The Main flows through the north and north-west of thestate ofBavaria and then across southernHesse; against the latter it demarcates a third state,Baden-Württemberg, east and west ofWertheim am Main, the northernmost town of that state.
The upper end of itsbasin opposes that of theDanube where the watershed is recognised by natural biologists, sea salinity studies (and hydrology science more broadly) as theEuropean Watershed.
The Main is navigable for shipping from its mouth at the Rhine close to Mainz for 396 km (246 mi) toBamberg. Since 1992, the Main has been connected to the Danube via theRhine-Main-Danube Canal and the highly regulatedAltmühl river. The Main has been canalized with 34 large locks (300 × 12 m or 984 × 39 ft) to allowCEMT class V vessels (110 × 11.45 m or 360.9 × 37.6 ft) to navigate the total length of the river. The 16 locks in the adjacent Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and the Danube itself are of the same dimensions.[citation needed]
Around Frankfurt are several large inland ports. Because the river is rather narrow on many of the upper reaches, navigation with larger vessels and push convoys requires great skill.
In a historical and political sense, the Main line is referred to as the northern border ofSouthern Germany, with its predominantlyCatholic population. The river roughly marked the southern border of theNorth German Federation, established in 1867 underPrussian leadership as the predecessor of theGerman Empire.
TheMain-Radweg is a major German bicycle path alongside the river. Approximately 600 kilometres long (370 mi), it is the first long-distance instance awarded 5 stars by the General German Bicycle Club (ADFC) in 2008. It starts fromCreußen orBischofsgrün and ends inMainz.[8]
^The Bavarian authorities define the source of the White Main as the source of the Main itself, although the sources of the Red Main and the Franconian Rezat are actually further from the Rhine.
^Uehlinger, Urs; Wantzen, Karl; Leuven, Rob S.E.W.; Arndt, Hartmut (2009). "The Rhine River Basin". In Tockner, Klement; Uehlinger, Urs; Robinson, Christopher T. (eds.).Rivers of Europe. Academic Press. pp. 238–239.doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-369449-2.00006-0.ISBN9780123694492.S2CID16401687.
^"Daten und Fakten" [Facts and figures] (in German). Wasser- und Schifffahrtsdirektion Süd. June 2003. Archived fromthe original on 13 June 2013. Retrieved7 June 2009.
Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte (ed.).Main und Meer: Porträt eines Flusses(in German). Exhibition Catalogue to the Bayerische Landesausstellung 2013 (German). WBG.ISBN978-3-534-00010-4.
