Moselle River

Moselle
The Mosel near Wolf.
Origin	Vosges mountains
Mouth	Rhine 50°21′58″N 7°36′25″E / 50.36611°N 7.60694°E / 50.36611; 7.60694 (Rhine-Moselle)Coordinates: 50°21′58″N 7°36′25″E / 50.36611°N 7.60694°E / 50.36611; 7.60694 (Rhine-Moselle)
Basin countries	France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium
Length	545km
Source elevation	715 m
Avg. discharge	290 m³/s
Basin area	28,286 km²

The Moselle (French: Moselle, German: Mosel, Luxembourgish: Musel) is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg and Germany. It is a left tributary of the Rhine, joining it at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is also drained by the Mosel through the Our.

Its name comes from the Latin Mosella, meaning the "Little Meuse" (Mosa in Latin). The river gave its name to two French départements: Moselle and Meurthe-et-Moselle.

Geography

Mosel basin area

The source of the Moselle is at the western slope of the Ballon d'Alsace in the Vosges mountains. The Moselle flows through the Lorraine region, west of the Vosges. Further downstream, in Germany, the Moselle valley forms the division between the Eifel and Hunsrück mountain regions. Its total length from source to mouth is approximately 545 km.

Towns along the Moselle River are:

• in France: Épinal, Toul, Pont-à-Mousson, Metz and Thionville
• in Luxembourg: Schengen, Remich, Grevenmacher, and Wasserbillig
• in Germany: Trier, Bernkastel-Kues, Cochem and Koblenz

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, with coal mining and steel manufacture.

The Moselle has been made navigable for large cargo ships from the Rhine in Koblenz up to Neuves-Maisons, south of Nancy. For smaller ships it is connected to other parts of France through the Canal de l'Est and the Canal de la Marne au Rhin.

The Moselle valley is famous for its beautiful scenery and the excellent wine 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 are Riesling, Elbling, Müller-Thurgau, Kerner and Auxerrois. 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 writer Roger 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 the Baroque 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 the War of the Grand Alliance but was reconstructed and now serves as a retreat center for Fichte Gymnasium in Krefeld, Germany

External links

• Official Information about the German part of the Moselle River (in English)
• Die Mosel
• Moseltal
• www.mosel.com
• HoloGuides - Moselle
• Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law Peace Palace Libray
• Livecam Moselle river

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Moselle River

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