Isenach
Encyclopedia
TheIsenach is a left tributary
of the Rhine in the northeastern Palatine region of Rhineland-Palatinate
. It is nearly 36 km long.
. Its source in the Diemersteiner Forest on the southeast flank of a saddle between the peaks Krummes Eck (449 m) and Hohe Bühl (444 m) is marked with Ritterstein number 277, with the inscription "Isenach origin. The first 5 km of the river flow to the south east. After it passes Isenachweiher, it flows east through a valley it shares with Bundesstraße 37 Kaiserslautern
-Bad Dürkheim
.
In Bad Dürkheim, the Isenach breaks through the Haardt, the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest, and enters into the hills flanking the German Wine Road. It the flows north east through the Upper Rhine Plain
. Between Lambsheim
and the Frankenthal
district of Eppstein, the Isenach takes up the Floßbach from the right.
In the city of Frankenthal, the Isenach turns to the north. After this turn, it takes up the Fuchsbach from the left. It then flows through the suburb of Mörsch, where the Isenach is known as the Mörschbach. It then flows through the southeast of Bobenheim-Roxheim
into a loop of the Old Rhine
known as Silbersee, and finally into the Upper Rhine
4 km south of Worms
below the dam
. The dam was renovated and restored in the mid-1980s.
, the . In order to provide this mill with a stronger gradient, the stream bed above the mill with raised by 2 m over a length of about 1400 m and some of the river's water was diverted into a new mill channel. However, the combination of this situation and a later straightening of the Isenach further upstream, caused floods in Lambsheim whenever it rained heavily. In 2008, after more than 250 years, the raising of the riverbed was reverted and the stream was restored to its old riverbed. The dirt excavated from the old riverbed contained naturally occurring arsenic
and had to be treated as chemical waste. The mill channel was considered industrial heritage
and was preserved. Water is continuously pumped into the channel to prevent it from falling dry. The total cost of the restautation project was ; the state of Rhineland-Palatinate contributed over .
was opened in the east of the city in 1934.
. Row boats can be rented here.
Iron Mill — The guest house , 3 km below the Isenachweiher dam still contains part of the Iron Mill, which was driven by water from the Isenach.
Castle and Monastery — Just before the Isenach breaks through the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest, the ruins of two medieval buildings can be seen above Dürkheim valley: Hardenburg Castle and Limburg Monastery. The castle was owned by the noble Leiningen family; the monastery was founded by Emperor Conrad II
.
Celtic and Roman finds — On the left of the Dürkheim valley, there are several ancient sights:
Graduation tower
— The graduation tower Bad Dürkheim produced medicinal salts, until it was destroyed by arson attacks in 1992 and 2007. Rebuilding the plant is exptected to begin in 2009.
Frankenthal Canal — The Frankenthal Canal used to be the lower 4 km of the Isenach. After the canal was abandoned in 1944, most of it was filled in in 1966, except for the old lock
, which was expanded to a retention basin
in the second half of the 20th century.
manufacturing industry in the Dürkheim valley. For a long time, sewage water was fed back into the stream untreated. This cause the water of the river to be coloured brown, giving it the nickname "Cola Brook". Today, sewage is properly treated before being allowed back into the river. Some of the damage done to the environment in the past, however, has not been put right, yet. The ("Structure and Planning Directorate South") in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse has started a "Pilot Project Isenach", which aims at restoring the natural state of the Isenach. On a municipal level, the Isenbach is a responsibility of the ("Water District Isenach Eckbach"), which is subordinate to the Landkreis Bad Dürkheim
.
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the Rhine in the northeastern Palatine region of Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
. It is nearly 36 km long.
Course
The Isenach rises in northern Palatinate forest, 2 km southwest of Carlsberg HertlingshausenCarlsberg, Germany
Carlsberg is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
. Its source in the Diemersteiner Forest on the southeast flank of a saddle between the peaks Krummes Eck (449 m) and Hohe Bühl (444 m) is marked with Ritterstein number 277, with the inscription "Isenach origin. The first 5 km of the river flow to the south east. After it passes Isenachweiher, it flows east through a valley it shares with Bundesstraße 37 Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...
-Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration, and is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
.
In Bad Dürkheim, the Isenach breaks through the Haardt, the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest, and enters into the hills flanking the German Wine Road. It the flows north east through the Upper Rhine Plain
Upper Rhine Plain
The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben is a major rift, straddling the border between France and Germany. It forms part of the European Cenozoic Rift System, which extends across central Europe...
. Between Lambsheim
Lambsheim
Lambsheim is a municipality in the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.It is situated approx. 6 km southwest of Frankenthal, and 11 km west of Ludwigshafen.-Wineries:In Lambsheim there are 3 wineries....
and the Frankenthal
Frankenthal
Frankenthal is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.- History :Frankenthal was first mentioned in 772. In 1119 an Augustinian monastery was built here, the ruins of which — known, after the founder, as the Erkenbertruine — still stand today in the town...
district of Eppstein, the Isenach takes up the Floßbach from the right.
In the city of Frankenthal, the Isenach turns to the north. After this turn, it takes up the Fuchsbach from the left. It then flows through the suburb of Mörsch, where the Isenach is known as the Mörschbach. It then flows through the southeast of Bobenheim-Roxheim
Bobenheim-Roxheim
Bobenheim-Roxheim is a municipality in the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.It is situated approx. 5 km south of Worms, and 13 km northwest of Ludwigshafen....
into a loop of the Old Rhine
Old Rhine
Old Rhine may be:* Oude Rijn * Oude Rijn * Alter Rhein,...
known as Silbersee, and finally into the Upper Rhine
Upper Rhine
The Upper Rhine is the section of the Rhine in the Upper Rhine Plain between Basel, Switzerland and Bingen, Germany. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometers 170 to 529 ....
4 km south of Worms
Isenachweiher
A dam was constructed in the Isenach in 1736-1737 at about 5 km from the source, forming a reservoir named Isenachweiher. The aim was to ensure an even flow of the river. This was necessary because until 1850 the pumps of the Bad Dürkheim Salt Works (also built in 1736) were operated using the Isenach as a wource of water power. The dam also ensured the water supply of a water wheelWater wheel
A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of free-flowing or falling water into useful forms of power. A water wheel consists of a large wooden or metal wheel, with a number of blades or buckets arranged on the outside rim forming the driving surface...
below the dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
. The dam was renovated and restored in the mid-1980s.
Raising the river
In the mid-18th century a mill was constructed as LambsheimLambsheim
Lambsheim is a municipality in the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.It is situated approx. 6 km southwest of Frankenthal, and 11 km west of Ludwigshafen.-Wineries:In Lambsheim there are 3 wineries....
, the . In order to provide this mill with a stronger gradient, the stream bed above the mill with raised by 2 m over a length of about 1400 m and some of the river's water was diverted into a new mill channel. However, the combination of this situation and a later straightening of the Isenach further upstream, caused floods in Lambsheim whenever it rained heavily. In 2008, after more than 250 years, the raising of the riverbed was reverted and the stream was restored to its old riverbed. The dirt excavated from the old riverbed contained naturally occurring arsenic
Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
and had to be treated as chemical waste. The mill channel was considered industrial heritage
Industrial heritage
Industrial heritage is an aspect of cultural heritage dealing specifically with the buildings and artifacts of industry which are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations, often forming a significant attraction for tourism.The...
and was preserved. Water is continuously pumped into the channel to prevent it from falling dry. The total cost of the restautation project was ; the state of Rhineland-Palatinate contributed over .
Diversion
Until the 1780s, the Isenach flowed from the southern edge of Frankenthal to the east. However, when the city of Frankenthal had dug its ("Canal Harbour"), the Isenach and the Fuchsbach were diverted to fill it. For more than a century and a half, the Isenach flowed via the Frankenthal Canal into the Rhine. It 1944, however, the canal had to be closed due to severe bomb damage. The Isenach was diverted further north, to its current mouth, which is about 8 km from its original confluence with the Rhine.Swimming pool
The first public swimming facility in the town of Frankenthal was a pond-like widening of the Isenach, just outside the southern edge of the city, near the Post Bridge. It was operated until the Frankenthal lidoLido
The Lido is an 11 km long sandbar located in Venice, northern Italy, home to about 20,000 residents. The Venice Film Festival takes place at the Lido every September.-Geography:...
was opened in the east of the city in 1934.
Sights
Isenachweiher — At the spot where once the house of the keeper stood, who had to supervise the reservoir, there is now a spacious forest guest house, built as a log cabinLog cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
. Row boats can be rented here.
Iron Mill — The guest house , 3 km below the Isenachweiher dam still contains part of the Iron Mill, which was driven by water from the Isenach.
Castle and Monastery — Just before the Isenach breaks through the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest, the ruins of two medieval buildings can be seen above Dürkheim valley: Hardenburg Castle and Limburg Monastery. The castle was owned by the noble Leiningen family; the monastery was founded by Emperor Conrad II
Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor
Conrad II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1027 until his death.The son of a mid-level nobleman in Franconia, Count Henry of Speyer and Adelaide of Alsace, he inherited the titles of count of Speyer and of Worms as an infant when Henry died at age twenty...
.
Celtic and Roman finds — On the left of the Dürkheim valley, there are several ancient sights:
- the , a Celtic hill fortHill fortA hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
from about 500 BCE - the , a quarry dating back to RomanRoman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
times - the Teuffelsstein, a monolithMonolithA monolith is a geological feature such as a mountain, consisting of a single massive stone or rock, or a single piece of rock placed as, or within, a monument...
which was used in religious rites during the Celtic period.
Graduation tower
Graduation tower
A graduation tower is a structure used in the production of salt which removes water from a saline solution by evaporation, increasing its concentration of mineral salts. The tower consists of a wooden wall-like frame stuffed with bundles of brushwood which have to be changed about every 5 to 10...
— The graduation tower Bad Dürkheim produced medicinal salts, until it was destroyed by arson attacks in 1992 and 2007. Rebuilding the plant is exptected to begin in 2009.
Frankenthal Canal — The Frankenthal Canal used to be the lower 4 km of the Isenach. After the canal was abandoned in 1944, most of it was filled in in 1966, except for the old lock
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
, which was expanded to a retention basin
Retention basin
A retention basin is used to manage stormwater runoff to prevent flooding and downstream erosion, and improve water quality in an adjacent river, stream, lake or bay. Sometimes called a wet pond or wet detention basin, it is an artificial lake with vegetation around the perimeter, and includes a...
in the second half of the 20th century.
Economy
The Isenach is still important as a source of water for the PaperPaper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
manufacturing industry in the Dürkheim valley. For a long time, sewage water was fed back into the stream untreated. This cause the water of the river to be coloured brown, giving it the nickname "Cola Brook". Today, sewage is properly treated before being allowed back into the river. Some of the damage done to the environment in the past, however, has not been put right, yet. The ("Structure and Planning Directorate South") in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse has started a "Pilot Project Isenach", which aims at restoring the natural state of the Isenach. On a municipal level, the Isenbach is a responsibility of the ("Water District Isenach Eckbach"), which is subordinate to the Landkreis Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim (district)
Bad Dürkheim is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Kaiserslautern, Donnersbergkreis and Alzey-Worms, the city of Worms, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, the city of Neustadt/Weinstraße, the districts of Südliche Weinstraße, the city of Landau , the district...
.