- For other uses, see Main (disambiguation).
The Main is a river in Germany, 524 km in length, and one of the more voluminous tributaries of the Rhine river. It flows through the Bundesländer Bavaria and Hessen. Its catchment basin competes with the Danube for water; as a result, much of its boundaries are identical with the European Watershed.
Map showing the position of the Main in Germany The Main is formed near Kulmbach by the joining of its two headstreams, the Red Main and the White Main. The former one rises from the Frankish Alb, is 50 km in length and runs through Creussen and Bayreuth. The latter one's source is located in the mountains of the Fichtelgebirge; it is 41 km in length. Affluents of the Main are Regnitz, Frankish Saale, Tauber, and Nidda.
The largest city abutting the Main is Frankfurt am Main. Behind the junction of the headstreams the Main River passes the following cities: Burgkunstadt, Lichtenfels, Staffelstein, Hallstadt, Zeil, Hassfurt, Schweinfurt, Volkach, Kitzingen, Marktbreit, Ochsenfurt, Würzburg, Karlstadt, Gemünden, Lohr, Marktheidenfeld, Wertheim, Miltenberg, Obernburg, Aschaffenburg, Seligenstadt, Hanau, Offenbach, Frankfurt, Hattersheim, Flörsheim, Rüsselsheim. The Main finally meets the Rhine at Mainz.
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