Moselle River
The
Moselle (
French Moselle,
German Mosel, from
Latin Mosella, "little
Meuse") is a
river flowing through
France,
Luxembourg and
Germany, joining the
Rhine river at
Koblenz. The river gave its name to two French
départements:
Moselle and
Meurthe-et-Moselle.
The source of the Moselle is at the western slope of the
Ballon d'Alsace in the
Vosges mountains. 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. Its total length from source to mouth is approximately 545 km.
Its major tributaries are the
Meurthe,
Sauer,
Ruwer and the
Saar.
Towns along the river Moselle are:
* in France:
Épinal,
Toul,
Pont-à-Mousson,
Metz and
Thionville* in Luxembourg:
Grevenmacher and
Remich* in Germany:
Trier,
Bernkastel-Kues,
Cochem and
KoblenzThe Moselle valley between
Nancy, Metz and Thionville is an industrial area, with
coal mining and
steel manufacture.
The Moselle has been made navigable for large
cargo ships from the Rhine in Koblenz up to
Neuves-Maisons, south of Nancy. For smaller ships it is connected to other parts of France through the
Canal de l'Est and the
Canal de la Marne au Rhin.
The
Moselle valley is famous for its beautiful scenery and the excellent
wine produced, among others in the wine-growing-region of
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer. Most notable among the wines produced here are
Riesling,
Elbling,
Müller-Thurgau and
Kerner. The German part of the Moselle is a popular
tourist destination.
*
www.mosel.com
