The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is in its basin as it includes the Sauer and the Our.
Its lower course "twists and turns its way between Trier and Koblenz along one of Germany's most beautiful river valleys."Moselle: Holidays in one of Germany's most beautiful river valleys at www.romantic-germany.info. Retrieved 23 Jan 2016. In this section the land to the north is the Eifel which stretches into Belgium; to the south lies the Hunsrück. The river flows through a region that was cultivated by the Romans. Today, its hillsides are covered by terraced vineyards where "some of the best Rieslings grow". Many castle ruins sit on the hilltops above wine villages and towns along the slopes. Traben-Trarbach with its Art Nouveau architecture and Bernkastel-Kues with its traditional market square are two of the many tourist attractions on the Moselle river.
Name The name Moselle is derived from the Celtic name form, Mosela, via the Latin Mosella, a diminutive form of Mosa, the Latin description of the Meuse, which used to flow parallel to the Moselle. So the Mosella was the "Little Meuse".
The Moselle is first recorded by Tacitus in Book 13 of his Annals and in Book 4 of his Histories.
The Roman poet Ausonius made it a literary theme as early as the 4th century. In his poem dated 371, called Mosella, which was published in 483 hexameters, this poet of the Late Antiquity and teacher at the Trier Imperial Court (Kaiserhof) described a journey from Bingen over the Hunsrück hills to the Moselle and then following its course to Trier on the road named after him, the Via Ausonia. Ausonius describes flourishing and rich landscapes along the river and in the valley of the Moselle, thanks to the policies of their Roman rulers.
The river subsequently gave its name to two French republican départements: Moselle and Meurthe-et-Moselle.
Geography
The source of the Moselle is at above sea level on the Col de Bussang on the western slopes of the Ballon d'Alsace in the Vosges. After it discharges into the Rhine at the Deutsches Eck in Koblenz at a height of above NHN sea level. The length of the river in France is , for it forms the border between Germany and Luxembourg, and is solely within Germany.
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.
The average flow rate of the Moselle at its mouth is ,Hydrologischer Atlas der Schweiz 2002, Tab. 5.4 Natürliche Abflüsse 1961-1980 (natural discharges) (see map ) making it the second largest tributary of the Rhine by volume after the Aare () and bigger than the Main and Neckar.
River sections
The section of the Moselle from the France–Germany–Luxembourg tripoint near Schengen to its confluence with the Saar near Konz shortly before Trier is in Germany known (geographically incorrectly) as the Upper Moselle. The section from Trier to Pünderich is the Middle Moselle, the section between Pünderich and its mouth in Koblenz as the Lower Moselle or Terraced Moselle (Terrassenmosel). Characteristic of the Middle and Lower Moselle are its wide meanders cut deeply into the highlands of the Rhenish Massif, the most striking of which is the Cochemer Krampen between Bremm and Cochem. Also typical are its vineyard terraces.
From the tripoint the Moselle marks the entire Saarland–Luxembourg border.
Catchment The catchment area of the Moselle is in area. The French part covers , about 54 percent of the entire catchment. The German state of Rhineland-Palatinate has , the Saarland , Luxembourg , Wallonia in Belgium and North Rhine-Westphalia, .
Tributaries The three largest tributaries of the Moselle are, in alphabetical order, the Meurthe, the Saar and the Sauer. The Meurthe was the old upper course of the Moselle, until the latter captured the former upper reaches of the Meuse and took it over. However, the Meuse only delivered a little more water than the Meurthe at its confluence. The Saar is the biggest of all the tributaries () as well as the longest (). The Sauer is the largest left-hand tributary and drains the region on either side of the German-Luxembourg border. The largest tributary relative to the Moselle at its confluence is the Moselotte, which is about 40% greater by volumetric flow and thus represents the main branch of the Moselle system. At its mouth, the Moselle delivers of water into the Rhine after flowing for .
List of 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.
Towns Towns along the Moselle are: in France: Épinal, Toul, Pont-à-Mousson, Metz and Thionville in Luxembourg: Schengen, Remich, Grevenmacher and Wasserbillig in Germany: Konz, Trier, Schweich, Bernkastel-Kues, Traben-Trarbach, Zell, Cochem and Koblenz
Adjacent mountain ranges From Trier downstream the Moselle separates the two Central Upland ranges of the Eifel (to the northwest) and the Hunsrück (to the southeast).
Geology The Vosges, the present source region of the Moselle, were formed about 50 million years ago. In the Miocene and Pliocene epochs the ancient Moselle (Urmosel) was already a tributary of the ancient Rhine (Ur-Rhein). When, in the Quaternary period, the Rhenish Massif slowly rose, the meanders of the Moselle were formed between the Trier Valley and the Neuwied Basin.
Water levels
The highest navigable water level (HSW) is and normal level (NSt) is at the Trier Gauge (Pegel Trier).
High water: , Trier Gauge on 21 December 1993 , Trier Gauge on 28 May 1983 , Trier Gauge on 23 January 1995 , Trier Gauge on 12 April 1983 , Trier Gauge on 27 February 1997
Low water: in Bernkastel on 28 July 1921
History
The Moselle was known to the Romans by the name of Flumen Musalla (in the Tabula Peutingeriana), and the river was romanticised by the poet Ausonius around 371. Since the division of the medieval Stem Duchy of Lotharingia in the second half of the 10th century, the southern part along the river Moselle (Upper Lotharingia) was often referred to as Mosellania, particularly in the 11th and 12th centuries, and during that time the Duchy of Upper Lorraine itself was also referred to as the Duchy of Mosellanians ().
From 1815, the Moselle formed the border between the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Prussia (German Empire in 1871).
During World War II the Moselle was a barrier as the Allies advanced toward Berlin. In September 1944, the American Third Army in France mounted a drive to cross the Moselle at Dieulouard and split the German forces. Under the orders of Major General Manton S. Eddy, the 80th Infantry Division was given the objective of establishing a bridgehead that would allow Combat Command A (CCA) of the 4th Armored Division to advance into the rear of German forces and encircle the city of Nancy.
On September 13, 1944, the 80th Division launched their assault accompanied by extensive artillery and air support, which helped to suppress the German defenses. The division managed to establish a foothold on the east bank of the river, securing a bridgehead at Dieulouard.
With the bridgehead secured, Combat Command A of the 4th Armored Division crossed the Moselle and advanced towards Nancy, encircling the city and cutting off German supply lines. The 80th Division continued its advance, pushing towards the northeast and engaging in fierce combat with German forces.
The operations to capture Nancy continued until September 15 when the city was liberated by the combined efforts of the 80th Infantry Division and the 4th Armored Division. The successful crossing of the Moselle River and the capture of Nancy dealt a significant blow to German defenses in northeastern France and further contributed to the Allied advance towards Germany.
In the act of 10 April 1952 ratifying the treaty instituted by the ECSC, Article 2 charged the French Government "to initiate, before the establishment of the Common Market, negotiations with the governments concerned in order to achieve a rapid implementation of the canalisation of the Moselle between Thionville and Koblenz.L'historique de la canalisation de la Moselle, par M. René Bour. pp.101 à 112Levainville Jacques, La canalisation de la Moselle. In: Annales de Géographie. 1928, t. 37, no. 206. pp. 180–184.
The River was canalised between Metz and Thionville, via a canal opened in 1964 by the Grand Duchess, Charlotte of Luxembourg, the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Konrad Adenauer and their host, Charles de Gaulle, President of France.
It is on the Moselle, at the site of the France–Germany–Luxembourg tripoint, that the Schengen Agreement was signed in 1985, leading to the abolishment of border controls within the Schengen Area.
Economy
The Moselle valley between Metz and Thionville is an industrial area, with coal mining and steel manufacturers.
The Moselle valley is famous for its scenery and wine. Most well-known is the German Mosel wine region, while the Luxembourg winegrowing region is called Moselle Luxembourgeoise and the French region is called AOC Moselle. Most notable among the wines produced here are Riesling, Elbling, Müller-Thurgau, Kerner, and Auxerrois. The German part of the Moselle is a tourist destination.
Navigation After the Second World War, France pressed to be able to ply the Moselle with larger ships in order to link the industrial regions of Lorraine. When, in 1955, the population on the Saar voted to belong to West Germany, France demanded as "compensation" an upgrade of the Moselle. On 27 October 1956 they concluded the Moselle Treaty with Germany and Luxembourg for a canalisation of the Moselle and conceded to Germany in return the extension of the Grand Canal d'Alsace on the Upper Rhine instead of an extension of the canal via Breisach. In 1958 work began and by 26 May 1964 the Moselle could be officially opened from Metz to Koblenz as a major waterway for shipping with 14 locks. France extended it by 1979 as far as Neuves-Maisons. With that, of the Moselle have been upgraded with a total of 28 locks. In the years 1992 to 1999 the navigable channel was deepened from to , which enables 1,500-tonne freighters to use the river, a 20% increase in capacity. The channel has a width of , more on the bends. The Moselle Commission, founded in 1962 with its head office in Trier, is responsible for navigation. The Moselle Shipping Police Act which it has produced is valid in all three participant states from Metz to Koblenz.
In 1921 the Moselle (Mo) became a Reich waterway, today it is a federal waterway (Bundeswasserstraße) from Apach at the tripoint to its mouth on the Rhine at kilometre point 592.29 in Koblenz. The waterway is long and managed by the Trier and Koblenz Water and Shipping Offices (Wasser- und Schifffahrtsämtern Trier und Koblenz). It is categorized as a European waterway of Class Vb. Its kilometrage begins at its mouth at kilometre point 0 and runs upstream. Since 1816 it has formed a long condominium from Apach, a common Germany–Luxembourg sovereign area with a division of responsibilities set out in a 1976 agreement. The International Moselle Company, initially set up in 1957 to finance the construction of the river's upgrade, manages the shipping charges and the operation and maintenance of the waterway which they are used to fund.