Wertach (river)

Course of Wertach

The Wertach in Augsburg

The Wertach is a 150.9 km long tributary of the River Lech in the administrative region of Swabia in Bavaria ( Germany ). The confluence of two mountain streams, from which the Wertach arises is located 1078 m above sea level. NN, her mouth to 461 m above sea level. NN. The watershed has an area of 1290 km ².

Etymology

The name comes from the Latin form Virdo (or Virda ), which may be of Celtic origin; here it means " strong " or "fast". Maybe he comes after the color of the water from the Latin word " viridis ", in German: "green". Since the 10th/11th. Century, the forms " Werthahe / a", " Wertha " are occupied.

Former water arms of Wertach were formerly called " Rössen ". "Au" (also called " flood plain " ) refers to one marked by alternating high and low water valley along a stream or river. This led to the field name " Rosenau " in Augsburg, eponymous for the Rosenau Stadium and the Rosenau district.

Geography

After the Iller Wertach is the largest Springing in the Allgäu Alps river. From there it flows north towards Augsburg, where it empties into the Lech. With just under 50 kilometers, its two longest tributaries are the Gennach and Singold.

Course

The Wertach arises in the southeastern Upper Allgäu region near the border with Austria by the confluence of the cold Brunnenbach and Eggbach halfway between upper yoke and lower yoke. Both villages are part of the municipality of Bad Hindelang. The former expression as a typical mountain and foothills river with a wide, ever- verlagerndem river bed, broad gravel banks is only to be found in the upper reaches, near the market town of Wertach the river is already first dammed up by the dam of the lake Grunt.

On her further way she flows about Oy- Mittelberg Nesselwang a landscaped relatively original part of the Wertachtals, but from market Oberndorf it is over with the "Wild River Romance", as the river was and in its further course straightened out by the end of the 19th century.

From Biessenhofen about Kaufbeuren, vineyards (for purchase Beuren ), Bad Wörishofen and Untertürkheim flows through the Wertach the Bachtelsee, Bear Lake, Schlingener Lake, Franconia Hofner lake, Lake Bingstetter and Irsingener lake. The last few miles towards Lech passed the Wertach Ettringen, where it was used early for the paper mill, Großaitingen, Bobingen and finally another reservoir south of Augsburg district Inningen. In the northern city of Augsburg it empties into the Lech, which united after a further 39 kilometers east of Donauwörth with the Danube.

In Türk home is special in that the direction Flossachtal branches off from Wertachtal level will lead to the northwest. Among geologists, this area is therefore known as Wertach fork. After the last ice age Wertach flowed from time to time in whole or only in part by the valleys of the Flossach and the Mindel towards the Danube. Proof of this is that you can find in the Mindel stones, but do occur in the catchment area of the Mindel in the catchment area of Wertach.

Inflows

One of the biggest springing edge of the Alps tributaries, which open into the Wertach include the Wertacher Starzlach and the forest stream. Due to the inflow of Lobach, Kirnach and Geltnach the previous catchment area doubled. In the lower foothills of the Alps, the Gennach flows as the longest tributary in the Wertach. As a final inflow she takes the Singold via the diverted channel " Senkelbach " in Goeggingen on

• Kaltenbrunnen Bach ( Bach source )
• Weissbach
• Wertacher Starzlach
• Peterlesbach
• Eberle Bach
• Mountain brook
• Forest stream
• Luttenbach
• Fürgenbach
• Kirnach
• Eybach
• Irseer Bach
• Riedgraben
• Scarlet
• Diebelbach

• Eggbach (source Bach)
• Weissbach
• Millstream
• Holderbach
• Reichenbach
• Katzenbächl
• Kesse ditch
• Lohbach
• Geltnach
• Siechen ditch
• Spittelbach
• Schwarzach
• Gennach
• Feldgießgraben
• Singold

History in the Roman period

In the rugged foothills of the Alps, the river served as an important transport link between Augusta Vindelicorum (today Augsburg), then the capital of the Roman province of Raetia and the major city Cambodunum, today Kempten. Parallel towards Wertach, on the high terrace to Lech, was the Allgäu road.

Renaturation

Since the straightening of the former wild river with extensive gravel bars and riparian forests, the risk of flooding has been steadily increasing. During the last big flood on Pentecost 1999, the Wertach led on level Augsburg -Oberhausen 423 m³ / s and caused in the Augsburg districts Goeggingen and Pfersee damage in the three-digit million DM Area. Without profound changes similar events would be expected over again, which is why the Free State of Bavaria and the city of Augsburg with the project Wertach Vital want to bring the river back into a semi-natural equilibrium ( since 1997). To avoid that he eintieft more and more into the ground, the banks will be expanded and fixed the river bed through stone ramps. Heaped gravel islands and large boulders reduce the flow rate. For the widening of the river bed 25 acres of riparian forest were cut down, which were replaced in other places. Since October 2000, the section has been largely rehabilitated between the reservoir and the Gögginger bridge.