Merzalbe
| Merzalbe | |
|---|---|
| State | Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany |
| Reference no. | DE: 2642644 |
| Basin features | |
| Main source | East of Leimen in the Christelbrunnen ca. 488 m above sea level (NN) 49°16′43″N 7°49′00″E / 49.2787417°N 7.8166222°ECoordinates: 49°16′43″N 7°49′00″E / 49.2787417°N 7.8166222°E |
| River mouth | Near Münchweiler into the Rodalb ca. 264 m above sea level (NN) 49°14′04″N 7°41′30″E / 49.2343306°N 7.6916556°E |
| Progression | Rodalb → Schwarzbach → Blies → Saar → Moselle → Rhine → North Sea |
| River system | Rhine |
| Basin size | 28.719 km² |
| Landmarks | Villages: Leimen, Merzalben, Münchweiler |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Length | 12.18 km |
The Merzalbe, also called the Merzalb, is a stream, over 12 km long, in the Western Palatinate in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is an orographically right tributary of the Rodalb. In its upper reaches it is also called the Mühlgraben.
The Merzalbe rises in the middle of the Palatine Forest, west of the Palatine Watershed and between the two hills of the Weißenberg and the Eschkopf at a height of just under 500 metres. Its source is enclosed by the Christelbrunnen well. As it heads in a southwesterly direction the Merzalbe flows through the valley below the village of Leimen and then through Merzalben. After 12 km it empties from the right into the Rodalb near the Riegelbrunnerhof, a hamlet belonging to Münchweiler. Its waters then flow down the Schwarzbach, Blies, Saar and Moselle before finally reaching the River Rhine.
The name "Merzalbe" means "stream of the Mericho" (Bach des Mericho) and goes back to a Frankish settler who must have made his residence here long before the first record in 1237 of the place of the same name by the stream. In this document Count Frederick III of Leiningen was given Castrum Grebinstein and granted the villages of Merichisalbin, Rothalbin and Eiswilre.
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