Eider (river)

Eider with lock Nordfeld

The Eider (Latin Egdor; Norse EGDA; Danish Ejderen ) is 188 kilometers, the longest river in Schleswig -Holstein. In a first time in 1969 in a supplement to the journal Dithmar: published Sheets History essay, the former director of the National Museum in Dithmarsch Meldorf R. Nis Nissen ( 1925-2000 ) admits the Eider all hydraulic engineering measures but now only a length of 108 km to, a result which is also an inventory of regional studies from the year 2013.

From 811-1864, the river marked with two short interruptions, the southern border of Denmark. He has the national liberal Danes the name Eider Danes introduced in the 19th century because they wanted to continue to see the river as Danish southern border.

The Eider contrast, belongs from Rendsburg River Basin Eider, in the North Sea-Baltic Canal which opens Upper Eider ( river code 59782 ) within the catchment area of the channel and thus to the Elbe river basin.

Name

The name derives from the Eider with a certain probability of Egidor ( Fluttor, Schreckenstor ) and alludes to the Germanic sea giant Aegir, which was blamed for floods and associated horrors. The first by Volker Schmidt Latin mention as Flumen Egidora suggests this assumption. Other names of the Eider as Egidorae Fluminis (9th century Reichsanalen ) Fluminis Eydori (12th century Saxo Grammaticus ), Eidera ( 1148 Deed Henry the Lion ) and Eydaer ( 1235 in Erdbuch King Waldemar ) give an indication of the derivation for present name.

That the name is derived from Egidora Eridanus ( Amber River ), is not verifiable. A direct derivation of the name Eider from Eridanus is not comprehensible. Nevertheless, the Eider could have been referred to by the archaic Greeks as Eridanus, but what remains a pure conjecture. It should be noted that the island of Helgoland ( Holy Land ) was called in ancient times by the Germans as Abulun (apple country) and by the Greeks as succinic island. The Geographical location Helgolandes before the Eider estuary might suggest the context of Eridanus.

Geography

River

In Topographical Atlas of Schleswig -Holstein from 1963 states: " The Eider arises when Good Schoenhagen. " That's true today: The Eider springs at the same intensity in two situated in Holstein source ponds, namely the lake at Forest House Mannhagen south Schoenhagen and the Heickenteich the Over Strand Redder above the Klasterdoppelteiches, which was previously conventionally regarded as the source pond, but has a lower water outlet. The effluents of the two upper source ponds are now piped partly strong, and meet below lowercase forest to Drögen Eider, which flows for Both Kamper lake, which lies between Bordesholm and Preetz. From the lake it flows only a short distance to the southwest, then east to flow past Bordesholm. Henceforth their water flows north to Flintbek, Molfsee and then in the Schulensee which lies on the southwestern outskirts of Kiel.

The upper Eidertal was selected as a model project for the waterlogging of fens. The Eider valley is grazed extensively there. This rear breeds of wild horses races and aurochs are used. At the 390 -acre project area includes both the lowlands and the adjacent slopes.

Although the Eider meanders past close to the Baltic Sea near the city of Kiel, blocked a terminal moraine, the Hornsheimer bar the way to the Baltic Sea, and the Eider turns from then to the North Sea after flowing through the school lake it flows westward into the Westensee and through him to the north. When Flemhuder lake, where they flow past the east since the enlargement of the North Sea-Baltic Canal in 1907-1914 Achterwehrer Ship Canal, it flows into the North Sea-Baltic Canal, which to Rendsburg essentially follows the old river valley. In this area, next to still exist routes as Old Eider Eider and the former channel.

Central to the Eider is Rendsburg one hand feeding her water here to the North Sea-Baltic Canal. On the other hand, arises from the Eider in Rendsburg it were new, because there is no water from the North Sea-Baltic Canal is returned to the river. The section of the Eider between Rendsburg and the North Sea-Baltic Canal, a general Eider (also Obereider because of the lake-like widening ) refers.

Then the Eider meanders westward across Friedrichstadt by Tonning, where it flows into the Purrenstrom - her about nine kilometers long and two kilometers wide estuary. Not only in this area of ​​its lower reaches the Eider is a Tidefluss which has brackish water and freshwater tidal flats. At the southwest end of the Purrenstroms is the large Eidersperrwerk. Directly behind it is the Wadden Sea to the North Sea and the region of the outer Eider.

By occurring at low tide and high tide mighty currents, the bed of the river Eider has very deeply cut into the soft marsh soil, consisting predominantly of clay. Thus one finds especially in the sharp river bends water depths in front of up to 20 m.

The major tributary of the Eider are the treene and concern. The lower reaches of the Eider is connected through the Gieselaukanal with the North Sea-Baltic Canal.

The average discharge of the Eider is 6.5 m³ / s

History of the river

The Eider has been subjected to major changes since the Middle Ages. Interventions in the river and associated changes in the old river bed can still be seen clearly today on aerial photographs. 1499 was dammed at the level of today's settlement Bösbüttel, municipality Sankt Annen ( Dithmar ), a tributary of the Eider to Dithmar out. 1570-1589 a new influx of treene was prepared for Eider. "With the damming of treene a momentous engagement with the discharge conditions of the Eider has been completed. " About four locks the treene dehydrated at Friedrichstadt in the Eider.

With the construction of the Schleswig -Holstein channel 1777-1784 ( 1853: Eider channel) of Holtenau to Rendsburg, a continuous waterway between the North Sea and Baltic Sea was created then, which was also used for trade between England, France, Holland and the Baltic Sea. This led to an economic boom in this region. Beginning of the Eider Canal, a strong intervention in the hydrography of the Eider, so more replacing its successor, the North Sea-Baltic Canal ( NOK), the long stretches of the Eider and the Eider Canal. The Obereider led by the Flemhuder lake in the NOK and cut so that 37% of the catchment area of the Lower Eider on what led to strong Verschlickungen below Rendsburg. In Rendsburg a connection between the Eider and NOK was prepared by a sluice, which was 1936/37, replaced by the Gieselaukanal.

From 1935 to 1937, the Eiderabdämmung North field was south-east of Friedrichstadt built at km 78.3, in order to achieve better protection against storm surges with the recurring floods and destruction in the marshes on the left and right of the Eider and improve the receiving water for this area. Since then, the Eider only. Between North Field and the mouth of a tidal waters and is defined as the distance below Nordfeld as Tideeider and above as a single Eider Before the damming of the tides ranged until after Rendsburg. The Sielbauwerk with five openings, each 6 m wide and 65 m long ship lock Nordfeld lie in a river puncture. At km 26.1 the barrage Lexfähre was built with lock.

The Eiderabdämmung at North field has the flood protection of the higher-lying Eider lowland fully guaranteed. It came because of the strong variation of the tidal conditions below the bulkhead to so unpredictable silting, were threatened by the drainage ditch and shipping. Therefore, a storm surge barrier in the Eider estuary ( Katinger Watt) was built in the years 1967-1973 under the North Programme, which now protects the area between North Field and barrage from storm surges. The Eidersperrwerk located in a five -kilometer-long causeway. It has five 40 m wide openings with segmental closures and a ship lock. Normal Tidebewegung is not substantially affected by the locking mechanism. In the 1990s there was an increase back pressure, because you could not drain enough surface water due to the extreme weather conditions.

Language border

The Eider was to the Migration presumably the language border between West Germanic fishing and Jutes and Saxons on the one hand on the other. Between Danish and Low German, which emerged from the Saxon, probably an uninhabited strip of land was still north of the river to the Schlei and the Bay of Eckernförder, but made ​​it easier to Eider thus about 300 years, a dividing line between the North Germanic and West Germanic languages.

The Eider as a frontier

Successors of the Frankish Empire was from the 10th century, the Holy Roman Empire, whose northern boundary was therefore also the Eider (only to 1000, the limit was temporarily in the loop ). South of the border originated from the Saxon areas, the German County Holstein, from which from about 1200 colonization of southern Schleswig by Saxon and Westphalian settlers took place, with the Eider its function as a linguistic border gradually lost. Even after the Danish king was in personal union also became Count of Holstein in the 15th century, it was elevated to a duchy shortly thereafter, the Eider retained its function as a frontier, because Holstein indisputably belonged to Germany as before. Only with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 lost the Eider then its function as a border for a few years, then to mark the northern border of the German Confederation from 1815.

In the German -Danish conflict over the now predominantly in the south German duchy of Schleswig -minded in the 19th century it was under the Danish National Liberals, the slogan " Danmark til Ejderen " (Denmark to the Eider ), the slogan of the German Schleswig- Holstein Up forever ungedeelt counter stood. The conflict resulted in the collection of Schleswig- Holstein (1848-1851) and the occupation of Schleswig by the German -Danish War by Prussia and Austria (1864 ), with the flow eventually lost its function as a northern boundary of the German Confederation and southern border of Denmark.

Today the Eider separates the two historical parts of the country Schleswig -Holstein, Schleswig and Holstein. In the east, the border is still marked by the Levensau (north of Kiel ) and the Kiel Canal.

Federal Waterways

The Eider (Ei) is of Rendsburg (km 0.12 ) to the mouth (km 111.15 seaward boundary to the North Sea according to the Federal Waterways Act - WaStrG ) is a federal waterway, the route above km 22.64 a so-called other inland waterways of the collar is. Below 22.64 km eider is a waterway of class II on the entire Eider applies the Maritime Traffic Regulations. Responsible is the Waterways and Shipping Office Tonning. At km 22,75 the Gieselaukanal opens a connection to the North Sea-Baltic Canal.

By 2008, the Upper Eider, also Obereider, between Rendsburg and Kiel Canal was also a federal waterway under the jurisdiction of the Water and Shipping Authority Holtenau, since the cities Büdelsdorf and Rendsburg are responsible in equal parts.

The freight on the Eider has become less important. The river is increasingly being used by the recreational boating since about Gieselaukanal and North Sea-Baltic Canal, there is still a delightful connection to the Baltic Sea.

The Eider is crossed by several ferries and bridges. In the season weekends from May to September can pedestrians and cyclists such as the eider cross at the Hohner and the Bargener ferry.