| Eisbach | |
|---|---|
Eiswoog reservoir; at the far end the hotel on top of the Eiswoog dam can be seen; above the hotel, a section of the Eisbach Valley Viaduct is visible |
|
| Origin | Hohe Bühl near Ramsen, |
| Mouth | Confluence with Rhine at Worms, |
| Progression | Rhine → North Sea |
| Basin countries | Germany |
| Location | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| Length | 38.2 km (23.7 mi) |
| Source elevation | 284 m (932 ft) |
| Mouth elevation | 89 m (292 ft) |
| River system | Rhine |
| Left tributaries | Rodenbach |
| Right tributaries | Bockbach, Seltenbach |
The Eisbach, locally known as die Eis is a 38 km long river and left or western tributary of the Rhine in the northeastern Palatinate and southeastern Rhenish Hesse, in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Contents |
The largest of the seven springs of the Eisbach is located at an altitude of about 290 m above NN on the northern slope of the Hohe Bühl mountain (443 m above NN) in the northern Palatinate Forest, southwest of Ramsen. After about two kilometer, the seven streams unite in the Eiswoog reservoir. At the hamlet of Kleehof, the 3.5 km long Bockbach flows in from the right. Here, the direction of the river changes from straight north to northeast. The direction remains northeast until the confluence with the Rhine.
The river then flows past Ramsen and Eisenberg. Below Ebertsheim, it takes of the 5 kn long Seltenbach from the right and a few meters further, its largest tributary, the Rodenbach from the left. At Asselheim, a ward of Grünstadt, the Eisbach reaches the Upper Rhine Valley. It then flows through the wards of Albsheim, Mühlheim and Colgenstein, then Obrigheim itself and finally the hamlet of Neuoffstein. Here, it receives up to 350 cubic meters per work day of waste water from the sugar beet processing plant Südzucker-Werk Offstein.
At Offstein, it crosses the border into Rhenish Hesse. It then flows past some southwestern and southern wards of Worms, viz. Heppenheim, Horchheim and Weinsheim. Near State Road 523, the Mariamünsterbach branches off. During the middle ages, this stream provided the tanning and dyeing industries in Worms with water; in the 19th century it was covered. From this point onwards, the Eisbach is called Altbach ("old brook") and flows south of the Worms city center, through the Bürgerweide ward. It flows into the Upper Rhine at the soutern tip of the Worms marina, at an altitude of 89 m above NN.
Etymology research suggests that the syllable Eis in the name of the Eisbach did not refer to the frozen state of water, but was derived Eisen ("iron"), referring to the iron ore that was formerly mined in this region. The name of the town of Eisenberg on the river appears to have the same meaning.
In 1298, King Adolf of Nassau fell in the Battle of Göllheim. The victorious Emperor Albert of Austria would not allow him to be buried in the Speyer Cathedral, so he was initially buried in the Cistercian monastery at Rosental, on the banks of the Rodenbach. In 1309, Adolph's body was transferred to Worms Cathedral, and buried next to Albert I, who had been murdered by his nephew John Parricida.
|
||||||||||