It connects to the canal network running east–west across theNorth German Plain.
The river, when combined with theWerra (a dialectal form ofWeser),[1] is 744 km (462 mi) long and thus, the longest river entirely situated within Germany (theMain, however, is the longest if the Weser-Werra are considered separate). The Weser itself is 452 km (281 mi) long. The Werra rises inThuringia, theGerman state south of the main projection (tongue) of Lower Saxony.
"Weser" and "Werra" are the same words in different dialects. The difference reflects the oldlinguistic border betweenCentral andLow German, passing through Hannoversch Münden.
The name likely derives from the Old Germanic*waisōn "flow, ooze".[2][failed verification] It is cognate with theWear in England andVistula (Polish Wisła, German Weichsel) in Poland, all of which are derived from theProto-Indo-European root*weys- "to flow", which also gives rise to Old English/Old Frisianwāse "mud, ooze", Old Norseveisa "slime, stagnant pool", Dutchwaas "haze; soggy land" (seeWaasland), Old Saxonwaso "wet ground, mire", Old High Germanwasal "rain", and Frenchvase "mud, sludge".
The Weser starts at the confluence of the Fulda and the Werra. It then runs down to thePorta Westfalica between two high hill ranges, theWiehengebirge in the west and theWeserbergland in the east.
BetweenMinden and the North Sea, humans havelargely canalised the river up to a limit of 1,200-ton ships. Eight hydroelectric dams stand at the ends of adjacent weir weirstreams that make up the river. The navigation is linked west to theDortmund–Ems Canal via theCoastal Canal. It is linked east atBremerhaven to theElbe.
A large reservoir, theEdersee, on theEder, the main tributary of the Fulda, is used to allow enough water depth for shipping year-round. The dam, built in 1914, wasbombed and severely damaged by British aircraft in May 1943, causing great destruction and about 70 deaths downstream. It was rebuilt within four months. The reservoir is a major summer resort area. Turbines driven by itssluices provide electricity.
View north of the River Weser and the road bridge at Minden
Southern view of the River Weser from the road bridge at Minden in 1977
The Weser enters the North Sea in the southernmost part of theGerman Bight. In the sea it splits into two arms –the riverbed at the end of thelast ice age. These sea arms are calledAlte Weser (old Weser) andNeue Weser (new Weser). They are the waterways for ships heading for the ports ofBremerhaven,Nordenham, andBremen. TheAlte Weser Lighthouse marks the northernmost point of the Weser. This replaced theRoter Sand Lighthouse in 1964.
Karsten Meinke:Die Entwicklung der Weser im Nordwestdeutschen Flachland während des jüngeren Pleistozäns. Diss., Göttingen 1992. Mit Bodenprofilen der Weserstädte.
Ludger Feldmann und Klaus-Dieter Meyer (Hrsg.):Quartär in Niedersachsen. Exkursionsführer zur Jubiläums-Hauptversammlung der Deutschen Quartärvereinigung in Hannover. DEUQUA-Exkursionsführer, Hannover 1998, page 89ff.
Hans Heinrich Seedorf und Hans-Heinrich Meyer:Landeskunde Niedersachsen. Natur und Kulturgeschichte eines Bundeslandes. Volume 1:Historische Grundlagen und naturräumliche Ausstattung. Wachtholz, Neumünster 1992, page 105ff.
Ludger Feldmann:Das Quartär zwischen Harz und Allertal mit einem Beitrag zur Landschaftsgeschichte im Tertiär. Papierflieger, Clausthal-Zellerfeld 2002, page 133ff and others.
Bremer Archäologische Blätter, Beiheft 2/2000 zur gleichnamigen Ausstellung im Focke-Museum:Siedler, Söldner und Piraten, Chauken und Sachsen im Bremer Raum, Der Landesarchäologe Bremen,ISSN0068-0907.
Bremer Archäologische Blätter, Beiheft 3/2004 zur gleichnamigen Ausstellung im Focke-Museum:Gefundene Vergangenheit, Archäologie des Mittelalters in Bremen, Der Landesarchäologe Bremen,ISBN3-7749-3233-6. (wg.Geschichte desWeserarms Balge)
Georg Bessell:Geschichte Bremerhavens. Morisse, Bremerhaven 1927, 1989.
Heinz Conradis:Der Kampf um die Weservertiefung in alter Zeit. In:Bremisches Jahrbuch. Bremen 41.1944.
J. W. A. Hunichs:Practische Anleitung zum Deich-, Siel- und Schlengenbau. Erster Theil, von den Sielen. Bremen 1770.
Die Kanalisierung der Mittelweser. Published by the Mittelweser AG, Carl Schünemann Verlag, Bremen 1960.
Kuratorium für Forschung im Küsteningenieurswesen:Die Küste. In:Archiv für Forschung und Technik an der Nord- und Ostsee. Boyens, Heide 51.1991.ISSN0452-7739
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