Ahr Valley

The Ahr Valley is named for the Ahr, a left tributary of the Rhine in Germany, and begins at the Ahr spring in Blankenheim in the county of Euskirchen before running generally eastward. It enters the county of Ahrweiler in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at its southernmost point, and bends northeast through the collective municipality of Adenau before reaching Altenahr, where it resumes its west-to-east course, interrupted by meanders. From Altenahr, in the section known touristically as the Ahrtal, the valley is characterized by vineyards on south-facing slopes and a picturesque rocky landscape, where the river has carved a gorge some 300 meters deep through the Ahr Hills. The valley continues past Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler before the Ahr discharges into the Rhine south of Remagen, in the borough of Sinzig.