Moselle


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." 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 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, 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 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. 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.

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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:
From Trier downstream the Moselle separates the two Central Upland ranges of the Eifel and the Hunsrück.

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 was already a tributary of the ancient Rhine. 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 is and normal level is at the Trier Gauge.
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, and the river was romanticised by the poet Ausonius around 371. From 1815, the Moselle formed the border between the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Prussia.
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 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.
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.