Eder
Encyclopedia
The Eder is a 177 km long river
in Germany
, and a tributary of the Fulda River
. It was first mentioned by the Roman historian Tacitus
as the Adrana in the territory of the Chatti
.
The river rises from the Ederkopf mountain in western North Rhine-Westphalia
near the springs of the Lahn
and Sieg
rivers. Unlike the Lahn and Sieg, that are both tributaries of the Rhine, the Eder flows east and north and into the river Fulda at Edermünde
, south of Kassel
. At Hannoversch Münden, the Fulda joins with the Werra
to form the Weser river which flows into the North Sea
north of Bremen. Towns along the course of the Eder include Battenberg
, Frankenberg
, Waldeck
and Fritzlar
.
A rock-and-concrete dam (47 m high, 400 m long) completed in 1914 near the small town of Waldeck created the large Edersee
reservoir, which is 27 km long and has a holding capacity of 200 million m³ of water. It is used to generate hydro-electricity and to regulate water levels for shipping on the Weser river.
The dam was destroyed by British Avro Lancaster
bombers of the RAF
's 617 Squadron
on 17 May 1943 (Operation Chastise
). The bombers were equipped with special Barnes Wallis
bouncing bomb
s. On the same night, the nearby Möhne Reservoir
dam was also attacked, causing enormous destruction and loss of life downstream (the great majority of drowning victims were Ukrainian POWs in a labor camp just below the dam). The story of the raid was made into a film called The Dam Busters
.
The dam was rebuilt the same year, and the lake today is a major summertime recreation facility, particularly popular with Dutch campers and tourists. Eder was included as a multipalyer map in the 2006 video game Call of Duty 3
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and a tributary of the Fulda River
Fulda River
The Fulda is a river in Hesse, Germany. It is one of two headstreams of the Weser . The Fulda is 218 km in length....
. It was first mentioned by the Roman historian Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
as the Adrana in the territory of the Chatti
Chatti
The Chatti were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser. They settled in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of the Weser River and in the valleys and mountains of the Eder, Fulda and Weser River regions, a district approximately...
.
The river rises from the Ederkopf mountain in western North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
near the springs of the Lahn
Lahn
The Lahn River is a -long, right tributary of the Rhine River in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia , Hesse , and Rhineland-Palatinate ....
and Sieg
Sieg
The Sieg is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany named after the Sigambrer. It is a right tributary of the Rhine and 153 kilometres in length....
rivers. Unlike the Lahn and Sieg, that are both tributaries of the Rhine, the Eder flows east and north and into the river Fulda at Edermünde
Edermünde
Edermünde is a community in northern Hesse, Germany.-Location:Edermünde lies in the north of the Schwalm-Eder district not far southwest of Kassel. This is where the river Eder empties into the river Fulda...
, south of Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
. At Hannoversch Münden, the Fulda joins with the Werra
Werra
The Werra is a river in central Germany, the right-source river of the Weser. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld in southern Thuringia. After 293 km the Werra joins the river Fulda in the town of Hann. Münden, forming the Weser....
to form the Weser river which flows into the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
north of Bremen. Towns along the course of the Eder include Battenberg
Battenberg, Hesse
Battenberg is a small town in the Waldeck-Frankenberg district in Hesse, Germany. The town is noted for giving its name to the Battenberg family, a morganatic branch of the ruling House of Hesse-Darmstadt, and through it, the name Mountbatten used by members of the British royal family, a literal...
, Frankenberg
Frankenberg, Hesse
Frankenberg an der Eder is a town in Waldeck-Frankenberg district in Hesse, Germany.The mountain at a ford over the Eder north of the Burgwald range was for a long time a fortified place, playing an especially important rôle under the Franks in the Saxon Wars...
, Waldeck
Waldeck
-Places:* Waldeck Castle, a medieval fortress/castle in Germany* Waldeck, Hesse, a town in Hesse* Waldeck or Waldeck-Pyrmont, a principality in the German Empire and German Confederation, and a state in the Weimar Republic, named after the above castle and town* Waldeck, Bavaria, a village in the...
and Fritzlar
Fritzlar
Fritzlar is a small German town in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, north of Frankfurt, with a storied history. It can reasonably be argued that the town is the site where the Christianization of northern Germany began and the birthplace of the German empire as a political entity.The...
.
A rock-and-concrete dam (47 m high, 400 m long) completed in 1914 near the small town of Waldeck created the large Edersee
Edersee
The Edersee Dam is a hydroelectric dam constructed between 1908 to 1914 across the Eder river, near the small town of Waldeck in northern Hesse, Germany, it lies at the northern edge of the Kellerwald...
reservoir, which is 27 km long and has a holding capacity of 200 million m³ of water. It is used to generate hydro-electricity and to regulate water levels for shipping on the Weser river.
The dam was destroyed by British Avro Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
bombers of the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
's 617 Squadron
No. 617 Squadron RAF
No. 617 Squadron is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland. It currently operates the Tornado GR4 in the ground attack and reconnaissance role...
on 17 May 1943 (Operation Chastise
Operation Chastise
Operation Chastise was an attack on German dams carried out on 16–17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, subsequently known as the "Dambusters", using a specially developed "bouncing bomb" invented and developed by Barnes Wallis...
). The bombers were equipped with special Barnes Wallis
Barnes Wallis
Sir Barnes Neville Wallis, CBE FRS, RDI, FRAeS , was an English scientist, engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the RAF in Operation Chastise to attack the dams of the Ruhr Valley during World War II...
bouncing bomb
Bouncing bomb
A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed specifically to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner, in order to avoid obstacles such as torpedo nets, and to allow both the bomb's speed on arrival at the target and the timing of its detonation to be pre-determined...
s. On the same night, the nearby Möhne Reservoir
Möhne Reservoir
The Möhne Reservoir is an artificial lake in North Rhine-Westphalia, some 45 km east of Dortmund. The dam was built between 1908 and 1913 to help control floods, regulate water levels on the Ruhr river downstream, and generate hydropower. Today, the lake is also a tourist attraction...
dam was also attacked, causing enormous destruction and loss of life downstream (the great majority of drowning victims were Ukrainian POWs in a labor camp just below the dam). The story of the raid was made into a film called The Dam Busters
The Dam Busters (film)
The Dam Busters is a 1955 British Second World War war film starring Michael Redgrave and Richard Todd and directed by Michael Anderson. The film recreates the true story of Operation Chastise when in 1943 the RAF's 617 Squadron attacked the Möhne, Eder and Sorpe dams in Germany with Wallis's...
.
The dam was rebuilt the same year, and the lake today is a major summertime recreation facility, particularly popular with Dutch campers and tourists. Eder was included as a multipalyer map in the 2006 video game Call of Duty 3
Call of Duty 3
Call of Duty 3 is a World War II first-person shooter and the third installment in the Call of Duty video game series first released on November 7, 2006. It has been released for all three seventh generation video game systems: the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii...