Weser River

The Weser is a river in Lower Saxony, Germany's northwestern state. It starts at Hannoversch Münden and runs through the Werra and Fulda confluence. It runs through Bremen, a Hanseatic city. Its mouth is 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of the Bremerhaven and Nordenham ports. On the Butjadingen Peninsula, the latter is located. It eventually joins with the North Sea via two estuarine outlets that are severely saline. It connects to the east-west canal network that runs over the North German Plain.

Humans have largely canalised the river between Minden and the North Sea, up to a limit of 1,200-ton ships. At the confluence of eight weir streams that make up the river, there are eight hydroelectric dams. The Coastal Canal connects the navigation to the Dortmund–Ems Canal in the west. It is connected to the Elbe in the east at Bremerhaven.

The Edersee, a large reservoir on the Eder, the Fulda's primary tributary, is utilized to provide ample water depth for shipping all year. The dam, which was erected in 1914, was bombed and badly damaged by British planes in May 1943, resulting in massive destruction and the deaths of approximately 70 people downstream. Within four months, it was reconstructed. The reservoir is a popular summer vacation spot. Electricity is generated by turbines powered by the sluices.

Length: 452 km