Inflow of the Rhine Mine - the longest river in Germany

Germany can be called a "river power". In this country there are almost 30 percent of European transport waterways with a total length of more than 7,000 kilometers. The most important river in Germany and one of the largest in Europe, of course, is the Rhine. Its length from the source to the mouth is 1320 km., And the area of the basin is 251,800 km2.

The Rhine, crossing the territory of Germany, receives several large tributaries. The most significant of them are: in the upper - Aare, in the middle course - Mine, Ruhr, Moselle, Lan, Neckar. In one of the numerous branches of the delta, another large tributary of the Rhine, the Maas River, flows into it.

Mine - interesting and unusual

It is the longest river in Germany with a length of 567 kilometers. At the same time it is the longest inflow of the Rhine. And its singularity lies in the fact that this is the only river flowing in Central Europe from east to west. Usually in this part of the continent the water streams are directed to the north, except for the Danube, which flows to the east.

The beginning of the river is the place of the confluence of its two sources - the White Main and the Red Main - near the castle "Kamenny Hausen". The river crosses the federal states of Bavaria and Hesse, and ends its way in the Wiesbaden region, where it merges with the Rhine.

Near the city of Bamberg there is a canal that connects Mine with the Danube. Hence the inflow of the Rhine becomes navigable. The total length of the channel of the Main, along which ships can move, is about 400 kilometers. One of the largest settlements on the banks of the river is Frankfurt. In the city and near it, nine bridges are thrown across the Mine, and under it two underground tunnels - for the metro and city electric train. There is also a large river port, which accepts both cargo and passenger vessels.

The left tributary of the Rhine Moselle is also a navigable river. With a total length of 545 kilometers, only 344 vessels are accessible to river vessels. It originates in France, flows through the territory of Luxembourg and in Germany flows into the Rhine. And together the tributaries of the Rhine River Moselle and Maine play a very important role in cargo transportation in this part of Europe.

Unified European water transport system

More recently, in Western Europe, there were two disconnected large river systems used for the transport of goods. The north-west was based on the Rhine and Main rivers. The core of the southeastern system was the Danube. Not so long ago, the last and the Rhine Mine tributary was connected by a canal. As a result, a single water transport system has emerged that unites almost all the countries of Europe.

The construction of the canal between the Danube and the Main not only allowed the integration of the main European waterways, but in fact made it possible to attach to them also all Eastern European systems. This became possible thanks to the efforts of Germany, which carried out this work. A new system was formed, which is a huge ring of navigable rivers, the circumference of which is almost 4,500 kilometers - from the center of Central Europe to the banks of the Volga.