At Wijk bij Duurstede will the Neder-Rijn to Lek. Why the river suddenly changes its name becomes clear when you look at an old map. Because actually the Rhine divides here again: the left arm is called Lek and the right arm is Kromme Rijn called. The once mighty river begins the last part of its journey through the Netherlands here, which it ends almost shamefully at Katwijk, where it flows - in canalised form - into the North Sea. This is the original course of the Rhine, here the Romans fortified their northern border with the limes.
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Kromme Rijn
In 1122 a dam was built in the Neder-Rijn near Wijk bij Duurstede because the river threatened to silt up. Most of the water now flowed over the Lek towards the North Sea. Today the Kromme Rijn is a tributary of the Neder-Rijn with a length of approx. 28 km. The river meanders in a north-westerly direction past the villages of Cothen, Werkhoven, Odijk and Bunnik Utrecht. The landscape of the Kromme Rijn is very attractive. On the banks of the river there are various castles and country houses, including Amelisweerd, Ridderhofstad Rhijnauwen and Beverweerd.
In the canals of Utrecht
In Utrecht the Kromme Rijn disappears into the graccts of the city: Oudegracht, Nieuwegracht, Kromme Nieuwegracht, Drift, Plompetorengracht as well as Tolsteegsingel, Maliesingel, Wittevrouwensingel and Weerdsingel. The water is then passed on to the Vecht, the Leidse Rijn and the Vaartse Rijn.
Leidse Rijn
A third of the rest of the Rhine is that Leidse Rijn. (seen from Utrecht the shipping route to Leiden). The Leidse Rijn ends at the village of Putkop in the municipality of Harmelen and is called from then on Oude Rijn. The Leidse Rijn has a length of 13 km and crosses at Utrecht Merwedekanaal and the Amsterdam Rijn Canal. The Leidse Rijn runs along the towns of De Meern and Harmelen.
Oude Rijn
On its last stretch, the river bears the name - after all, 52 km long Oude Rijn (Old Rhine). From the railway bridge at Harmelen, the river continues to flow westwards Woerdenwhere only the Korte Linschoten going south. In the small town of Woerden, the Rhine has to find its way through the fortress moats, as the watercourse was filled in in the sixties in order to achieve a better flow of traffic within the town. Behind Woerden the branches Right to the north. We continue through Nieuwerbrug and Bodegraven, past Zwammerdam (where De Meije on the Oude Rijn). The river follows its way through Alphen aan den Rijn, where the Gouwe going south and the Aarkanaal from the north ends in the Oude Rijn. Behind Alphen, he separates Luttike Rijn shortly before Koudekerk aan den Rijn, to come back to the Oude Rijn shortly before the Koudekerker bridge. After Hazerswoude-Rijndijk, Zoeterwoude-Rijndijk and Leiderdorp (where the Does flows out) the Oude Rijn reaches the city Suffer.
There the river divides into Oude and Nieuwe Rijn and the river begins Rijn-Schiekanaal (south towards Rotterdam) and the Zijl (North). The Oude and Nieuwe Rijn branch out in the Leiden canal system and come together again in the center of the city. From here on the river is just called again Rijn. Just before it leaves the city, the river flows into it Korte Vliet . The Rijn now flows past Oegstgeest and Katwijk. After the Oegstgeesterkanaal flows into the Rijn, the Rijn actually becomes a canal. Under the name of Uitwatering Canal (Discharge channel) the last Rhine water flows into the North Sea. The original mouth of the Oude Rijn was a little further north than the current mouth, but it silted up around 1163.
As already said, a shameful end for the once mighty river. But at least between Woerden and Leiden, the Oude Rijn leads through that Green heart Holland, a typical scenic part of this province with mostly very old towns worth seeing.
Vaartse Rijn
Vaartse Rijn is now only the name of two short channels in Utrecht and Vreeswijk. Historically, however, it is an important link that the city of Utrecht has with the Lek Association.
The first part of this canal was laid out in 1137, making it one of the oldest canals in the Netherlands. The first section connected the city center of Utrecht (where the canal was connected to the Kromme Rijn and the Vecht) to a body of water that is named today De Liesbosch wearing. In the middle of the 12th century the Vaartse Rijn was continued towards the historic town of Geyne, where a dam cut the canal from the Hollandse IJssel separated. At that time he was in open connection with the Lek. In 1285 the Hollandse IJssel was dammed and the Vaartse Rijn was extended towards Vreeswijk. In 1373 the Vaartse Rijn was deepened and a wooden lock was built in Vreeswijk, through which access to the Lek and the Neder-Rijn was possible. For centuries the Vaartse Rijn remained one of the most important waterways in the Netherlands.
In 1825 a large part of the Vaartse Rijn was deepened and became part of the Keulse Vaart, from 1892 of Merwedekanaal. Only in Vreeswijk and Utrecht, between the Ledig Erf, where the Vaartse Rijn with the Oudegracht (northward), the Catharijnesingel (westward) and the Maliesingel (eastward) and the southern tip of the Rivierenwijk, there are still sections of this once so important waterway.
Cities
mobility
Ferries
Oude Rijn
- Valkenburg - Rijnsburg (Pedestrian / bicycle ferry, electric ferry "Rijn Valk") Tel: 071-4071700 (Valkenburg Voetveer Foundation).
- Ferry times: All year round. Daily (on Sundays only in dry weather). Mon-Fri 7.30am-5.30pm; Sa 9.00-17.00 h; Sun 9 am-5pm.
bridges
Numerous bridges cross the various arms of the Rhine.
