Neckar

Drainage area

Neckar catchment area

The headwater region of the Neckar lies in the Schwenninger Moos between Schwenningen and Bad Dürrheim. The traditionally marked spring of the river lies in the city park Möglingshöhe in Schwenningen.

Prior to the Landesgartenschau Villingen-Schwenningen 2010 the Neckar flowed in the city center of Schwenningen mostly underground. In order to protect the city better from the more frequent flooding through overflow of the duct, the river received more space through a new, mostly open riverbed. This riverbed runs largely on the newly constructed horticultural show ground, which was used as the occasion for the remodeling.

Headwaters

Up to shortly before Rottweil the Neckar is only a small streamlet on the Baar plateau. In Deißlingen-Lauffen it has is only, 4 meters high waterfall, which is drained today. Afterwards the Neckar joins with the Eschach coming from the eastern slopes of the black forest which is much more water bearing. Its main tributary Glasbach, which originates at the Brogen, is hydrographically seen, the main river of the Neckar river system.

With this junction above Rottweil the Neckar enters a narrow, wooded valley and for the next 80 km it bores its way towards north between the ranges of the black forest and the Swabian Jura. It has created two cut-off meander spurs at the Neckarburg which is spanned by the Neckarburgbrücke. Further down the river lies high above the river the old town of Oberndorf on a Calcareous sinter terrace, which fills one of the bowl-like side valleys. At Horb it turns from the Gäu Plateau towards north east and then follows the western side of the Swabian Jura (Albtrauf). Near Weitingen the valley is traversed by the 127 m high Neckar Viaduct of the A 81. At Rottenburg it enters the wider valley of Tübingen. After Tübingen the valley narrows again. From here onwards, the surrounding elevated grounds are considerably more densely populated.

Middle reaches

At Plochingen the Neckar turns sharply north west at the „Neckarknie“ (knee of the Neckar), the mouth of the Fils coming down from the east, from the Swabian Jura. Beginning from here the river has been expanded into a canalised waterway. It lies up to Stuttgart in a wide, urbanized meadow, which has been built over with industry and is cut through by transportation structures. Only around the Cannstatter valley bend for a short distance it is interspersed by large park areas. Here again the valley sides show limestone-sinter. Between Stuttgart and Lauffen the Neckar cuts a scenic, meandering, and in many places steep-sided, valley into fossiliferous Triassic limestones and Pleistocene travertine. After Stuttgart it turns again towards the general northern direction. In a winding and narrow valley section through the Ludwigsburg (district) the Rems enters from the right at Remseck and then again from the right north of Marbach the Murr. After passing the Hessigheimer Felsengärten the water-rich Enz enters from the left at Besigheim. The former rapid at the Lauffener avulsion of the meander is today under water due to the canalization. In the Lowlands around Heilbronn the Neckar runs again through a wide meadow an open landscape. At Bad Friedrichshall it takes up within only two kilometers the other two of its large tributaries: First its water-richest tributary, the Kocher and then the officially longest, the Jagst, in total roughly doubling its discharge.

Lower reaches

Between Bad Wimpfen with its Stauferpfalz and Mosbach the Neckar enters the Odenwald, where, again in a gorge-like valley, high, elevated, forested slopes line its riverside and especially on the right side, deeply cut valleys enter. At the last of his distinctive knees at Eberbach it turns west, enters at Hirschhorn for a short distance Hessian territory and is then up to Neckarsteinach on long parts the border between Baden-Württemberg and Hessen. At Neckargemünd the Elsenz enters from the left, its lower reaches using a part oft the Neckars former Maurer river loop which extended far south. At the city of Heidelberg, which borders in the north the Odenwald and at the south the Königstuhl (Odenwald), the Neckarvalley is cut in the deepest by over 400m through mountains. After passing the Heidelberger historic city, the river enterst he wide Upper Rhine Plain and after further about 25 kilometers in Mannheim roughly at its middle it enters the Rhine from the right.

The largest tributaries of the Neckar are the Enz with the larges drainage area, the Kocher with the highest average water drainage and the longest one, the Jagst. The Kocher tributary Lein is at its end not only longer than the Kocher, but also more water-abundant. Therefore, according to hydrographic convention the Lein would have to be regarded as the main river of the Kocher water system, making it with then 201 kilometers the longest tributary of the Neckar.

Mouth of the Eschach in Rottweil

Mouth of the Starzel in Bieringen

Mouth of the Steinlach in Tübingen

Mouth of the Aich at Nürtingen-Oberensingen

Mouth of the Körsch on the right near Deizisau

The last of the large tributaries and the overall longest is the Jagst near Bad Friedrichshall Jagstfeld

Named from source to mouth. According to LUBW-BRSWEB, LUBW-FG10, LUBW-GEZG and TK25. Drainage area mostly according to LUBW-GEZG, else measured on the background map. Distances preferably according to the data sets of the LUBW-FG10, rarely measured on the background map. Namen preverably according to TK25.

• Eschach (left tributary at Rottweil-Bühlingen, 38.1 km)
• Prim (right tributary at Rottweil, 21.1 km)
• Schlichem (right tributary at Epfendorf, 34.4 km)
• Glatt (left tributary at Horb-Neckarhausen, 34.2 km)
• Eyach (right tributary at Bf. Eyach, community Eutingen im Gäu, 50.4 km)
• Starzel (right tributary at Rottenburg-Bieringen, 42.8 km)
• Steinlach (right tributary at Tübingen, 25.1 km)
• Ammer (left tributary at Tübingen-Lustnau, 22.5 km)
• Echaz (right tributary at Kirchentellinsfurt, 22.8 km)
• Erms (right tributary at Neckartenzlingen, 32.7 km)
• Aich (left tributary at Nürtingen-Oberensingen, 30.4 km)
• Lauter (right tributary at Wendlingen, 25.7 km)
• Fils (right tributary at Plochingen, 62.8 km)
• Körsch (left tributary west of Deizisau, 26.3 km)
• Rems (right tributary at Remseck, 78.4 km)
• Murr (right tributary at Marbach, 51.5 km)
• Enz (left tributary at Besigheim, 105.5 km)
• Zaber (left tributary at Lauffen, 22.4 km)
• Schozach (right tributary at Heilbronn-Sontheim, 25.6 km)
• Lein (left tributary at Heilbronn-Neckargartach, 27.3 km)
• Sulm (right tributary at Neckarsulm, 26.2 km)
• Kocher (right tributary at Bad Friedrichshall-Kochendorf, 168.7 km)
• Jagst (right tributary at Bad Friedrichshall-Jagstfeld, 190.2 km)
• Elz (right tributary at Mosbach-Neckarelz, 39.8 km)
• Itter (right tributary at Eberbach, 28.0 km)
• Laxbach (right tributary at Hirschhorn, 30.0 km with the longest headwaters)
• Steinach (right tributary at Neckarsteinach, 21.9 km)
• Elsenz (left tributary at Neckargemünd, 53.4 km)

Narrow and widening valleys alternate along the Neckar's course. The narrows are mostly deepenings into the Muschelkalk plateau and the Buntsandstein below. Widenings developed in the area of morphologically soft clay and marl. Wide valley meadows also developed through the strong backfilling with Aue clay since the start of settlement in the Neolithic and the accompanying deforestation and soil erosion. In the area of the narrows the meander and cut-off meander spurs stand out. The meanders were formed through the primal Neckar, which sluggishly flowed through the almost even Muschelkalk plateau, forming the basic structures during the deepening phases and cutting into the hard Muschelkalk. The best known cut-off meander spur is the one at Lauffen; it cut through in historical times and created a waterfall (historic: Laufen). At the cutbanks one can find rocks, formed by the lime stone of the upper Muschelkalk. For example, the rock gardens at Hessigheim. They lie on the marls and clays of the middle Muschelkalks and can sag in whole stone packages, so called Schollen, down towards the Neckar. In the Odenwald narrow ravines and gorges lead into the Neckar from both sides, as for example, the Wolfschlucht and the Margarethenschlucht.

View from the Hessigheimer rock gardens into the Neckar valley

Stone terraces at the Cannstatter Zuckerle, located on the Neckar slopes in Stuttgart

The Neckar in Neckarsulm, in the background the coal power station of Heilbronn.

The Neckar loop around the Dilsberg castle, as seen from the Hinterburg

Heidelberg, the Neuenheim riverside with the neckar meadow and the Heiligenberg

Due to the risk of flooding the valley plains remained unsettled for a long time, but the nutritious and due to its good structure very arable land was intensively used for agriculture, and to a large degree the valley plains are still used agriculturally today. The fertile soil allows the cultivation of lucrative specialty crops like vegetables or hops, for example, between Rottenburg and Tübingen.

Gravel pit quarrying in the valley plains takes away agricultural land, but created large lakes, nowadays used for recreational purposes. These borrow pits also became habitat for birds, amphibians and aquatic creatures. Such large borrow pits can be found for example near Kirchentellinsfurt and between Freiberg am Neckar and Pleidelsheim. The gravel bodies of the Neckar have an additional role as water reservoir and are in many places used for the drinking water production. The paths usually went over the heights and only crossed the valleys where there were fords over the Neckar.

This changed with the onset of industrialisation in the 19th century. It brought fundamental conflicts regarding the land usage of the flat valley plain. Large even spaces became sought after for industrial sites. The Neckar was mostly straightened in order to prevent flooding and to gain areas for industrial buildings. The river itself was expanded over the course of centuries. With the development into a heavy shipping lane in the early 20th century the last freely flowing parts between Plochingen and the mouth disappeared and the whole river in this part nowadays is characterized by dam areas. In the strongly textured Neckar area the valley became the only possibility for modern transportation infrastructure. Construction of railway lines and avenues in the valley plains changed the Neckar valley from a cultural to an industrial landscape.

One example is the densely populated and industrialised Neckar valley between Plochingen and Bad Cannstatt, which harbors large companies such as Daimler AG (the maker of Mercedes Benz cars) and Mahle GmbH and recreational facilities with large area consumption like the Mercedes-Benz Arena, the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle or the Cannstatter Wasen, the second largest fair of Germany. The term Wasen gives a clue, that there used to be a floodplain on which the fair was held. Distinctive points in the industrial landscape of the Neckar valley are the high chimneys of the coal-fired power station Altbach/Deizisau and Heilbronn as well as the assembly halls of the Daimler-engine plant in Untertürkheim and the Audi plant in Neckarsulm.

Along the Neckar's valley in the Odenwald hills many castles can be found, including Hornberg Castle and Guttenberg Castle in Haßmersheim; the now-mothballed Obrigheim Nuclear Power Plant and the active Neckarwestheim Nuclear Power Plant are also located there.

In contrast to the plains, the mostly steep slopes are often forested and in forestry use. The sun exposed south facing sites are frequently used for vineyards and are terraced with dry walls. There the local red wine grapes Trollinger, Schwarzriesling and Lemberger are cultivated, which are also traditionally mostly drunk in Württemberg. Especially the middle Neckar around Besigheim and Lauffen is characterized by in parts extremely steep vineyards, which can be cultivated only by hand.

The vine terrasses at the Neckar together with the drainage area of the tributaries deliver the largest part of the cultivation area of the Württemberg wine region. The vineyards at the lower reaches from Heinsheim to Heidelberg are part of the Baden wine region. Until the end of the 19th century vineyard cultivation was more extensive in the Neckar valley including unfavorable sites. Still today have been abandoned and gone fallow, reclaimed by wildlife. One example are the southern slopes of the Spitzberg above the Neckar near Tübingen.

The river's course provides a popular route for cyclists, especially during the summer months. The slopes of the Neckar are preferred areas for high-level residential areas because they allow wide, unobstructed views.

The not regulated old Neckar at Freiberg am Neckar

The diverse usage of raw water and waterway, as well for the production of hydropower brought with it substantial interventions into the ecological structure of the river. Multiple initiatives are advocate for the land restoration the Neckar, the ecological enhancement of the river network, the improvement of the water quality, improved flood control and the creation of attractive local recreational areas alongside the river. Only recently within the frame of the nationwide campaign lively rivers and the initiative Lebendiger Neckar (German: lively Neckar), it was begun to free it from ist partly existing concrete corsett. The river has in parts beenredeveloped as a local recreational area and habitat for animals and plants. It still remains a symbol of endangered nature with the highest power plant density in Germany. At an oxygen content of below 4 mg/l power plant owners have to run specially designed turbines to inject air into the water. As of 2003, no mass die-off of fish due to lack of oxygen had occurred for 20 years.[4]