Eder

The Eder is a river in Germany (ca. 135 km long). It rises from the Ederkopf mountain in the mountains of western North Rhine-Westphalia near the springs of the Lahn and Sieg rivers, but flows east and north and into the Fulda river which at its confluence with the Werra in Hannoversch M?nden creates the Weser river which flows into the North Sea north of Bremen. Towns along its course include Battenberg, Frankenberg, Waldeck and Fritzlar.

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A rock-and-concrete dam (47 m high, 400 m long) completed in 1914 near the small town of Waldeck created the large reservoir Edersee, which is 27 km long and used to generate hydro-electricity and to regulate water levels for shipping on the Weser river. The dam was destroyed on May 17, 1943 (Operation Chastise), during the same night as the near-by M?hne reservoir dam, by British Avro Lancaster bombers of RAF Squadron 617 equipped with special Barnes Wallis bouncing bombs for the attack, causing enormous destruction and loss of life downstream (the great majority of drowning victims were Ukrainian POWs in a labor camp just below the dam). The dam was rebuilt, and the lake today is a major summertime recreation facility, particularly popular with Dutch campers.

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Lahn: The Lahn is a river in Germany. It has its source at the Ederkopf mountain in the Rothaargebirge, the highest part of the Sauerland. After 242 km it meets the Rhine at Lahnstein. Important cities at the Lahn include Marburg, Gie?en, Wetzlar and Limburg....

Sieg: The Sieg is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany named after the folk of the Sigambrer. It is a tributary of the Rhine and 152 km in length....

Fulda: Fulda is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the Fulda River and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district....