| Rehbach | |
|---|---|
 Rehbach in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse: View to the east from the bridge of the Landwehrstraße | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Left distributary of theSpeyerbach inNeustadt an der Weinstrasse |
| • coordinates | 49°21′20″N8°9′19″E / 49.35556°N 8.15528°E /49.35556; 8.15528 |
| • elevation | 130 m (430 ft) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Into theRhine, betweenAltrincham andLudwigshafen |
• coordinates | 49°26′47″N8°26′41″E / 49.44639°N 8.44472°E /49.44639; 8.44472 |
| Length | 29.03 km (18.04 mi) |
| Basin size | 149.894 km2 (57.874 sq mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Rhine→North Sea |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Mußbach, Steinbach |
| • right | Ranschgraben |
| Cities | Ludwigshafen am Rhein,Neustadt an der Weinstrasse,Schifferstadt |
TheRehbach is a river inRhineland-Palatinate. It is about 29 kilometres (18 mi) long and is a left tributary of theRhine.
The Rehbach does not have a source: TheSpeyerbach splits on theWinzinger Wassergescheid inNeustadt an der Weinstrasse, with about 1/3 of the water going left and forming the Rehbach and the other 2/3 going right and continuing as Speyerbach. After leaving the district of Neustadt, the Rehbach flows through the western part of theUpper Rhine Valley, initially in an easterly direction, later more northeast. It touches the municipalities ofHaßloch,Böhl-Iggelheim,Schifferstadt,Limburgerhof andNeuhofen. BetweenAltrip andLudwigshafen, it flows into theUpper Rhine from the left.
The main tributaries of the left Rehbach are Mußbach, which flows into the Rehbach between Haßloch and theMußbach district of Neustadt, and the Steinbach, which flows into the Rehbach above Schifferstadt. The strongest right tributary is the Ranschgraben. Like the Rehbach itself, this is a tributary of the Speyerbach. It splits off from Speyerbach just north ofSpeyerdorf and flows into Rehbach East of Limburgerhof-Rehhütte, after crossing below Rehbach a few hundred meters before at Limburgerhof-Kohlhof.
In theMiddle Ages, the water of the Rehbach was already diverted from Speyerbach in the village ofWinzingen, which today is a district of Neustadt. In the area of Haßloch and Böhl-Iggelheim, it was split into two parallel arms for about 8 kilometres (5 mi). They provided the water for the local drivewatermills andsawmills. On the southern arm, the actual Rehbach, three mills have been preserved. Below Böhl-Iggelheim, the Steinbach flows into the Rehbach, as does the water from theNiederwiesenweiher, a 10-hectare (25-acre) re-naturalizedgravel pit.
Since 1981, large parts of the Speyerbach and Rehbach between Neustadt andSpeyer, that were not used for industrial purposes, form thelandscape conservation area Rehbach-Speyerbach.[1]
