Urft (river)
| Urft | |
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The Urft near Gemünd in the Urft Reservoir at low water
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| Location | In the North Eifel; Euskirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia  Germany
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| Reference no. | DE: 2822 |
| Basin features | |
| Main source | In the North Eifel near Schmidtheim ca. 581 m above sea level (NHN) 50°25′05″N 6°30′12″E / 50.41806°N 6.503361°ECoordinates: 50°25′05″N 6°30′12″E / 50.41806°N 6.503361°E |
| River mouth | Near Rurberg into the Rur / in the upper basin of the Rur Dam 279.6 m above sea level (NHN) 50°36′08″N 6°25′07″E / 50.602306°N 6.418639°E |
| Progression | Rur → Meuse → Hollands Diep → North Sea |
| River system | Rhine |
| Basin size | 372.564 km2 (143.848 sq mi) |
| Tributaries | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Length | 46.373 km (28.815 mi) |
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The Urft is a 46.4-kilometre-long (28.8 mi) right-hand tributary of the Rur in the county of Euskirchen in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It flows through the village of Urft in the municipality of Kall. The Urft rises in the North Eifel region of the Eifel Mountains.
The name of the Urft is derived from Urd-apa. The origin of the word Urd is unknown, but apa is Celtic and means "stream". In 1075, the Urft was called the Urdefa, in 1419 the Orfft and, in 1503, the Oyrfft. The village of Urft takes its name from the river.
The Urft rises in the North Eifel in the High Fens-Eifel Nature Park. Its source is in the Dahlem Forest (Dahlemer Wald), 3.8 km (2.4 mi) west of the Dahlem village of Schmidtheim and 2.3 km (1.4 mi) (both as the crow flies) northwest of Dahlemer Binz Airfield.
The Urft initially flows through Schmidtheim. From there it is accompanied by the Eifel Line and joined by the Dänenbach stream. It then flows through the village of Blankenheim-Wald, where it collects the Wisselbach and is crossed by the B 258 federal highway. In the next section it is joined by more streams including the Treisbach, the Laufbach and the Haubach. At Steinrütsch, which lies in the parish of Nettersheim and where there are the remains of a Roman burgus and castellum (Kleinkastell), it is joined by the Wellenbach in Urft and in Nettersheim the Genfbach. Next the river runs parallel to the Roman Eifel Aqueduct, which begins at the old Gronrecht Mill (Gronrechtsmühle) near the Grüner Pütz, flows through Urft, where it meets the Gillesbach and, below the village, the Kuttenbach. After that the Urft flows through Sötenich and Kall, where it leaves both the Eifel Line and the Eifel Aqueduct and collects the Kallbach, before running along the Olef Valley Railway and through Anstois. Next it passes through Gemünd, where the Olef joins and where the B 265 and B 266 cross the Urft in the village. It then leaves the railway and flows through Malsbenden.
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