Kamp

Kamp run

Kamp below Roiten

Kamp at Stiefern am Kamp

The Kamp is a river in Lower Austria with a length of 153 kilometers. The Kamp springs north of Liebenau in Upper Austria in 920 meters above sea level and flows east of Krems at an altitude of 180 meters into the Danube. With a catchment area of 1753 km ², it is the largest river in the forest district. The natural flow regime is characterized by high runoff in spring ( March, April ) and low flows in late autumn ( October, November ). However, this outflow characteristic is downriver through the construction of dams changed.

The name is of Celtic origin Kamp, goes back to the appropriate adjective Kamb ( " crooked " ) and is one of the oldest names of the region. Not only the main river is called Kamp, but also some of its tributaries carry Kamp behalf. Thus, the following rivers exist in the river system of the Kamps:

• The Great Kamp arises from the Lower Austrian- Austrian border in Weinberger forest and forms his first kilometers approximately the border between the two German states.
• The Small Kamp (also Ritterskamp ) rises in the southern area of the Lower Austrian Weinberger Forest and flows Rappottenstein in the Great Kamp.
• In Rastenfeld the Purzelkamp in Kamp ( Ottenstein ) opens.

At the same Zwettl Zwettl empties into the Kamp. This then flows through a narrow valley meandering, which is a popular destination because of its scenic beauty. He led once near Krems in the Danube. In the course of the construction of the Danube power plant Altenwörth the mouth of the Kamps was moved together with the confluence of the Krems to Altenwörth, Kirchberg am Wagram, where another tributary, the Mühlkamp, flows into the Danube.

In the upper reaches of three reservoirs ( Ottenstein, Dobra Reservoir, Thurnberger reservoir) were constructed in the years 1949-1957 through today's EVN. During the Nazi era the military training area Allentsteig was built by the German Wehrmacht. After the Second World War, the military training area was significantly reduced. The area, however, was largely uninhabited by the forced relocations. This made it relatively easy to build these reservoirs. Today, a small part of the Ottenstein dam is just more below Zwettl Monastery in the area of the training area.

In the headlines of the reservoir has come during the flood of the century of the year 2002, when was accused of EVN to have opened the floodgates too late and therefore contributory negligence on the flood disaster. In retrospect, however, did not culpably cause could be detected.

During this flood, the river has flooded numerous places and wanted for part a new bed. As a protection against renewed flood he will again get more free space. To get the exact documentation for any retention basins and wetlands, runs on the University of Natural Resources and a unique research project, are reproduced to scale in the parts of the river.

Especially the Ottenstein with the castle Ottenstein, but also the Kamp themselves are popular recreational areas. In the lower reaches of the Kamps is the Natural Park Kamp Valley and the wine region Kamp. The latter includes all the municipalities of the district court Langenlois. In addition to the wine town Langenlois these include well-known wine-growing villages such as Schönberg am Kamp, Zöbing, Gobelsburg or chambers. Main grape varieties of the region are Grüner Veltliner and Riesling. The latter finds its optimum cultivation in the famous vineyards Holy Stone and Seeberg.