Germany

The Ruhr

Cathedral at Worms, where Martin Luther denounced the papacy with his 95 theses in 1517, ushering in Protestantism in Germany

Nördlingen, Germany

German Chancellor Angela Merkel

Madgeburg Water Bridge over the Elbe (2003). Connects two canals that lead to the Ruhr Valley.

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

Innsbruck, Austria

Holy Roman Empire, (not holy, not Roman)

Charlemagne, the 1st Holy Roman Emperor.

Maximilian I, a Holy Roman Emperor, tomb in Innsbruck

Austro-Hungarian Empire, 1867-1918

Famous Austrians

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Sigmund Freud

Erwin Schrodinger

Switzerland

Switzerland, a Federated State of 26 Cantons

John Calvin, ~1555.

French/Swiss theologian during the Protestant Reformation and Martin Luther’s successor.

Among his polemics: divine predestination, sovereignty of Biblical scriptures, and the protestant work ethic.

Bern, Switzerland

Matterhorn

Headwaters of the Rhine flow into a lake, then it drains to the Rhine proper

Lake Toma in the Swiss Canton of Graubünden is generally regarded as the source of the Rhine. Its outflow is called Rein da Tuma and after a few kilometers, it forms the Vorderrhein (English: Anterior Rhine; Romansh: Rein Anteriur). The course of this river is not particularly representative, after about two kilometers, its water is diverted into Curnera reservoir. The water is released at the Tavanase plant and flows into the Rhine at Ilanz. The river begins to be called Rhine in the vicinity of Chur, more specifically, at the confluence of the Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein (river) in Reichenau.

The Rhine really begins here at the Ruinaulta Gorge in the Swiss Alps