Rheineck in the context of "Rhine river"

The Rhine (/raɪn/ RYNE) is one of the major rivers of Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Constance downstream, it forms part of the Swiss-German border. After that the Rhine defines much of the Franco-German border. It then flows in a mostly northerly direction through the German Rhineland. Finally, the Rhine turns to flow predominantly west to enter the Netherlands, eventually emptying into the North Sea. It drains an area of 185,000 km.

Its name derives from the Gaulish Rēnos. There are two German states named after the river, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, in addition to several districts (e.g. Rhein-Sieg). The departments of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin in Alsace (France) are also named after the river. Some adjacent towns are named after it, such as Rheinau, Stein am Rhein, Rheineck, Rheinfelden (Switzerland) and Rheinfelden (Germany).

The Alter Rhein (German pronunciation: [ˈaltɐ ˈʁaɪ̯n] ; German for Old Rhine) is the old river bed of the Alpine Rhine in St. Gallen and Vorarlberg in the Alpine Rhine Valley, which was cut off when the Rhine was straightened during the 20th century. These cut-off arms have become valuable recreational areas and a nature reserve.

In 1900, the short-cut at Fussach was completed, linking the natural course of the Rhine just upstream of Höchst and St. Margrethen directly to a new outflow into Lake Constance. The old river course downstream of this point, via Rheineck to Altenrhein on the shore of Lake Constance, became known as the Alter Rhein and continues to form the border between Austria and Switzerland. The arm is navigable from the lake to Rheineck, and is used by the Swiss shipping services (Schweizerische Bodensee-Schifffahrt [de]) on the lake to reach landing stages adjacent to Rheineck railway station.