http://hologuides.com/rivers/Moselle/ HoloGuides - Moselle]
* [http://www.ppl.nl/bibliographies/all/?bibliography=water Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law] Peace Palace Libray
* [http://www.webcam.cochem.com/ Livecam Moselle river]
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