Alter Rhein
The Old Rhine is the old river bed of the Rhine in the St. Gallen and Vorarlberg's Rhine Valley, which was separated in the straightening of the river under the regulation of the Rhine.
History
The Alpine Rhine was dammed and straightened by the International Rhine Regulation ( IRR). The once wild river was tamed and the risk of recurrent flooding largely eliminated.
- In 1900, the Fussach puncture was completed after five years of construction. In the old branch of the river was at maximum (Vorarlberg) / St. Margrethen the 1896-1906 newly created Rheintaler inland canal passed. There was the Old Rhine dissipates the meteoric water of the St. Gallen Rhine Valley and parts of the Appenzell region in the Lake Constance. It flows near the village of Old Rhine into Lake Constance.
- In 1923, the course of the Rhine was shortened with the Diepoldsauer puncture again; it was the Old Rhine at Diepoldsau.
Both waters have become a valuable recreational area and nature reserve. Is the nature reserve Rhine delta between the mouths of the Old and New Rhine into Lake Constance. Another nature reserve is located on the Donkey's Tail in Ruderbach, a district of St.Margrethen.
The Old Rhine at maximum
The Old Rhine at Hohenems, at the border with Diepoldsau
Mushroom- Verbotsschild in nature and landscape protection area Donkey's Tail
State border
The border between Austria and Switzerland was left at two sections respectively along the river of the Old Rhine. Thus, there are communities in the state of Vorarlberg, which lie to the left bank of the Rhine. The St. Gallen municipality Diepoldsau located to the right of the Rhine on an " island in the Rhine ".
The following border crossings lead on the Old Rhine:
- Diepoldsau - Hohenems
- Schmitter - Lustenau
- St.Margrethen - maximum
- Rheineck - Gaißau
Geography
Old Rhine at Fussach puncture
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The Old Rhine, in the Fussach puncture is divided into three sections. Donkey's Tail, Section Rheineck - Gaissau and estuary. It is supplied with fresh water at Bruggerhorn from Rheintaler single channel. When Donkey's Tail, he becomes wider and its flow rate decreases greatly. In the area Rheineck - Gaissau to Lake Constance mouth it is navigable. From Rheineck consists of a course link to Rorschach, which is operated by the "Swiss Bodenseeschifffahrt ". This connection is part of the itinerary Rorschach -Heiden - Walzenhausen Rheineck -Rorschach. In the estuary near the village of Altenrhein is on the Swiss side a harbor with space for 300 boats and a campsite. On the Austrian side, the largest nature reserve of Lake extends along the lake shore between the mouth of the Old Rhine to Dornbirner Oh in hardware. The Austrian side of the river is almost renatured on the entire length. There are many Schwemmzonen that. Upon a rapid increase of the level of preventive action
Old Rhine at Diepoldsauer puncture
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The Old Rhine, in the Diepoldsauer puncture is particularly divided on the Swiss side into four sections. From south to north (former flow direction ) they are called: Rheinspitz, for customs purposes ( also: at customs ), Matz and pipe spigot.
The Old Rhine was dredged in earlier times intense on both sides and the recovered gravel for making concrete. The dredging depth reached in part, a depth of 14 m, which is below the water table of this range (6-10 m). The groundwater was contaminated by the level and lowered off. The dredging of gravel was banned then. The ruins of the equipment, such as conveyor belts and dredgers, rusty after long decades on the Swiss side to himself. They were famously used by young bathing visitors as a playground. Bathing accidents in the recreation area led to a rethink. In recent times, the scrap was removed and the area rehabilitated.
By Altenrhein takes place in the middle of the water a temporarily interrupted median strip on which the national border Switzerland / Austria is located. He can be reached by the respective section boundaries and is often used as a nudist beach. In earlier times, these headlands have been used by smugglers, by disguising themselves as bathers. Come from one side of the border, they enjoyed themselves at the lake, and then left the recreation area in the other direction. The contraband was hidden in a large beach bag.
The Old Rhine is also a popular destination for sports fishermen from the region. Pike with a length of about 120 cm and more than 15 kg have been caught, albeit rarely. The sport fishing Gjordjevic Miodrag succeeded in catching a record carp. The mirror carp was 94 inches long and 23.8 kilos. It was the heaviest carp caught in Switzerland until then.
Old Rhine at Bruggerhorn
The marginal pond are a small independent section of the Old Rhine, between the Rhine on New Fussach and the Rheintaler single channel. They originated as stagnant water, because the actual Old Rhine was connected to the Rhine valley inland canal. It is on the Swiss side just called Bruggerhorn on the Austrian Brugger hole. Both waters are today, independently lakes.