Eider (river)

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}

{{Infobox river

| name = Eider

| name_native =

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| image = Eider Breiholz.jpg

| image_size =

| image_caption = The Eider at Breiholz

| map = Nordens Historie - Sønderjylland.gif

| map_size =

| map_caption = The Eider as the borderline between the Danes, Saxons and Frisians

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| mapframe = yes

| mapframe-zoom = 8

| subdivision_type1 = Country

| subdivision_name1 = Germany

| subdivision_type2 = State

| subdivision_name2 = Schleswig-Holstein

| subdivision_type3 =

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| subdivision_type5 = Cities

| subdivision_name5 = {{hlist|Bordesholm|Kiel|Rendsburg|Friedrichstadt|Tönning}}

| length = {{convert|188|km|mi|abbr=on}}

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| discharge1_min =

| discharge1_avg = {{convert|6.5|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}

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| source1 = Klaster Teich

| source1_location = Wattenbek

| source1_coordinates= {{coord|54|8|18|N|10|7|38|E|display=inline}}

| source1_elevation =

| mouth = North Sea

| mouth_location = Tönning

| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|54|18|52.27|N|8|57|16.34|E|display=inline,title}}

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| tributaries_left = Tielenau, Broklandsau, Süderau

| tributaries_right = Treene, Sorge

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The Eider ({{langx|de|Eider}} {{IPA|de|ˈaɪdɐ||De-Eider.ogg}}; {{langx|da|Ejderen}}; Latin: Egdor or Eidora[https://www.graenseforeningen.dk/node/1236 Ejderstenen] Græseforeningen (Danish)) is the longest river in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The river starts near Bordesholm and reaches the southwestern outskirts of Kiel on the shores of the Baltic Sea, but flows to the west, ending in the North Sea. The lower part of the Eider was used as part of the Eider Canal until that canal was replaced by the modern Kiel Canal.{{cite web|title=The History of the City of Kiel, 1243 – 1945 |work=British Kiel Yacht Club |url=http://www.bkyc.de/html/kiel_1243_-_1945.html |access-date=16 March 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205182309/http://www.bkyc.de/html/kiel_1243_-_1945.html |archive-date=5 February 2012 }}

In the Early Middle Ages the river is believed to have been the border between the related Germanic tribes, the Jutes and the Angles, who along with the neighboring Saxons crossed the North Sea from this region during this period and settled in England. During the High Middle Ages the Eider was the border between the Saxons and the Danes, as reported by Adam of Bremen in 1076. For centuries it divided Denmark and the Holy Roman Empire.{{cite book

| first=M.K.

| last=Lawson

| year=1993

| title=Cnut, The Danes in England in the Early Eleventh Century

| publisher=Longman

| location=New York

| isbn=0-582-05969-0 }} Today it is the border between Schleswig, Holstein and Eiderland, the northern and southern parts, respectively, of the modern German state of Schleswig-Holstein.

The Eider flows through the following towns: Bordesholm, Kiel, Rendsburg, Friedrichstadt and Tönning. Near Tönning it flows into the North Sea. The estuary has tidal flats and brackish water. The mouth of the river is crossed by a closeable storm surge barrier, the Eider Barrage.

File:Eider Treene2.gif