The Aist is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, a ...

, a left tributary of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

. It drains an area of . The Aist is formed in Hohensteg (south of

Pregarten Pregarten is a municipality in the district of Freistadt in the Austrian state of Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders ...

) by the confluence of its source rivers the (52 km) and the (58 km). The Aist proper is long. The Aist, Feldaist and Waldaist flow through the protected

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...

site (Fauna-Flora-Habitat Area).

History

The name "Aist" was derived from a Slavic river designation, recorded in ancient documents such as the Wilhelmine deed. Upper Austria, as well as many other parts of Europe, were at that time inhabited by Slavic peoples. The river appeared for the first time in 853 in a deed as "Agasta". In 983 it is called "Agesta". The prefix "ag" means "drive" or "fast".Methoden der Namenforschung: Methodologie, Methodik und Praxis Arne Ziegler, Erika Windberger Heidenkummer - 2011 "Die Aist verzweigt sich bei Hohensteg in die westliche Feldaist und in die östliche Waldaist, 1131 (Kopie nach 1356) Westeragist, Waldaigst. ON. (alle im PB Perg, O.-Ö.): Aisthofen, 983-91 (Kopie 1140-50) de Agesta;" The name of

Dietmar von Aist Dietmar von Aist (c. 1115 – c. 1171) was a Minnesinger from a baronial family in the Duchy of Austria, whose work is representative of the lyric poetry in the Danube region. Life One Dietmar von Aist is mentioned by name from about 1139 onward ...

(1140–1171), a

Minnesänger (; "love song") was a tradition of lyric- and song-writing in Germany and Austria that flourished in the Middle High German period. This period of medieval German literature began in the 12th century and continued into the 14th. People who wr ...

, may be related to the Aist. In the August 2002 flood, the entire Aist area was devastated.

References

Rivers of Upper Austria Rivers of Austria {{Austria-river-stub