Three time slices were focused on reconstruction of the Lateglacial and Holocene landscape evolution in the northern Upper Rhine–Rift Valley. The fluvial history of the northern Upper Rhine River during the last 15,000 years is characterised by repeated rapid changes of fluvial morphodynamics and sedimentation conditions. In consequence, the floodplain of the Rhine River may be subdivided into three different meander generations, which differ mainly on morphological, lithological and pedogenetical criteria. Using complementary dating techniques (pollen, IRSL, AMS 14C), a detailed chronology was obtained for the floodplain sediments (e.g. overbank deposits, peat bogs, aeolian dune sands) of the Rhine River and its tributary, the Neckar River (Bergstraßen-Necker). While the latter became completely abandoned during the Younger Dryas period, the Rhine River probably started meandering at the onset of the Allerød period and most likely continued its meandering pattern since the Lateglacial. The change from the Oldest Meander Generation to the Older Meander Generation occurred during the late phase of the Atlantic period. However, the timing of the onset of the Younger Meander Generation is not known in detail, at present. Probably, it started to develop in the late Subboreal period or at the transition from the Subboreal to the Subatlantic period.