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The Weser (pronounced [ˈveːzɐ] ) is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is 50 km (31 mi) further north against the ports of Bremerhaven and Nordenham. The latter is on the Butjadingen Peninsula. It then merges into the North Sea via two highly saline, estuarine mouths.
| Weser Werser (Low German) | |
|---|---|
 The Weser near Bad Oeynhausen | |
 Watershed of the Weser | |
  European context: mouth within Germany. | |
 | |
| Etymology | *waisōn, Proto-Germanic, meaning "flow" or "ooze" |
| Location | |
| Country | Germany |
| States |
|
| Cities |
|
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Confluence of the Fulda and Werra Rivers in Hann. Münden |
| • coordinates | 51°25′17″N 9°38′53″E / 51.42139°N 9.64806°E |
| • elevation | 116 m (381 ft) |
| Mouth | Wadden Sea of the North Sea |
• location | Between Bremerhaven and Nordenham |
• coordinates | 53°32′8″N 8°33′56″E / 53.53556°N 8.56556°E |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 452 km (281 mi) [744 km (462 mi) if combined with the Werra] |
| Basin size | 46,306 km2 (17,879 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 327 m3/s (11,500 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| River system | Weser basin |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Diemel, Emmer, Werre, Große Aue, Hunte |
| • right | Aller, Lesum |
It connects to the canal network running east–west across the North German Plain.
The river, when combined with the Werra (a dialectal form of Weser),[citation needed] is 744 km (462 mi) long and thus, the longest river entirely situated within Germany (the Main, however, is the longest if the Weser and Werra are not combined). The Weser itself is 452 km (281 mi) long. The Werra rises in Thuringia, the German state south of the main projection (tongue) of Lower Saxony.
Etymology
"Weser" and "Werra" are the same words in different dialects. The difference reflects the old linguistic border between Central and Low German, passing through Hannoversch Münden.
The name likely derives from the Old Germanic *waisōn "flow, ooze".[failed verification] It is cognate with the Wear in England and Vistula (Polish Wisła, German Weichsel) in Poland, all of which are derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *weys- "to flow", which also gives rise to Old English/Old Frisian wāse "mud, ooze", Old Norse veisa "slime, stagnant pool", Dutch waas "haze; soggy land" (see Waasland), Old Saxon waso "wet ground, mire", Old High German wasal "rain" and French vase "mud, sludge".
Course
The Weser starts at the confluence of the Fulda and the Werra. It then runs down to the Porta Westfalica between two high hill ranges, the Wiehengebirge, west and the Weserbergland in the east.
Between Minden and the North Sea, humans have largely canalised the river up to a limit of 1,200-ton ships. Eight hydroelectric dams stand at the ends of adjacent weirstreams that make up the river. The navigation is linked west to the Dortmund–Ems Canal via the Coastal Canal. It is linked east at Bremerhaven to the Elbe.
A large reservoir, the Edersee, on the Eder, the main tributary of the Fulda, is used to allow enough water depth for shipping year-round. The dam, built in 1914, was bombed and severely damaged by British aircraft in May 1943, causing great destruction and about 70 deaths downstream. It was rebuilt within four months. The reservoir is a major summer resort area. Turbines driven by its sluices provide electricity.
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"Upper" Weser, in reality the central section between the upper courses Werra and Fulda, and the lowland section -
![image]()
Mittelland Canal/River Weser Lock in Minden taken in 1977 -
![image]()
View north of the River Weser and the road bridge at Minden -
![image]()
Southern view of the River Weser from the road bridge at Minden in 1977
The Weser enters the North Sea in the southernmost part of the German Bight. In the sea it splits into two arms – the riverbed at the end of the last ice age. These sea arms are called Alte Weser (old Weser) and Neue Weser (new Weser). They are the waterways for ships heading for the ports of Bremerhaven, Nordenham, and Bremen. The Alte Weser Lighthouse marks the northernmost point of the Weser. This replaced the Roter Sand Lighthouse in 1964.
Tributaries
The largest tributary of the Weser is the Aller, which joins south of Bremen. Tributaries of the Weser and the Werra (from source to mouth) are:
Modes of the list:
- Listed upstream, but sides seen with the flow
- Distances ("km …") from the hydrographical limit towards the sea
- "II", "III"and "IV" mark distances of secondary/tertiary tributaries from the confluence with the Weser etc.
- After the names, lengths and basin sizes are given.
- Lengths with longer affluents are given behind the slash, lengths including an upper course with another name with "or"
List:
- km 19, right: Geeste (in Bremerhaven), 42.5 km, 338 km2
- km 33, right: Lune, 43 km, 383 km2
- km 35.9, right: Drepte, 37.6 km, 101 km2
- km 52.8, left: Hunte, 189 km, 2.785 km2
- II: km 125.7: Lake Dümmer
- km 67.6, right: Lesum, 9.9 or 131.5, 2,188 km2
- II: km 9.9, right Hamme, 48.5 km, 549 km2
- ↑ main stream: Wümme, 118 / 120, 1,585 km2
- km 72.5, left: Ochtum, 25.6 or 45 km, 917 km2
- II: km 25.6: left Hache, 33 km, 118 km2
- km 125.6, right: Aller, 260 km, 15,744 km2
- II: km 63.6, left: Leine, 278 km, 5,617 km2, stronger than river Aller above
- III: km 112.7, right: Innerste, 99.7 km, 1,264 km2
- III: km 192.8, right: Rhume, 44 km, 1,193 km2, stronger than river Leine above
- IV: km 15.6, right: Oder, 56 km, 385 km2, headwater of the strongest waterway of Aller system
- II: km 97.3, right: Örtze, 62 / 70 km, 760 km2
- II: km 140.7, left: Oker, 218 km, 1822 km2, stronger than river Aller above
- II: km 63.6, left: Leine, 278 km, 5,617 km2, stronger than river Aller above
- km 184.6, right: Steinhuder Meerbach
- ↑ km II: 29 lake Steinhuder Meer
- km 188.7, left: Große Aue, 84.5 km, 1,522 km2
- km 261.3, left: Werre, 71.9 km, 1485 km2
- II: km 12.7, left: Else, 34.6 km, 416 km2, branch of the Hase, an affluent of Ems
- km 287.7, left: Exter, 26.1 km, 109 km2
- km 323.3, left: Emmer, 61.8 km, 535 km2
- km 387.5, left: Nethe, 50.4 km, 460 km2
- km 406.5, left: Diemel, 110.5 km, 1,762 km2
- km 451.5, left: Fulda, 220.4 km, 6.947 km2
- II: km 45.3, left: Eder, 176.1 km, 3,361 km2, headwater of the strongest waterway of Weser system
- III: km 17.1, left: Schwalm, 97.1 km, 1.299 km2
- ↑ III: km 49.4–70.5: Edersee reservoir
- II: 120.1, right: Haune, 66.5 km, 500 km2
- II: km 45.3, left: Eder, 176.1 km, 3,361 km2, headwater of the strongest waterway of Weser system
- ↑ main stream above km 451.5: Werra, 299.6 km, 5.497 km2
- km 566.5, right: Hörsel, 55.2 or 64.3, 784 km2
- km 9.8, right: Nesse, 54.5 km, 426 km2
- km 513.1, left: Ulster, 57.2 km, 421 km2
- km 604.4, right: Schleuse, 34.2 km, 283 km2
Notable towns
Main towns along the Weser are (from the head of the river to its mouth): Hann. Münden, Beverungen, Höxter, Holzminden, Bodenwerder, Hamelin, Hessisch Oldendorf, Rinteln, Vlotho, Bad Oeynhausen, Porta Westfalica, Minden, Petershagen, Nienburg, Achim, Bremen, Brake, Nordenham, Bremerhaven.
Popular culture
The river features in the legend and folk tale the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
References
- Orel, Vladimir (2003). A Handbook of Germanic Etymology. Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV. p. 441. ISBN 9789004128750.
Etymology
- Dieter Berger: Geographische Namen in Deutschland. Duden-Verlag, Mannheim 1999.
- Hans Krahe: Sprache und Vorzeit. Quelle & Meyer, Heidelberg 1954. (Zur alteuropäischen Hydronomie.)
- Julius Pokorny: Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. Francke, Bern 1959.
Geology
- Karsten Meinke: Die Entwicklung der Weser im Nordwestdeutschen Flachland während des jüngeren Pleistozäns. Diss., Göttingen 1992. Mit Bodenprofilen der Weserstädte.
- Ludger Feldmann und Klaus-Dieter Meyer (Hrsg.): Quartär in Niedersachsen. Exkursionsführer zur Jubiläums-Hauptversammlung der Deutschen Quartärvereinigung in Hannover. DEUQUA-Exkursionsführer, Hannover 1998, page 89ff.
- Hans Heinrich Seedorf und Hans-Heinrich Meyer: Landeskunde Niedersachsen. Natur und Kulturgeschichte eines Bundeslandes. Volume 1: Historische Grundlagen und naturräumliche Ausstattung. Wachtholz, Neumünster 1992, page 105ff.
- Ludger Feldmann: Das Quartär zwischen Harz und Allertal mit einem Beitrag zur Landschaftsgeschichte im Tertiär. Papierflieger, Clausthal-Zellerfeld 2002, page 133ff and others.
Archaeology
- Bremer Archäologische Blätter, Beiheft 2/2000 zur gleichnamigen Ausstellung im Focke-Museum: Siedler, Söldner und Piraten, Chauken und Sachsen im Bremer Raum, Der Landesarchäologe Bremen, ISSN 0068-0907.
- Bremer Archäologische Blätter, Beiheft 3/2004 zur gleichnamigen Ausstellung im Focke-Museum: Gefundene Vergangenheit, Archäologie des Mittelalters in Bremen, Der Landesarchäologe Bremen, ISBN 3-7749-3233-6. (wg.Geschichte des Weserarms Balge)
History
- Georg Bessell: Geschichte Bremerhavens. Morisse, Bremerhaven 1927, 1989.
- Heinz Conradis: Der Kampf um die Weservertiefung in alter Zeit. In: Bremisches Jahrbuch. Bremen 41.1944.
- J. W. A. Hunichs: Practische Anleitung zum Deich-, Siel- und Schlengenbau. Erster Theil, von den Sielen. Bremen 1770.
- Die Kanalisierung der Mittelweser. Published by the Mittelweser AG, Carl Schünemann Verlag, Bremen 1960.
- Kuratorium für Forschung im Küsteningenieurswesen: Die Küste. In: Archiv für Forschung und Technik an der Nord- und Ostsee. Boyens, Heide 51.1991. ISSN 0452-7739
Description
- Karl Löbe: Das Weserbuch. Niemeyer, Hameln 1968.
- Nils Aschenbeck, Wolf Dietmar Stock: Eine Flussfahrt von der Aller bis zur Nordsee. Atelier im Bauernhaus, Fischerhude 1998. ISBN 3-88132-350-3.
This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Weser news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2021 Learn how and when to remove this message The Weser pronounced ˈveːzɐ is a river of Lower Saxony in north west Germany It begins at Hannoversch Munden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen Its mouth is 50 km 31 mi further north against the ports of Bremerhaven and Nordenham The latter is on the Butjadingen Peninsula It then merges into the North Sea via two highly saline estuarine mouths Weser Werser Low German The Weser near Bad OeynhausenWatershed of the WeserEuropean context mouth within Germany Etymology waisōn Proto Germanic meaning flow or ooze LocationCountryGermanyStatesBremenLower SaxonyNorth Rhine WestphaliaThuringiaHesseCitiesBremerhavenBremenMindenHamelinHann MundenKasselFuldaPhysical characteristicsSource locationConfluence of the Fulda and Werra Rivers in Hann Munden coordinates51 25 17 N 9 38 53 E 51 42139 N 9 64806 E 51 42139 9 64806 elevation116 m 381 ft MouthWadden Sea of the North Sea locationBetween Bremerhaven and Nordenham coordinates53 32 8 N 8 33 56 E 53 53556 N 8 56556 E 53 53556 8 56556 elevation0 m 0 ft Length452 km 281 mi 744 km 462 mi if combined with the Werra Basin size46 306 km2 17 879 sq mi Discharge average327 m3 s 11 500 cu ft s Basin featuresRiver systemWeser basinTributaries leftDiemel Emmer Werre Grosse Aue Hunte rightAller Lesum It connects to the canal network running east west across the North German Plain The river when combined with the Werra a dialectal form of Weser citation needed is 744 km 462 mi long and thus the longest river entirely situated within Germany the Main however is the longest if the Weser and Werra are not combined The Weser itself is 452 km 281 mi long The Werra rises in Thuringia the German state south of the main projection tongue of Lower Saxony Etymology Weser and Werra are the same words in different dialects The difference reflects the old linguistic border between Central and Low German passing through Hannoversch Munden The name likely derives from the Old Germanic waisōn flow ooze failed verification It is cognate with the Wear in England and Vistula Polish Wisla German Weichsel in Poland all of which are derived from the Proto Indo European root weys to flow which also gives rise to Old English Old Frisian wase mud ooze Old Norse veisa slime stagnant pool Dutch waas haze soggy land see Waasland Old Saxon waso wet ground mire Old High German wasal rain and French vase mud sludge CourseThe Weser starts at the confluence of the Fulda and the Werra It then runs down to the Porta Westfalica between two high hill ranges the Wiehengebirge west and the Weserbergland in the east Between Minden and the North Sea humans have largely canalised the river up to a limit of 1 200 ton ships Eight hydroelectric dams stand at the ends of adjacent weirstreams that make up the river The navigation is linked west to the Dortmund Ems Canal via the Coastal Canal It is linked east at Bremerhaven to the Elbe A large reservoir the Edersee on the Eder the main tributary of the Fulda is used to allow enough water depth for shipping year round The dam built in 1914 was bombed and severely damaged by British aircraft in May 1943 causing great destruction and about 70 deaths downstream It was rebuilt within four months The reservoir is a major summer resort area Turbines driven by its sluices provide electricity Alte Weser Lighthouse Upper Weser in reality the central section between the upper courses Werra and Fulda and the lowland section Mittelland Canal River Weser Lock in Minden taken in 1977 View north of the River Weser and the road bridge at Minden Southern view of the River Weser from the road bridge at Minden in 1977 The Weser enters the North Sea in the southernmost part of the German Bight In the sea it splits into two arms the riverbed at the end of the last ice age These sea arms are called Alte Weser old Weser and Neue Weser new Weser They are the waterways for ships heading for the ports of Bremerhaven Nordenham and Bremen The Alte Weser Lighthouse marks the northernmost point of the Weser This replaced the Roter Sand Lighthouse in 1964 TributariesThe largest tributary of the Weser is the Aller which joins south of Bremen Tributaries of the Weser and the Werra from source to mouth are Modes of the list Listed upstream but sides seen with the flow Distances km from the hydrographical limit towards the sea II III and IV mark distances of secondary tertiary tributaries from the confluence with the Weser etc After the names lengths and basin sizes are given Lengths with longer affluents are given behind the slash lengths including an upper course with another name with or Weser and its tributaries in blue other rivers in grey List km 19 right Geeste in Bremerhaven 42 5 km 338 km2 km 33 right Lune 43 km 383 km2 km 35 9 right Drepte 37 6 km 101 km2 km 52 8 left Hunte 189 km 2 785 km2II km 125 7 Lake Dummer km 67 6 right Lesum 9 9 or 131 5 2 188 km2II km 9 9 right Hamme 48 5 km 549 km2 main stream Wumme 118 120 1 585 km2 km 72 5 left Ochtum 25 6 or 45 km 917 km2II km 25 6 left Hache 33 km 118 km2 km 125 6 right Aller 260 km 15 744 km2II km 63 6 left Leine 278 km 5 617 km2 stronger than river Aller above III km 112 7 right Innerste 99 7 km 1 264 km2 III km 192 8 right Rhume 44 km 1 193 km2 stronger than river Leine above IV km 15 6 right Oder 56 km 385 km2 headwater of the strongest waterway of Aller system II km 97 3 right Ortze 62 70 km 760 km2 II km 140 7 left Oker 218 km 1822 km2 stronger than river Aller above km 184 6 right Steinhuder Meerbach km II 29 lake Steinhuder Meer km 188 7 left Grosse Aue 84 5 km 1 522 km2 km 261 3 left Werre 71 9 km 1485 km2II km 12 7 left Else 34 6 km 416 km2 branch of the Hase an affluent of Ems km 287 7 left Exter 26 1 km 109 km2 km 323 3 left Emmer 61 8 km 535 km2 km 387 5 left Nethe 50 4 km 460 km2 km 406 5 left Diemel 110 5 km 1 762 km2 km 451 5 left Fulda 220 4 km 6 947 km2II km 45 3 left Eder 176 1 km 3 361 km2 headwater of the strongest waterway of Weser systemIII km 17 1 left Schwalm 97 1 km 1 299 km2 III km 49 4 70 5 Edersee reservoir dd II 120 1 right Haune 66 5 km 500 km2 dd main stream above km 451 5 Werra 299 6 km 5 497 km2 km 566 5 right Horsel 55 2 or 64 3 784 km2km 9 8 right Nesse 54 5 km 426 km2 km 513 1 left Ulster 57 2 km 421 km2 km 604 4 right Schleuse 34 2 km 283 km2Notable townsMain towns along the Weser are from the head of the river to its mouth Hann Munden Beverungen Hoxter Holzminden Bodenwerder Hamelin Hessisch Oldendorf Rinteln Vlotho Bad Oeynhausen Porta Westfalica Minden Petershagen Nienburg Achim Bremen Brake Nordenham Bremerhaven Popular cultureThe river features in the legend and folk tale the Pied Piper of Hamelin ReferencesOrel Vladimir 2003 A Handbook of Germanic Etymology Netherlands Koninklijke Brill NV p 441 ISBN 9789004128750 Etymology Dieter Berger Geographische Namen in Deutschland Duden Verlag Mannheim 1999 Hans Krahe Sprache und Vorzeit Quelle amp Meyer Heidelberg 1954 Zur alteuropaischen Hydronomie Julius Pokorny Indogermanisches etymologisches Worterbuch Francke Bern 1959 Geology Karsten Meinke Die Entwicklung der Weser im Nordwestdeutschen Flachland wahrend des jungeren Pleistozans Diss Gottingen 1992 Mit Bodenprofilen der Weserstadte Ludger Feldmann und Klaus Dieter Meyer Hrsg Quartar in Niedersachsen Exkursionsfuhrer zur Jubilaums Hauptversammlung der Deutschen Quartarvereinigung in Hannover DEUQUA Exkursionsfuhrer Hannover 1998 page 89ff Hans Heinrich Seedorf und Hans Heinrich Meyer Landeskunde Niedersachsen Natur und Kulturgeschichte eines Bundeslandes Volume 1 Historische Grundlagen und naturraumliche Ausstattung Wachtholz Neumunster 1992 page 105ff Ludger Feldmann Das Quartar zwischen Harz und Allertal mit einem Beitrag zur Landschaftsgeschichte im Tertiar Papierflieger Clausthal Zellerfeld 2002 page 133ff and others Archaeology Bremer Archaologische Blatter Beiheft 2 2000 zur gleichnamigen Ausstellung im Focke Museum Siedler Soldner und Piraten Chauken und Sachsen im Bremer Raum Der Landesarchaologe Bremen ISSN 0068 0907 Bremer Archaologische Blatter Beiheft 3 2004 zur gleichnamigen Ausstellung im Focke Museum Gefundene Vergangenheit Archaologie des Mittelalters in Bremen Der Landesarchaologe Bremen ISBN 3 7749 3233 6 wg Geschichte des Weserarms Balge History Georg Bessell Geschichte Bremerhavens Morisse Bremerhaven 1927 1989 Heinz Conradis Der Kampf um die Weservertiefung in alter Zeit In Bremisches Jahrbuch Bremen 41 1944 J W A Hunichs Practische Anleitung zum Deich Siel und Schlengenbau Erster Theil von den Sielen Bremen 1770 Die Kanalisierung der Mittelweser Published by the Mittelweser AG Carl Schunemann Verlag Bremen 1960 Kuratorium fur Forschung im Kusteningenieurswesen Die Kuste In Archiv fur Forschung und Technik an der Nord und Ostsee Boyens Heide 51 1991 ISSN 0452 7739Description Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article Weser Karl Lobe Das Weserbuch Niemeyer Hameln 1968 Nils Aschenbeck Wolf Dietmar Stock Eine Flussfahrt von der Aller bis zur Nordsee Atelier im Bauernhaus Fischerhude 1998 ISBN 3 88132 350 3
