Overview: It's an inspiration and a thing of beauty in itself but in addition the Rhine is also an industrial and economic force making it the busiest waterway in the world. It flows from the Swiss mountains through Austria, Germany, France and Luxembourg to the Netherlands. Many densely populated cities and towns are clustered along the River, bringing the total population of the Rhine Basin to approximately 50 million. The history of the Rhine is the history of Europes divisions and also its unity.