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34-601: It lies on the right bank of the river Meuse , from the valley of the Chiers in the north to the town of Neufchâteau in the south. To the west, the region follows the Meuse, and to the east, it extends into the neighboring department of Meurthe-et-Moselle . The Lac de Madine lies in the Woëvre, like does the western part of the Parc naturel régional de Lorraine . Neighboring natural regions include

68-550: A connection between the Maas and the Merwede at the town of Woudrichem . From that moment on, the current Afgedamde Maas was the main branch of the lower Meuse. The former main branch eventually silted up and is today called the Oude Maasje . In the late 19th century and early 20th century the connection between the Maas and Rhine was closed off and the Maas was given a new, artificial mouth –

102-673: A key objective of the Battle of France , the Battle of Sedan and also for the last major German WWII counter-offensive on the Western Front , the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 and January 1945. The Meuse is represented in the documentary The River People released in 2012 by Xavier Istasse. In July 2021, the Meuse basin was one of the many regions in Europe to experience catastrophic flooding during

136-537: A major communication route the River Meuse is the origin of Mosan art , principally (Wallonia and France). The first landscape painted in the Renaissance was the landscape of Meuse by Joachim Patinir . He was likely the uncle of Henri Blès , who is sometimes defined as a Mosan landscape painter active during the second third of the 16th century (i.e. second generation of landscape painters). The main tributaries of

170-1280: A recurring problem in the coming decades. The Meuse flows through the following departments of France , provinces of Belgium , provinces of the Netherlands and towns: Main cities and tributaries will be in bold . France Grand Est Region Haute-Marne Department [REDACTED] Le Châtelet-sur-Meuse [REDACTED] Premier pont de la Meuse [REDACTED] Pont de Malroy [REDACTED] Pont du Pâtis des Vannees [REDACTED] Ruisseau de Pré Chatenay [REDACTED] Pont de Meuse (D429 Val-de-Meuse - Dombrot-le-Sec ) [REDACTED] Ruisseau d'Avrecourt [REDACTED] Railway bridge Culmont-Chalindrey - Toul line [REDACTED] Ru d'Ouette [REDACTED] Ru des Fossés [REDACTED] Ruisseau de Bocheret [REDACTED] Provenchères-sur-Meuse [REDACTED] Pont de Val-de-Meuse (D189) [REDACTED] Ruisseau des Aimeguenons [REDACTED] Pont de l'A31 ( A31 Nancy - Dijon ) [REDACTED] Ruisseau de Joncourt [REDACTED] Pont de D132 [REDACTED] Ruisseau de l'Étange Merwede The Merwede ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɛrʋeːdə] ; etymology uncertain, possibly derived from

204-731: Is a major European river , rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta . It has a total length of 925 km (575 miles). From 1301, the upper Meuse roughly marked the western border of the Holy Roman Empire with the Kingdom of France , after Count Henry III of Bar had to receive the western part of

238-556: Is joined by the Sambre . Beyond Namur the Meuse winds eastwards and passes Liège before turning north. The river then forms part of the Belgian-Dutch border, except that at Maastricht the border lies further to the west. In the Netherlands it continues northwards through Venlo closely along the border to Germany, then turns towards the west, where it runs parallel to the Waal and forms part of

272-532: Is navigable over a substantial part of its total length: In the Netherlands and Belgium, the river is part of the major inland navigation infrastructure, connecting the Rotterdam-Amsterdam-Antwerp port areas to the industrial areas upstream: 's-Hertogenbosch, Venlo, Maastricht, Liège, Namur. Between Maastricht and Maasbracht , an unnavigable section of the Meuse is bypassed by the 36 km (22.4 mi) Juliana Canal . South of Namur, further upstream,

306-529: Is particularly forested, particularly with oak trees. Two small pieces of land are still heavily contaminated from WWI and are designated part of Zone Rouge . Certain areas are designated as " Zones naturelles d'intérêt écologique, faunistique et floristique ", or ZNIEFFs, which marks them as particularly important to the preservation of France's ecological heritage either because of the plants or animals they support, their ecological role or their local or national importance. The "Conservatoire des sites lorraines"

340-667: The 2021 European floods . The name Meuse is derived from the French name of the river, derived from its Latin name, Mosa , which ultimately derives from the Celtic or Proto-Celtic name * Mosā . This probably derives from the same root as English " maze ", referring to the river's twists and turns. The Dutch name Maas descends from Middle Dutch Mase , which comes from the presumed but unattested Old Dutch form * Masa , from Proto-Germanic * Masō . Modern Dutch and German Maas and Limburgish Maos preserve this Germanic form. Despite

374-687: The Afgedamde Maas ) so that little water from the Meuse entered the old Maas courses or the Rhine distributaries. The resulting separation of the rivers Rhine and Meuse is considered to be the greatest achievement in Dutch hydraulic engineering before the completion of the Zuiderzee Works and Delta Works . In 1970 the Haringvlietdam has been finished. Since then the reunited Rhine and Meuse waters have reached

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408-794: The Beneden Merwede (Lower Merwede) on the right and the Nieuwe Merwede (New Merwede) on the left. All these rivers are tidal. The Nieuwe Merwede joins the Bergse Maas near Lage Zwaluwe to form the Hollands Diep estuary, and separates the Island of Dordrecht from the Biesbosch National Park. The Beneden Merwede splits into the Noord River and Oude Maas near Papendrecht. In medieval times

442-441: The Bergse Maas . The resulting separation of the rivers Rhine and Maas reduced the risk of flooding and was considered to be the greatest achievement in Dutch hydraulic engineering before the completion of the Zuiderzee Works and Delta Works . The former main branch was, after the dam at its southern inlet was completed in 1904, renamed Afgedamde Maas and no longer receives water from the Maas. The Meuse and its crossings were

476-588: The County of Bar ( Barrois mouvant ) as a French fief from the hands of King Philip IV . In 1408, a Burgundian army led by John the Fearless went to the aid of John III against the citizens of Liège, who were in open revolt. After the battle , which saw the men from Liège defeated, John ordered the drowning in the Meuse of burghers and noblemen in Liège whose loyalties he suspected. The border remained relatively stable until

510-630: The Côtes de Meuse on the left bank of the Meuse, the Barrois to the south and the Côtes de Moselle to the east. The part French, part Belgian Gaume region lies to the north. Since the Middle Ages , inhabitants along part of this system have used earthen levees to create ponds used for aquaculture , which now provide important refuges for migratory birds. The region's soil includes layers of sandstone and limestone aquifers separated by impermeable clay. It

544-622: The Old Dutch merwe or merowe , a word meaning "wide water") is the name of several connected stretches of river in the Netherlands , between the cities of Woudrichem , Dordrecht and Papendrecht . The river is part of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and is mostly fed by the river Rhine . At first, a disconnected branch of the Meuse joins the Waal at Woudrichem to form the Boven Merwede (Upper Merwede). A few kilometers downstream it splits into

578-514: The Rhine (by means of the Waal ), were rerouted to this new pathway (the current Biesbosch , Hollands Diep and Haringvliet ). From that time on, the Oude Maas and Nieuwe Maas received little water from the Meuse. In recent centuries the influence of the Meuse has decreased even further, to the point that the major stretches of river called Oude Maas and Nieuwe Maas have been essentially cut off from

612-461: The Meuse are listed below in downstream-upstream order, with the town where the tributary meets the river: The mean annual discharge rate of the Meuse has been relatively stable over the last few thousand years. One recent study estimates that average flow has increased by about 10% since 2000 BC. The hydrological distribution of the Meuse changed during the later Middle Ages, when a major flood forced it to shift its main course northwards towards

646-486: The Meuse has the responsibility of the implementation of the treaty. The costs of this Commission are met by all these countries, in proportion of their own territory in the basin of the Meuse: Netherlands 30%, Wallonia 30%, France 15%, Germany 14.5%, Flanders 5%, Brussels 4.5%, Kingdom of Belgium 0.5%, and Luxembourg 0.5%. The map of the basin area of Meuse was joined to the text of the treaty. As for culture, as

680-498: The Meuse split near Heusden into two main distributaries, one flowing north to join the Merwede and one flowing direct to the sea. The branch of the Meuse leading direct to the sea eventually silted up (and now forms the Oude Maasje stream), but in 1904 the canalised Bergse Maas was dug to take over the functions of the silted-up branch. At the same time the branch leading to the Merwede was dammed at Heusden (and has since been known as

714-650: The Netherlands, and Belgium. Also participating in the agreement were the Belgian regional governments of Flanders , Wallonia , and Brussels (which is not in the basin of the Meuse but pumps running water into the Meuse). Most of the basin area (approximately 36,000 km ) is in Wallonia (12,000 km ), followed by France (9,000 km ), the Netherlands (8,000 km ), Germany (2,000 km ), Flanders (2,000 km ) and Luxembourg (a few km ). An International Commission on

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748-469: The North Sea either at this site or, during times of lower discharges of the Rhine, at Hook of Holland . A 2008 study notes that the difference between summer and winter flow volumes has increased significantly in the last 100–200 years. It points out that the frequency of serious floods ( i.e. flows > 1000% of normal) has increased markedly. They predict that winter flooding of the Meuse may become

782-509: The annexation of the Three Bishoprics Metz, Toul and Verdun by King Henry II in 1552 and the occupation of the Duchy of Lorraine by the forces of King Louis XIII in 1633. Its lower Belgian ( Walloon ) portion, part of the sillon industriel , was the first fully industrialized area in continental Europe. The Afgedamde Maas was created in the late Middle Ages, when a major flood made

816-510: The extensive Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta , together with the Scheldt to its south and the Rhine to the north. The river has been divided near Heusden into the Afgedamde Maas on the right and the Bergse Maas on the left. The Bergse Maas continues under the name of Amer , which is part of De Biesbosch . The Afgedamde Maas joins the Waal, the main stem of the Rhine at Woudrichem , and then flows under

850-505: The lower rivers were then changed to reflect this, for example the Oude Maas and Nieuwe Maas . During a second flooding event (the St. Elizabeth floods ) a major breach in the coastal dunes of Holland created an inlet that would eventually reach the Merwede, thus creating a new, more southerly and shorter path to the sea. Most of the flow of the river Meuse , and a considerable part of the flow of

884-456: The name Merwede (or "Merwe" in Middle Dutch) was the name of a continuous stretch of river, considered to be the lower part of the river Waal (a major distributary branch of the Rhine ), and carried on its name all the way to the sea. Later on, the name Merwede was discarded downstream of the town of Papendrecht and replaced with Noord river and, even further downstream, Nieuwe Maas . Only

918-599: The name of Boven Merwede to Hardinxveld-Giessendam , where it splits into Nieuwe Merwede and Beneden Merwede . Near Lage Zwaluwe , the Nieuwe Merwede joins the Amer, forming the Hollands Diep , which splits into Grevelingen and Haringvliet , before finally flowing into the North Sea. The Meuse is crossed by railway bridges between the following stations (on the left and right banks respectively): There are also numerous road bridges and around 32 ferry crossings. The Meuse

952-448: The part of the river between Woudrichem en Papendrecht retained its name. The confusing river names are the result of two major flood events, which both resulted in a significant shift in the course and flow of the lower rivers. The first of these events forced the river Meuse (Maas) to take a more northerly course and created a direct connection between the Meuse and the Merwede at the town of Woudrichem. The names of several stretches of

986-528: The river Merwede . From then on several stretches of the original Merwede were renamed "Maas" (i.e. Meuse) and served as the primary outflow of that river. Those branches are currently known as the Nieuwe Maas and Oude Maas. However during another series of severe floods the Meuse found an additional path towards the sea, resulting in the creation of the Biesbosch wetlands and Hollands Diep estuaries. Thereafter

1020-410: The river Meuse completely. Both the current Merwede and all of its lower stretches (now called Noord river , Oude Maas and Nieuwe Maas ) are now consequently almost exclusively fed by the Rhine, while the Meuse has been given its own artificial mouth, Bergse Maas , and the two rivers Rhine and Meuse are now mostly separated to reduce the risk of flooding. This separation of the rivers Rhine and Maas

1054-540: The river can only carry more modest vessels, although a barge as long as 100 m (328 ft). can still reach the French border town of Givet. From Givet, the river is canalized over a distance of 272 kilometres (169 mi). The canalized Meuse used to be called the "Canal de l'Est — Branche Nord" but was recently rebaptized into "Canal de la Meuse". The waterway can be used by the smallest barges that are still in use commercially almost 40 m (131 ft) long and just over 5 metres (16 ft) wide. Just upstream of

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1088-674: The similarity, the Germanic name is not derived from the Celtic name, judging from the change from earlier o into a , which is characteristic of the Germanic languages. The Meuse rises in Pouilly-en-Bassigny, commune of Le Châtelet-sur-Meuse on the Langres plateau in France from where it flows northwards past Sedan (the head of navigation ) and Charleville-Mézières into Belgium. At Namur it

1122-555: The town of Commercy, the Canal de la Meuse connects with the Marne–Rhine Canal by means of a short diversion canal. The Cretaceous sea reptile Mosasaur is named after the river Meuse. The first fossils of it were discovered outside Maastricht in 1780. An international agreement was signed in 2002 in Ghent , Belgium, about the management of the river amongst France, Germany, Luxembourg ,

1156-404: Was created to protect endangered species, and it purchased most of the areas in 1994. Parts of the Woëvre have been designated as a protected Ramsar site since 1991. 49°7′N 5°30′E  /  49.117°N 5.500°E  / 49.117; 5.500 This Grand Est geographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Meuse The Meuse or Maas

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