The Veckerhagen Ferry is a cable ferry

Cable ferry

A cable ferry is guided and in many cases propelled across a river or other larger body of water by cables connected to both shores. They are also called chain ferries, floating bridges, or punts....

 across the Weser River

Weser River

The Weser is a river in north-western Germany. Formed at Hann. Münden by the Fulda and Werra, it flows through Lower Saxony, then reaching the historic port city of Bremen before emptying into the North Sea 50 km further north at Bremerhaven, which is also a seaport...

 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. The ferry crosses between Veckerhagen, in Hesse

Hesse

Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...

, and Hemeln

Hemeln

Hemeln is an outlying borough of the City of Hann. Münden. The village lies on the right bank of the Weser River, 12 km from the city proper. The highways L561 and L560 run through the community. The village's population of some 960 includes those of the two neighboring villages, Glashütte...

, in Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...

. The crossing is located some 26 kilometres (16.2 mi) north of Kassel

Kassel

Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...

. The ferry takes automotive, bicycle and foot passengers.

Technically, the ferry is a reaction ferry

Reaction ferry

A reaction ferry is a cable ferry that uses the reaction of the current of a river against a fixed tether to propel the vessel across the river...

, which is propelled by the current

Current (stream)

A current, in a river or stream, is the flow of water influenced by gravity as the water moves downhill to reduce its potential energy. The current varies spatially as well as temporally within the stream, dependent upon the flow volume of water, stream gradient, and channel geometrics...

 of the water. An overhead cable

Wire rope

thumb|Steel wire rope Wire rope is a type of rope which consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a helix. Initially wrought iron wires were used, but today steel is the main material used for wire ropes....

is suspended from towers anchored on either bank of the river. The ferry is attached to this overhead cable by bridle cables and pulleys. To operate the ferry, it is angled into the current, causing the force of the current to move the ferry across the river.