Life on the Rhine

Oh, how beautiful it is on the Rhine ...

"I sat by the Rhine and looked into the waves ... "This is how the song by Rudolf Förster begins, and in the refrain: "Oh you beautiful German Rhine ... "everyone joins in – or the song "Why is it so beautiful on the Rhine ... " by Gerhard Ebler. The Rhine is sung about a lot.

Many visitors also come to the Rhine in Leimersheim, enjoying the view of the flowing water, the passing ships, and the tranquility. But there is also much to tell about the Rhine. How the Rhine carved its way through the Upper Rhine Plain in many loops, creating a new riverbed during every flood, washing away settlements and villages, and flooding fields and villages.

Through the regulation of the Rhine by Gottfried Tulla, the Rhine became the busiest waterway in Europe. How did the people along the Upper Rhine cope with all of this? What effects and changes did it have on the villages and their inhabitants?
Many people relied on fishing and shipping for their livelihoods. However, there have been significant changes in the last 50 years. During the tour, you will learn how the riverbed of the Rhine changed over the centuries, what consequences this had for flood protection along the Rhine, how fishermen previously set their nets, and how the fishing boats, especially the eel boats, were used in the 1920s. You will learn about the life of the line haulers. And you will discover a lot about shipping! Since the first steamship sailed on the Rhine to Cologne in 1816, much has fundamentally changed on the Rhine. Particularly, the technical advancements had profound effects on the lives of the boatmen.

Emil Weschler comes from a family of boatmen himself and will share with you along the way to the Rhine and along the Rhine to the Leimersheim harbor from his rich experiences and how things were in past times.