The Rhine ( RYNE) is one of the major rivers of Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps . It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Constance downstream, it forms part of the Swiss-German border. After that the Rhine defines much of the Franco-German border. It then flows in a mostly northerly direction through the German Rhineland.