(anc. Rhenus, Germ. Rhein, Fr. Rhin, Dutch Rijn), one of the largest and most celebrated rivers of Europe, has its source in Switzerland and its mouth in Holland; Germany on its right bank, and France for a part of its course on the left. Politically it separates Germany from France; but if we define the country rather by the language and character of the people than by the arbitrary divisions of states, we must say that the Rhine flows through the middle of Germany, having on both sides German inhabitants, speaking the German language. The name of the river, however, was originally Celtic, *hren*; but when the Celts were expelled by the Germans the name also gave place to one of a similar sound, *krin*, signifying roaring. It is formed by three brooks from the N.E. slope of Mount St Gotthard, in the canton of Grisons; the mountain dividing between the Italian and German nations, and sending almost from the same point the Rhone by the lake of Geneva to the Mediterranean; the Ticino, by lake Maggiore to the Po; the Inn, by the Danube to the Euxine; and the Rhine to the German Ocean. The Fore, Middle, and Hinder Rhine are the names of the three brooks which pour down from the glaciers over rocks and cliffs in tumultuous noisy course, and unite to form the river. Of these, the last, which is the largest, flows through a most tremendous charm, the Via Mala. For a length of 4 miles, perpendicular, sometimes overhanging, rocks rise to the height of 1600 feet on either side of the river, which rushes through the abyss, compressed in some places to a width of 10 feet. The three streams unite above Cur; and the river thus formed flows northward through Grisons, afterwards separating the county of Vaduz, belonging to the Prince of Liechtenstein, and the Vorarlberg, belonging to Austria, on the right, from the Swiss canton of St Gall on the left. It pursues this course onwards to the Lake of Constance through a narrow valley, which below Werdenberg assumes an entirely different character, and is called the Upper Rhine valley, or Rheingau. Instead of the bleak inhospitable rocks of the Grisons, affording only meadows and pasture land, there is here a mild climate, luxuriant vegetation, rich vineyards and corn-fields, woods, and orchards, so as to render this one of the most beautiful valleys of Germany. The chief town in the valley is Rheineck, near the head of the Lake of Constance. Among the affluents of the Rhine above this point the principal are the Plessur, Languart, and Ill, from the right; and from the left, the Tamina, rushing violently down from Pfeffers into the still turbulent Rhine. At Cur the river becomes navigable for boats. It enters the lake of Constance sometimes with such force that its waters meet those of the Argen and Schussach, which fall into it from the opposite side. For some distance the stream can be distinguished in the lake by its motion and its clearer water among the deep green waves around. It leaves the lake at Constance to enter another, the Lower or Lake of Zell. After its exit from the latter it flows westwards, separating the grand duchy of Baden and the canton of Schaffhausen from the cantons of Thurgau, Zurich, and Aargau, and passing Schaffhausen, where it forms the finest cataract in Europe, 300 feet broad and from 45 to 60 high. From a castle in the vicinity, the inhabitants call the fall Laufen, or Great Laufen, to distinguish it from another not so remarkable farther down the river. Not far below Schaffhausen the Rhine receives the Thur; and at a small village called Coblenz, the Aar, a considerable river watering a great part of Switzerland, and augmented by the Reuss and the Limmat. As this last river has its source not far from the Rhine, above Werdenberg, and is separated from it only by an elevation of 20 feet, it has been supposed that the Rhine itself anciently followed this course, and flowed through the lakes of Wallenstadt and Zurich into the Aar. Although at the confluence the Aar is the larger of the two streams, yet as the Rhine preserves its former course, carrying along with it the waters of the other which flowed northwards, it still retains the name of Rhine. By means of this affluent the Rhine receives the waters of all the Swiss lakes it has not traversed, excepting only that of Geneva; and the number of glaciers that go to form the united stream is 270; so that before leaving Switzerland the Rhine carries away almost all the waters of that country. Below the confluence of the Aar the Rhine passes the falls of Waldshut, Lauffenburg, Seckingen, and Rheinfelden, and, flowing through Basel, enters the second part of its course. At this point it turns to the north, and leaving the narrow valleys through which it had previously flowed, enters the broad and beautiful valley of the Rhine, stretching from the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) on the E., to the Vosges and their continuation, the Hardt Mountains, on the W., a distance of 40 or 50 miles; and from Basel, 200 miles northwards, to Mainz. During this part of its course the Rhine separates Baden on the E. from Alsace, now the French departments, Haut and Bas Rhin, and the Rhenish palatinate, now a part of Bavaria, on the W.; and afterwards traverses the grand duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt. It passes by or near the towns of Strasburg, Carlsruhe, Spire, Mannheim, and Worms, and receives numerous affluents from the hills on either side, the largest being the Neckar, rising on the E. slope of the Black Forest, and flowing in a circuitous course through Wurtemberg and Baden, till, after passing Heidelberg, it joins the main river at Mannheim. With Mainz ends the broad, rich, vine-covered valley of the Rhine. Here, too, the Main enters the river, flowing in a zig-zag course through Franconia from the Fichtelgebirge on the E., its tawny waters not readily mingling with the bluish Rhine. This river, sweeping round from between the Donnersberg on the left, and the Odenwald on the right enters a narrow defile which extends as far as Cologne, including some of the finest romantic scenery in Europe. Between Mainz and Bingen the former northerly course of the stream is turned by the Taunus Mountains towards the west, and the southerly exposure and the shelter of the heights behind renders this part of the banks the best for the growth of the vine. The level country which the Rhine incloses in a semicircle from Worms to Bingen is known by the name of the Gau. At the latter place the Rhine, receiving the Nahe from the W., turns again in a N.W. direction, and forces its way through a long narrow cleft in the mountains. At Coblentz it receives the Moselle from the left, and a little way farther up the Lahm from Nassau on the right. At this point, too, it enters the Prussian dominions, which it had below Bingen separated from Nassau. Between Coblentz and Cologne the valley is sometimes narrow, sometimes wider, combining the beauties of both kinds which appear in the upper part of its course. Besides the places already mentioned, Bonn is the principal town here on the Rhine; and there are many old castles and ruins celebrated in the history or legends of the country. With Cologne begins the third and lowest portion of the Rhine. Here it emerges gradually from the mountains into a low plain, flowing still north-west through Prussia. It receives below Coblentz the Sieg, the Ruhr, and the Lippe from the E., and the Erft from the W., and passes the towns of Dusseldorf and Wesel before leaving Prussia and entering Holland. A short distance below this point the Rhine begins to separate into different chan- Rhine. Near the village of Pannerden it divides into two; the larger, which flows westwards, taking the name of Waal, and the other retaining the name of Rhine, flowing N.N.W. Further on, near Arnhem, a stream called the Yssel is sent off from the Rhine towards the N., falling into the Zuyder Zee. This channel was originally formed by a canal cut by Drusus between the Rhine and Old Yssel. A third division of the Rhine takes place at Wyck, where the smaller and more northerly branch retains the name Rhine, and flows past Utrecht and Leyden, while the other stream takes the name of Leck. A fourth and last division takes place at Utrecht into the Vecht, flowing northwards to the Zuyder Zee, and the old Rhine (Oude Rijn), which at one time lost itself in the sand, but has now found an outlet by a canal made in 1807. The Waal, after leaving the Rhine, unites with the Meuse or Maas, which farther down sends off a branch on the left, called the West Kil, and, flowing onwards, joins the Leck, passes Rotterdam, and enters the ocean at the promontory called the Hook of Holland. The West Kil expands into the estuary Hollands Diep, and discharges its waters by a channel on either side of the island of Over Flakkee. Thus the Rhine enters the sea by six mouths, though the name is confined to one of the smallest. But it is probable that this was once the main branch, and that its character has been changed by various subsequent inundations. All the branches of the river are connected by smaller streams and artificial canals; and the whole country, from its lowness, is so liable to inundations of the river or sea that it has to be protected with embankments as far up as Wesel in Prussia. These are generally 25 or 30 feet above the lowest level of the river; but notwithstanding all precautions the country is occasionally laid under water, to the great loss of property and sometimes of lives. The whole length of the Rhine is nearly 700 miles, and it drains an area of more than 75,000 sq. miles. Its breadth at Basel is 750 feet, near Strasbourg 1000, at Mainz 1500, and at Düsseldorf, the broadest part, 2300; its height at the source 7650 feet above the sea, at Constance 1335, at Basel 800, at Strasbourg 453, at Mainz 274, and at Cologne 110. It is navigable for ships and steamers as far as Basel, about 570 miles from the sea; above that place it is interrupted by cataracts, and navigated only by small boats. From Basel to Strasbourg it floats vessels from 25 to 30 tons burden; from thence to Mainz, 100 to 125; onwards to Cologne, from 125 to 250 tons; and below that town it is navigable for the largest ships. The waters of the Rhine are connected by canals with those of the Rhone, Danube, and Schelde. Although the free navigation of the river is secured by the peace of Vienna, exorbitant tolls and dues are exacted by every one of the states which it traverses or washes. The traffic is, however, very great, both on the river itself and on the railways that line its banks. The picturesque scenery and many historical and romantic associations connected with the Rhine make it also a place of resort for vast numbers of tourists from all countries, and have rendered this king of German rivers the theme of many a song and tradition among the people of Germany.

Province of (Germ. Rheinprovinz), the most westerly province of the Prussian monarchy, bounded on the N. and N.E. by the province of Westphalia, E. by Nassau, Hesse-Darmstadt, and Rhenish Bavaria, S. by France, and W. by Belgium and Holland. It consists of five governments, whose areas and population are as follows:

| City | Square Miles | Circles | Pop. (1850) | |---------------|--------------|---------|------------| | Cologne (Cöln)| 1,534 | 11 | 523,680 | | Düsseldorf | 2,084 | 13 | 1,097,570 | | Coblenz | 2,324 | 12 | 509,164 | | Trèves (Trier)| 2,779 | 13 | 608,535 | | Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) | 1,601 | 11 | 436,352 |

Total: 10,322 60 2,983,301

The southern and eastern parts of the province are mountainous, while in the N.W. there is an extent of level ground, forming the plain of the Lower Rhine. Furthest to the south is the rugged and woody Hunrück, between the Rhine, Moselle, and Nahe. The loftiest point in these mountains, in that part called the Hochwald, has an elevation of 2526 feet. North of these are some branches of the Sauerland Mountains, which extend northwards on the right bank of the Rhine as far as the Ruhr. Part of the Westerwald also lies in this province; the most remarkable portion being the Siebengebirge, a basaltic group near the Rhine above Bonn. Another chain of hills here is the Eifel, a continuation of the Ardennes, extending between the Aho and Moselle, as far as Coblenz. Forests cover the loftier summits of the mountains, and vineyards their lower slopes; the plains are occupied with rich pastures and corn-fields. The chief river is the Rhine, which for 180 miles traverses the province, and receives most of the other rivers that water it. Among its affluents the Moselle is the largest, flowing from France through a deep narrow valley into the left bank of the Rhine. From the same side flow the Nabe and Erft; while the Sieg, Ruhr, and Lippe, which flow in the opposite direction, traverse the province for a part of their course. Agriculture is actively carried on here. The extent of arable land in 1852 was 2,732,558 acres; of gardens and vineyards, 154,903 acres; of meadows and pasture land, 1,256,836 acres; of wood, 2,031,773 acres; and of waste land, 605,252 acres. Livestock are reared in considerable numbers; and the province contained in 1855, 122,511 horses, 889,789 horned cattle, 492,364 sheep, 127,031 goats, and 242,283 pigs. For mineral wealth, this is the most important province of Prussia; more than 35 per cent. of the total value of mineral produce, or upwards of L.4,000,000, being derived from it alone. Silver, iron, copper, lead, marble, porphyry, freestone, basalt, coal, sulphur, alum, &c., are the productions of the country. In manufacturing industry, the province of the Rhine occupies the first rank, not only in the Prussian possessions, but in the whole of Germany. Cotton, woollen, and silkens stuffs; lace, paper, hardware, machinery of all kinds, musical instruments, beer, brandy, chemical substances, sugar, and tobacco, are among the articles produced. Trade is also in a flourishing condition here, and is favoured by the Rhine steamers, and by the railways which connect the principal towns with one another, and with the centres of commerce in the adjacent countries. The country now occupied by the province belonged, after the fall of the Roman empire, to the Frankish monarchy, afterwards to that of Lorraine, and finally to Germany. The various officers appointed by Charlemagne, under the title of Gaugrafen, gradually became independent of the imperial power, and rose to be permanent and hereditary possessors of the land; so that in the eleventh century the country was divided among many independent states, including some of the possessions of the courts palatine, and of the archbishops of Mainz, Trèves, and Cologne,—the three spiritual electors of the empire. Prussia had previously to the present century only the principality of Mors and the duchies of Cleve and Yeldern. At the time of the peace of Laneville in 1801, there were here 100 separate states of the empire; the Rhine was then made the frontier of France; and the Prussian possessions fell to that country. In 1814, not only these lands were restored to Prussia, but the whole of the other states were united in a mass, and added to that kingdom, of which they formed at first the two provinces of Jülich-Cleve-Berg and Lower Rhine, but were subsequently united into one.