Iffezheim Lock

The Iffezheim Lock (German: Schleuse Iffezheim) is a river lock on the Rhine near Iffezheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The two passages of the lock serve to allow ships and barges to bypass the hydropower station on the French side of the river. It is one of the heaviest-used locks in Germany, with a daily average of 107 commercial vessels passing through in 2003 and 30 million shipping tonnes per year. The chambers of the double lock have usable areas of 24 x 270 m. The lock is open for passage 24/7/365 and shuttles ships up or down with a water exchange rate of 165 m³/s per chamber, achieving a rise or fall of 1.5 m per minute. The lock retains at least 3.5 m water depth during normal low-water conditions.