Die Nibelungen und der Rhein: Vom Untergang der Burgunder 436 n. Chr. bis zu Wagners Ring-Zyklus
Eine reale Schlacht bei Worms im Jahr 436 n. Chr. wurde zum Nibelungenlied, Deutschlands Nationalepos, und schließlich zu Wagners Ring-Zyklus.…
The Rhine: Europe's Most Important River in Facts & Data
A 1,233-kilometre journey through nine countries, home to 58 million people.
1,233 km
Total Length
58 Million
People in Catchment
285 Mio. t
Cargo per Year
Featured
Geography
From Source to Sea: the Rhine's Journey Through Europe
From the Tomasee at 2,345 metres in the Swiss Alps to Rotterdam's Nieuwe Waterweg — a river that shaped a continent.
7 articles →Ecology
From Industrial Sewer to Living River
After the Sandoz disaster of 1986, Europe invested 80 billion euros. Today, 71 fish species have returned. But 85% of floodplains are gone.
6 articles →Shipping
Europe's Busiest Inland Waterway
285 million tons of cargo per year. 200,000 ships on the Lower Rhine. When water levels drop, Germany's economy feels it.
5 articles →Culture
Castles, Legends and Rhine Romanticism
40 castles in 65 kilometres. The Loreley at 132 metres. Heine, Brentano, and 2,000 years of myth woven into stone and water.
5 articles →191 million plastic particles per day
flow through the Rhine towards the North Sea — roughly 10 tons per year. The highest sediment concentration measured: 11,070 particles per kilogram.
Source: Mani et al. 2015, Scientific Reports (Nature)
Latest
Rheinromantik: Wie Turner, Byron & Heine den Mittelrhein zur berühmtesten Landschaft Europas machten
Zu Beginn des 19. Jahrhunderts machten Maler wie Turner und Dichter wie Byron den Mittelrhein zur gefeiertsten Landschaft Europas. Die…
The Nibelungen and the Rhine: From the Fall of Burgundy in 436 CE to Wagner’s Ring Cycle
A real battle at Worms in 436 CE became the Nibelungenlied, Germany's national epic, and eventually Wagner's Ring cycle. The…
Der Loreley-Felsen am Rhein: Die Sage, die 132-Meter-Klippe & Deutschlands berühmtestes Fluss-Wahrzeichen
Bei Rheinkilometer 555 zwingt ein 132 Meter hoher Schieferfelsen den Fluss in seine engste Passage. 1801 erfand ein Dichter eine…
UNESCO Oberes Mittelrheintal: 40 mittelalterliche Burgen auf 65 km Welterbe-Schlucht
Zwischen Koblenz und Bingen säumen 40 Burgen, Schlösser und Festungen gerade einmal 65 Kilometer des Rheins. Seit 2002 ist dieser…
Rhine Romanticism: How Turner, Byron & Heine Turned the Middle Rhine into Europe’s Most Celebrated Landscape
In the early 1800s, painters like Turner and poets like Byron turned the Middle Rhine into the most celebrated landscape…
