About Our Rhine

My name is Kai Linden. I’m a biologist and environmental educator based in Mainz, Germany, and I’ve spent the past twelve years working on and along the Rhine — leading field trips, analyzing water quality data, and explaining this river to anyone willing to listen.

Our Rhine is my digital classroom.

Why This Portal Exists

I started this project because I was frustrated. The Rhine is one of the most studied rivers on Earth. Institutions like the ICPR, the CCNR, and the BfG produce excellent data — but that data is scattered across dozens of websites, buried in PDF reports, and often written for specialists. My students, my excursion groups, and the journalists who occasionally call me all asked the same thing: Where can I find reliable Rhine information in one place, explained in plain language?

I couldn’t point them anywhere satisfying. So I built this site.

What You’ll Find Here

Our Rhine covers four main topics:

• Geography — The Rhine’s 1,232.7-kilometre course from the Swiss Alps to the North Sea, its sections, tributaries, and the nine countries it touches.
• Ecology — Water quality, fish populations, invasive species, the recovery from the Sandoz disaster, and the challenges of climate change.
• Shipping & Economy — Europe’s busiest inland waterway: 285 million tonnes of cargo per year, the world’s largest inland port, and the economic impact of low water events.
• Culture & History — 40 castles in 65 kilometres, the Loreley legend, Rhine Romanticism, and the Nibelungen saga.

Every statistic on this site is sourced. I draw primarily from the ICPR, CCNR, BfG/Undine, CHR, Destatis, and peer-reviewed research. Where sources disagree, I note the discrepancy and explain which figure I consider most reliable and why.

About Me

I studied biology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, with a focus on freshwater ecology. After graduating, I worked in environmental education — first at a nature center on the Upper Rhine, then as a freelance educator running school programs, public tours, and teacher training workshops along the Middle Rhine. I’ve waded into the Rhine at Basel, counted fish at the Sieg confluence, and stood on the Loreley plateau in every season.

The Rhine has been my professional life for over a decade. This site is my attempt to share what I’ve learned — not as an academic exercise, but as a resource for anyone who wants to understand the river that sustains 58 million people across nine countries.

Get in Touch

If you have questions, spot an error, or want to suggest a topic, I’d like to hear from you. You can reach me at [email protected].

Welcome to the Rhine. I hope you find what you’re looking for — and discover a few things you weren’t expecting.