Nims (river)

Nims

The Nims near Schönecken in February 2004
Location	Rhineland-Palatinate,  Germany
Reference no.	DE: 26288
Length	61.43 km [1]
Source	In the Eifel southeast of Weinsheim 50°13′16″N 6°29′28″E / 50.2210361°N 6.4909750°E / 50.2210361; 6.4909750Coordinates: 50°13′16″N 6°29′28″E / 50.2210361°N 6.4909750°E / 50.2210361; 6.4909750
Source height	ca. 512 m above sea level (NHN)
Mouth	Near Irrel into the Prüm 49°50′41″N 6°28′04″E / 49.8448500°N 6.4678722°E / 49.8448500; 6.4678722
Mouth height	ca. 169 m above sea level (NHN)
Descent	ca. 343 m
Basin	Rhine
Progression	Prüm → Sauer → Moselle → Rhine → North Sea
Catchment	297.702 km² [1]
Discharge[2] an der Mündung	Average mid:   3.17 m³/s
Small towns	Bitburg
The Nims near Giesdorf, 2015 aerial photograph
Bridge saint, John of Nepomuk, above the Nims in Seffern

The Nims is a 61-kilometre-long, left-hand tributary of the River Prüm in the South Eifel region of the Eifel Mountains. It runs through the county of Bitburg-Prüm in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Geography

Course

The Nims rises in Weinsheim, east of the town of Prüm, in the Eifel mountains. It then flows in a southerly direction through a picturesque valley of the same, passing the villages of Schönecken and Seffern, and the western suburbs of Bitburg. The Nims joins the Prüm below Irrel.

Settlements

The Nims passes through or by the following settlements:

Tributaries

The longest tributaries of the Nims are the:

• Ehlenzbach
• Balesfelder Bach

Tributaries over six kilometres long

The left-hand tributaries are in dark blue, the right-hand ones on light blue, all shown in downstream order.

History

Probably the oldest record of the river is one under the name of Nimisa dating to the year 798 or 799 ("31st year of the reign of Charlemagne").^[3]

Transport

The route of the old Nims-Sauer Valley railway ran through the southern section of the Nims valley from Messerich to Irrel. The line is now closed and has been partially lifted.

Between Bickendorf and Seffern the 781-metre-long Nims Viaduct on the A 60 motorway crosses the valley of the Nims.

Flora and fauna

The Nims is well known for the Eifel mountain trout, which thrives well due to the low pH value and cold water. ^{[A 1]}

Footnotes

1. ↑ In 1959 the US President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, tasted this delicacy at the Königshof hotel during his visit to Bonn.

References