The navigation of the Rhine is very im portant, particularly for west Germany. The navigation. is rendered dangerous by waterfalls, more especially than of Schaffhausen, of Zur zach (near the mouth of the Wutach), of Lau fenburg and of Rheinfelden; it is also rendered dangerous by the Bingerloch, near Bingen, where the stream becomes suddenly narrowed and confined between lofty precipices, and by similar causes, though in a less degree, at Bacharach, Saint Goar and at Onkel.
The Rhine is distinguished alike by the beauty of its scenery and the rich fields and vineyards which clothe its banks. Hence no river in Germany, more especially since the introduction of steam-vessels; attracts so many tourists. From Base) to Mainz it flows through a wide valley, bounded on the left by the Vosges, and on The right by the Black Forest and the mountains along the Bergstrasse. From Mainz the mountain ridges approach the stream at first only on the right bank, where they form the :Rheingau; but at Bingen they begin to hem in the left bank also, and continue from thence to Kfinigswinter to present a suc cession of lofty mountain summits, bold preci pites and wild romantic views. Pleasant towns and villages lie nestled at the foot of lofty hills; above them on all sides rise rocky steeps and slopes clothed with vines, and every now and then the castles And fastnesses of feudal times are seen frowning from precipices apparently inaccessible. At' times the chain of ridges on either side opens out and allows the eye to wander into romantic valleys, along which tribu taries of less or greater magnitude keep dashing down or gradually winding to the parent stream. On the river itself much additional variety and beauty are given to the scenery by the constant recurrence of picturesque and verdant islands.
Scarcely a river in the world is of impor tance to more people than the Rhine. Since long before •Cesar's day this great stream has been the scene of stirring ;vents in the world's ri drama. Vercingetorix, 'Charlemagne, Tilly, Wallenstein, Frederick the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, Bismarck, Moltke, Foch and Persh ing, these are some of the illustrious names in the long roll of warriors who s i trove along its banks for command of this great highway. Famous in song and story, lined with great cities and ruined castles of robber barons, it is the Mecca of tourists at all seasons of the year. Up one side and clown the other,, or by river from Cologne to Mainz, every mule has• its beauties and its legends. Between Darm stadt and Heidelberg the Taunus Mountains, shut in its basin on one side, the Odenwald, scene of the Siegfried saga of Wagner's Nibe lungen operas, on the other. An ideal region for the man fond of walking tours, for the vil lages are so close together that no spot along its banks is more than an hour's walk from A village. Cyclists and automobilists find good roads, generally military highways, all the way from Holland to Basel and the Lake of Con stance. For the international control of the Rhine as formulated at the Paris Conference in 1919 see WAR, EUROPEAN. Consult Clapp, E J., The Navigable Rhine' (New York 1911); Hugo, Victor, Rhine' (Boston 1874); Hunt, Rhine: Its Scenery and Historical Legendary Associations> (London, 1845); Mackinder, H. J., Rhine (New York 1908); Mansfield, F. M. (ca,thedrals and Churches of the Rhine' (Boston 1906).; Mehlis, (Der (Berlin 1876-79). Stieler, Karl, et alli, Rhine from Its Source to the Sea' (2 vols., London 1888).