Ahr

Ahr is a river in Germany, a left tributary of the Rhine. Its source is at an elevation of approximately 470m above sea level in Blankenheim in the Eifel, in the cellar of a timber-frame house near the castle of Blankenheim. After 18km it crosses from North Rhine-Westphalia into Rhineland-Palatinate.The Ahr flows through Ahr valley or Ahrtal, passing through the towns of Schuld, Altenahr and Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler. Between Remagen and Sinzig (south of Bonn), at about 50m above sea level, it flows into the Rhine. The length is roughly 89km, of which 68km is within Rhineland-Palatinate. The Ahr has a gradient of 0.4 percent in its lower course, and 0.4 to 0.8 percent in its upper course.The Ahr and its tributaries are a main drainage system of the eastern Eifel. The watershed is approximately 900km2.HistoryThere were isolated settlements in the Ahr valley beginning at the latest in Roman times, evidenced by the Roman villa near Ahrweiler. Owing to their isolated location, the upper and middle parts of the course were sparsely populated.That changed from the mid-19th century. The development of the settlements, the traffic routes and the agricultural areas in the Ahr valley led to the fact that the riverbed was fixed.