Berkel
The
Berkel is a
tributary of the
River IJssel in
the Netherlands.
The river rises in
Billerbeck, near the
German city of
Münster in
North Rhine-Westphalia, and crosses the border with the Netherlands near
Vreden (
Germany) and
Rekken (
Netherlands). From there, it flows through the
province of
Gelderland to join the IJssel at
Zutphen after about 110
kilometres.
Before the coming of the
railway, the Berkel was a major shipping route for goods from
Münster to Eibergen, Borculo, and Zutphen, transported in flat-bottomed boats called
Berkelzompen. In the
1950s, the Dutch stretch of the river was
channelized to prevent
flooding and to improve
drainage. Recently old bends have been reconnected to the straightened lengths of the river.
Towns along the course of the Berkel include:
*in Germany:
Billerbeck,
Coesfeld,
Gescher,
Stadtlohn,
Vreden*in the Netherlands:
Eibergen,
Borculo,
Lochem,
Almen,
Zutphen
