Alzette Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Alzette
River
The Alzette river in Luxembourg City
Countries	France, Luxembourg

Tributaries
- left	Mess, Pétrusse, Mamer, Eisch, Attert, Wark
Cities	Audun-le-Tiche, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg City, Ettelbruck


Source	Étang de l'Alzette
- location	Thil, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France
- elevation	305 m (1,001 ft)
- coordinates	49°27′46″N 5°54′41″E / 49.46278°N 5.91139°E / 49.46278; 5.91139
Mouth
- location	Sauer, Ettelbruck, Luxembourg
- elevation	193 m (633 ft)
- coordinates	49°50′53″N 6°06′43″E / 49.84806°N 6.11194°E / 49.84806; 6.11194

Length	73 km (45 mi)
Basin	1,172 km² (453 sq mi)
Discharge
- average	10.7 m³/s (378 cu ft/s)

The Alzette (Luxembourgish: Uelzecht, German: Alzig) is a river in France and Luxembourg. It is a right tributary of the Sauer river, and so it is part of the drainage basin of the Rhine river.

The Alzette river is sung in Ons Heemecht, the national anthem of Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: Wou d'Uelzécht durech d'Wisen zéit,..., French: Où l'Alzette arrose champs et prés..., German: Wo die Alzette durch die Wiesen zieht,...).

Geography
- Course
Main tributaries
Gallery
Related pages
See also

Geography

The Alzette river has a length of 73 km (45 mi) but only 2.7 km (1.7 mi) of them are in France. Its drainage basin has an area of 1,172 km² (453 sq mi), most of it in Luxembourg.

Course

The Alzette has its source in France in the territory of the commune of Thil in the department of Meurthe-et-Moselle (Lorraine), at an altitude of about 305 m (1,001 ft). It passes through the French communes of Villerupt (Luxembourgish: Weller) and Audun-le-Tiche (German: Deutsch-Oth, Luxembourgish: Däitsch-Oth.

After a few kilometers, the Alzette enters Luxembourg, flowing through the city of Esch-sur-Alzette (Luxembourgish: Esch-Uelzecht, German: Esch-an-der-Alzette or Esch-an-der-Alzig, French: Esch-sur-Alzette). At Lameschmillen (near Bergem) it is joined by the Mess river.

It flows on a wide floodplain before getting into a narrow valley near Hesperange. Then it flows through the Luxembourgish cities of Luxembourg (where it is joined by the Pétrusse river) and Mersch (where is joined by the Mamer and Eisch rivers). It joins, as a right tributary, the Sauer river near Ettelbruck, at about 193 m (633 ft) of altitude.