Germany can be called a "river power." This country has nearly 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 source to mouth is 1320 km., And the basin area is 251,800 square kilometers.
The Rhine, crossing the territory of Germany, receives several large tributaries. The most significant of them are: in the upper reaches - Aare, in the middle reaches - Main, Ruhr, Moselle, Lan, Neckar. Another large tributary of the Rhine, the river Meuse, flows into one of the many branches of the delta.
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 tributary of the Rhine. And its unusualness lies in the fact that this is the only river flowing in Central Europe from east to west. Usually in this part of the mainland, water flows are directed north, except for the Danube, which flows east.
The beginning of the river is considered the confluence of its two sources - the White Mine and the Red Mine - near the castle "Stone Hausen". Mainstream crosses federal land of Bavaria and Hesse, and ends its way in the Wiesbaden area where merges with the Rhine.
Near the city of Bamberg is a canal that connects Main with the Danube. From here the tributary of the Rhine becomes navigable. The total length of the Main channel, 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 itself and near it, nine bridges are thrown across Mine, and underneath there are two underground tunnels - for the metro and city train. There is also a large river port that accepts both freight and passenger ships.
The left tributary of the Rhine Moselle is also a navigable river. With a total length of 545 kilometers, only 344 are accessible to river vessels. It originates in France, flows through the territory of Luxembourg and flows into the Rhine in Germany. Together, the tributaries of the Rhine Moselle and Mine play a very important role in freight traffic in this part of Europe.
Single European Water Transport System
More recently, in Western Europe, there were two fragmented large river systems used to transport goods. The basis of the northwest were the Rhine and Main rivers. The core of the southeastern system was the Danube. Not so long ago, the last and tributary of the Rhine Mine were connected by a canal. As a result of this, a single water transport system has been obtained, uniting almost all European countries.
The construction of the canal between the Danube and Main not only made it possible to unite the main European waterways, but in fact made it possible to connect all the East European systems to them as well. This was made possible thanks to the efforts of Germany, which carried out this work. A new system has 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.