Quatelbach river

The Quatelbach is a man-made river which is derived from the Ill at the exit of Mulhouse (at the level of the present-day Nouveau Bassin). It was built around the year 1100 to supply water to the villages and mills of Modenheim, Sausheim, Baldersheim, Battenheim and Adolsheim before joining the Ill again at Ensisheim. There, it was extended in 1699 by the Vauban canal which brought water to the fortifications of Neuf Brisach. The name Quatelbach probably comes from Catherine of Burgundy (Katel in German), wife of the Duke of Austria (Habsburg). It was she who improved the river in 1401.