Various excavations of harbor installations and findings lead to the conclusion that the Neckar navigation already existed during the Roman Age in the first century. At this time, travel was concentrated on the lower Neckar. The main purpose of travel at this time was probably the transportation of construction material for the Limes and provisions. Later the Neckar navigation was probably restarted by the Franks.
Historical development Timber floating from 1100 Starting from 1100 the usage of the Neckar as a waterway with
line boats and
rafts has been attested. The river was already blocked by weirs in the surroundings of several cities during the High Middle Ages. In Heilbronn a harbour was mentioned for the first time in 1146. The
Neckar privilege granted by Holy Roman Emperor
Louis IV in 1333 allowed the free imperial city the construction of a weir. After its construction, the continuous traffic on the river was blocked for several centuries, creating an annoyance for the neighbours. The permission of passage for
raftsman therefore had to be determined contractually. In 1342, Württemberg, the
Markgrafschaft Baden, and the free imperial city signed an agreement to open the Neckar for rafts between Besigheim and Heilbronn. A treaty from 1476 between the free imperial city Esslingen, Württemberg and Austria fixed free rafting trade as well. The last raft went through Tübingen down the Neckar river on October 26, 1899. The wood from the eastern
Northern Black Forest was shipped through the Neckar and then the Rhine up to
Holland. Because of the developing seafaring, shipyards had a large demand for wood.
Firewood from the
Schurwald was also shipped on the Neckar, after being combined in rafts up to 260 meters long at Plochingen.
Navigation from the 16th century onward The Neckar gained importance as a waterway in the middle of the 16th century due to the beginning upper German trade. Despite many interventions in the river course in order to improve navigation, the river which had a
towpath, was because of dangerous rapids and shallows only navigable for smaller
barges and this mostly only up to Heilbronn. Making the upper Neckar navigable was then pushed ahead by
Christoph, Duke of Württemberg who got the necessary permission from Emperor Karl V. in 1553. The city of Heilbronn still insisted on its rights so that the river was blocked at Heilbronn which meant that the upper Neckar and therefore Württemberg remained cut off from the navigation coming from the Rhine. All shipped goods were subject to Heilbronner
staple right. In the late 16th century, Duke of Württemberg,
Frederick I had plans for the navigation passage but discarded those in 1598 and instead planned to construct a württembergian trade port in
Kochendorf. – which was as unsuccessful as his successors plans to build one in
Untereisesheim. During the times of need in the 17th century, the navigation was insignificant. Immediately above Mannheim interventions were necessary due to regular floods. After 1622, smaller corrections were made at the back then-existing Neckar loops between
Mannheims Feudenheim and today's Friedrich-Ebert-Bridge. Floods still occurred and threatened the city, lastly in 1784 and 1789. The situation was alleviated through the straightening of the river bed by means of for breakthroughs in combination with the lowering of the river bed as well as fortifications and dams. After consolidation of the situation in the 18th century, electoral palatinate market ships regularly travelled on the lower Neckar river. On the upper Neckar boats regularly travelled between Heilbronn and Cannstatt for several years around 1720; the expansion of the navigation to the Württembergian Plochingen further up the river failed due to the free imperial city of
Esslingen. While the electoral palatinate shipping on the lower Neckar was quite successful, the shipping on the upper Neckar was soon stopped again as the river was not suitably enough expanded for a navigation and moreover no funding was available for the further upgrading. Württemberg and the Electoral Palatinate signed a trade agreement in order to start up the Neckar navigation between Mannheim and Cannstatt during a time of economical rise in the late 18th century. In 1782 the previous two and the free imperial city of Heilbronn agreed upon facilitations in the Neckar trade but which were only of administrative nature. The Neckar still remained blocked at the weir in Heilbronn. The
Napoleonic times around 1800 brought a downfall to the Neckar navigation. On the one hand – because most parts of the lower Neckar area had fallen to
Baden and the free imperial cities of Heilbronn and Esslingen to
Württemberg – the many disputes and obstructions of the former small states did not hamper the trade anymore. But during the
Continental System the navigation was restricted and ships and material were confiscated. The introduction of the Mannheimer Stapels ("Mannheim stable") in 1808 meant that the merchants of Mannheim gained control over almost all Neckar trade. During the
German Campaign of 1813 only small ships travelled on the Neckar, mainly military transports. The
Congress of Vienna demanded the freedom of traffic on the Neckar and Rhine rivers in 1814/1815.
Continuous navigability with the Wilhelmskanal in 1821 The 550-meter-long Wilhelmskanal ("Wilhelms canal") was constructed in Heilbronn from 1819 to 1821. The reason was the bypassing of the entire weir area and many mills. After further river construction measures, the Neckar became navigable all the way between the Rhine and
Cannstatt. A
lock gate at the upper end of the canal could turn it during floods into a port of refuge which was, already in 1829, expanded into a port of transshipment. In 1827 the Mannheimer Stapel was lifted through which the Neckar navigators gained back free access to the Rhine river. The
Rheinschiffahrtsakte ("Mannheim Act") from 1831 and in consequence of it the ("Neckar navigation regulations") from 1832 brought, through simplified regulations and tariffs a significant rise for the navigation. But because of its shallows and rapids the river was considered one of the most dangerous in Germany. In 1836 the ("Neckar shipping guild") was dissolved, which had since 1810 tried to gain a monopoly on the Neckar trade. With the ratification of the in 1842 all Guilds were dissolved and thereby economic freedom created. on the Neckar at Heilbronn From 1841/42 onwards the Heilbronn-based
Neckar-Dampfschifffahrt introduced a regular passenger and general cargo transport from Heilbronn to Mannheim. Despite the usage of modern steam ships, horses still pulled the heavy barges on the towpath upriver. The reason was that the steam ships were not yet strong enough herefore. The competition of rail transport made steam ships as well as towing barges gradually uneconomic in the second half of the 19th century. Rafting on the other hand kept its importance, but adapted to the age of the railroad. Because trunks from the Black forest did more and more go by train to Heilbronn and only from there continued their trip on the water, a new rafting harbour was constructed in Heilbronn in 1875. Above Esslingen the rafting was only of little importance. The last raft passed the city on 28. Oktober 1899. A new recovery for the Neckar navigation came with the
chain boat navigation begun in 1878. Despite the construction of a railroad line along the Neckar. Between Mannheim and Heilbronn steam towboats with attached barges were now able to pull themselves upriver on a 115 km long chain which had been put into the river. Through that, the trip between Mannheim and Heilbronn was shortened to two to three days. On the horse drawn ships it had previously taken five to eight days. But often the water depth was not deep enough. The vernacular name for the chain boats was Neckaresel ("Neckar donkey"). The last
chain boat navigation was still done 1933 – 1935 between Neckargerach and the barrage Kochendorf. The world's first
motorboat made during the summer of 1886 by
Gottlieb Daimler and
Wilhelm Maybach was named "Neckar" when their
Standuhr (
grandfather clock)
petrol engine was tested on the river near Bad Cannstatt. The motorized
cargo navigation began on the Neckar in 1925. The first motor cargo ship on the river was ordered by the brothers Ludwig (1887–1955) and Jakob Götz (1890–1977) already in 1924 at the
Anderssen Werft ("Anderssen shipyard"). It was put into service in 1925 and christened "Gebrüder Götz". The motor cargo ship was operated by the shipping company drove for the shipping company Ludwig und Jakob Götz, founded in 1920. One of the best known
shipping companies on the Neckar, which was also involved in the upgrading of the river to a heavy shipping waterway. In 1946 the first transportation order for
coal after the
Second World War on the Neckar was awarded and shipped by Johann Friedrich Boßler with his motor cargo ship Elisabeth.
Upgrading to a heavy shipping waterway between 1921 and 1968 In order to provide the rising industrial area around Stuttgart a waterway connection for fully rigged ships, first plannings for channelling of the Neckar between Mannheim and Plochingen began already in 1904. The goal was to be mostly independent from natural impacts as for example low waters or floating ice. With the Württembergian side
Otto Konz (1875–1965) was assigned who remained connected to the Neckar upgrading the rest of his life. A memorandum from 1910 allowed for ships up to 1000 tons, according to plans from 1919 the transportation was planned for the 1200-t-ship. Because the Neckar was earmarked as a Reichswasserstraße (literally:"realm waterway") in the Weimar Constitution in 1919 (officially from 1. April 1921), Neckarbaudirektion (literally: "Neckar construction department") was introduced in 1920 whose head Otto Konz became. The department was directly subordinated to the German Reich (often called "Weimar Republic"). In 1921 the German Reich, the Neckar adjoining states Württemberg, Baden and Hessen agreed in a state treaty the upgrading of the Neckar to a heavy shipping waterway. In order to finance the construction project they founded the Neckar AG with a construction loan from the German Reich, the three States and several municipalities in the same year. As compensation the AG received the right to use the simultaneously expanded hydropower until 2034 and to redeem the construction loan with the profits; this right transferred to the Federal Republic of Germany. As chairman of the Neckar AG were elected
Otto Hirsch from the Württembergian ministry of internal affairs and Otto Konz. In consideration of the world famous cityscape of Heidelberg and in order to bring the further barrages in unison with nature and landscape, the architect Paul Bonatz worked for the project (1877–1956). Construction began immediately along the entire distance in 1921. Along a stretch of 113 km length the first eleven barrages between Mannheim and the new canal harbour in Heilbronn were finished in 1935. This canal harbour became later through the further expansion the barrage channel Heilbronn. in 1988 with the
passenger ship Neckarbummler of the Personenschifffahrt Stumpf The expansion of the Neckar to a heavy shipping waterway lead to a
shipbuilding industry exclusively for the passenger traffic on the river. Already in 1926 the brothers Georg (1881–1946) and Andreas Boßler (1884–1961) founded the
Personenschiffahrt Gebr. Bossler, which makes the Gebrüder Bossler pioneers for passenger navigation on the Neckar. Leisure ships run by various companies travel on the river for tourists. On the upper Neckar the passenger navigation is handled by the company
Neckar-Käpt'n.
Harbour Plochingen harbour On December 8, 1954, the
Neckarhafen Plochingen GmbH was founded. From 1960 until 1963 the last barrage was constructed near
Deizisau. The construction of the
Neckarhafen Plochingen started on April 29, 1964. The first ship landed in Plochingen on July 12, 1968, after it had been blessed with the name "Plochingen" by Gertrud Hartung, the mayor's wife. In the harbour 15 companies generated an annual revenue of about 500 to 600 million euro in 2004.
Stuttgart harbour The
Neckarhafen Stuttgart was constructed in two steps, from 1954 until 1958 and from 1966 until 1968. The harbour area covers a total area of 100 ha. The three basins including the federal waterway have a water surface of 30,7 ha.
Cannstatt harbour The first
Cannstatter "Hafen am Mühlgrün" was inaugurated by duke
Eberhard Louis in 1713. It remained insignificant.
Heilbronn harbour The Heilbronn harbour with a total factory area of 78 ha and a quay length of 7,2 km based on the turnover the 7th largest inland harbour in Germany (2010) and the largest of the Neckar. Over 50% of the Neckar turnover is done here. In total about 4 million tons per year. About 60% of the turnover are
domestic trade, the rest are international goods and commodities. Additionally to commodities and construction material (
coal,
Salt) grain, iron, steel and timber are loaded.
Mannheim harbour The Mannheim harbour is one of the most important inland harbours in Europe and the second-largest in Germany. The harbour has a total water surface of 267,9 ha, additionally there is 863,5 ha land area. About 500 companies with 20.000 employees have settled in the harbour area. In 1968 the first
Container-Terminal in an inland harbour was opened here. Furthermore, a
RoRo-facility and since 1991 a
combined transport terminal. On the water side 7.64 million tons of goods were turned over in 2010. The largest stakes have bituminous coal 2.2 million t, food- and fodder with 0.92 million t and chemical goods with 1.59 million t. At the container terminal on the water side 120.568 units were turned over. The harbour basin spreads out around the mouth of the Neckar along the Rhine and Neckar. The overall complex includes the
Ludwigshafener Rheinhafen, which is situated directly on the opposite side of the Rhine river.
Barrages The maximum size of the river boats driving on the Neckar is limited by the locks of the 27 barrages. Those are in general 110 m long and 12 m wide; the allowed dimensions are therefore 105 m x 11.45 m. Since 1952 almost every Barrage got a second lock. Twenty-three of those locks use almost 50% of the water of one chamber to fill the other empty chamber in order to save water (so-called
twin locks). In order to prevent jams at the mouth of the Neckar, the first barrage
Feudenheim received a further lock in 1973 (190 m × 12 m). The barrages have an average distance of 7 km between each other (between 0.9 and 13.7 km, see table) and are used to cover the difference in altitude of 160.70 m to the Rhine at low water. The waterway depth is since 2000 continuously 3.80 m. This means that the Stuttgart harbour can be reached by the large motor ships of the Rhine, which have a draft of 2.6 m and a loading capacity of 2200 t. In the coming years it is planned to refurbish the locks and partly extend them. In total the federal government invests 575 Million Euro for this project. For its execution, the
Amt für Neckarausbau Heidelberg was founded in 2007. In order to make the Neckar navigable for 135 m long ships, one of each dual lock chamber is going to be lengthened. Furthermore, the old chambers are going to be refurbished and certain sections and turn around spots expanded. The barrages between Mannheim and Heilbronn are supposed to be lengthened until 2026. The Gundelsheim lock received the title "most water sport friendly lock" in 2012.
Table of the locks at the Neckar with river kilometers and aimed stowage height in meters above Normalnull (NN) and difference in level (de) in meters. In contrast to other waterways, as for example the
Mosel or
Main, there are no boat locks except for Bad Cannstatt. Therefore, yachts and sailing boats are normally locked in the river boat locks. The rails installed at the other 26 barrages to pull boats from one side to the other are often in a bad condition or even unusable. In some places canoes can, if allowed by the locks staff, use the lock as well. This is especially used on group trips. Since 2004 the remote control center in Stuttgart-Obertürkheim (Fernbedienzentrale, FBZ) controls all locks from Deizisau to Stuttgart-Hofen on the upper Neckar.
Stream gauge and flood Crucial for the professional and recreational navigation on the Neckar are its stream gauges. According to the Hochwassermeldeordnung (HMO, flood report regulation) of the State Baden-Württemberg the following
Hochwassermeldehöhen are valid at the
stream gauge:
Gauge Plochingen The gauge in Plochingen (since 1905) was the only gauge at the waterway that lay in free descent. In 1962 the moveable barrage in Deizisau was constructed. In order to keep water level differences caused by the barrage, a ridge was constructed about 100 m below the Plochingen street bridge and moved the gauge there. The large flood in February 1970 destroyed the ridge made of stones. Because the costs for a new ridge made out of concrete seemed to be too high, a more economic solution was found. Out of the stream gauges and discharge of the gauges in Wendlingen (Neckar-km 206,5 – for the upper Neckar) and Reichenbach (Fils-km 2,5 – for the Fils) water gauges and discharges are algorithmically calculated and published.
Flood • 1824: The most serious flood in the Neckar area happened in October 1824. Estimates conclude for a HQ4000, that means a
return period of 4000 years. A study has been done to clustering simultaneous occurrences of the Extreme Floods in the Neckar Catchment and the results shows the Neckar catchment has been divided into three major clusters. The first cluster mainly covers the western part and is bounded by the Black Forest and Swabian Alps. The second cluster is mostly located in the eastern part of the upper Neckar. The third cluster contains the remaining lowland areas of the Neckar basin
Freeze up • 1709: From January 18 until January 28 and from January 31 until February 13 as well as shortly after February 13 until March 23 the Neckar was frozen up. == Structures ==