Etymology
The term "Amper" can be derived from theGeography
The Ammer, and thus also the Amper, drains part of the Ammergau Mountains to the northeast to the Isar and thus to the Danube. Over a distance of around 100 km, the Amper crosses four natural areas: the steep old and young moraines, the flat gravel plain and the Danube-Isar hill country. The Ammer/Amper river system overcomes a total of in altitude. The Ammer loses almost 200 meters in the 20-kilometer-long gorge south of Peißenberg.Source
The source area of the Ammer is located in the Ammergau Alps at the exit of the Graswang valley between Graswang and Ettal. Some of the water flows down from a raised bog, and some of the various spring pots in the valley floor are fed by the water of the Linder that emerges here on the border between Tyrol and Bavaria near the Ammersattel. The streams are fed by the Großer Ammerquellen, located on both sides of the river bed of the Linder, flow into the mostly dry bed of the Linder and, at some times of the year, together with the Linder, which is still flowing here, form the Große Ammer. The Kleine Ammer springs, located on the north side of the Graswang Valley, feed the Kleine Ammer, which flows into the Große Ammer between Ettal and Oberammergau and forms the Ammer with it.Ammer
North of Unterammergau, the river leaves the Bavarian Alps after about 15 kilometers and then flows through the Ammer-Loisach hill country to the north. In this young moraine landscape, created from the deposits of the Isar-Loisach glacier during the Würm glacial period, the Ammer cuts up to 80 meters deep into the moraine and the molasse underneath and forms the Ammerschlucht, also called Ammerleite. To the south of Hohenpeißenberg, the Ammer Gorge bends to the east. At Peißenberg, the river leaves the gorge and turns back north. It flows through a long, wide valley until it flows into the Ammersee east of Dießen am Ammersee. A little before that, the Alte Ammer branches off to the left, which after a short run is absorbed by the longer but usually less watery Rott, which also flows into the Ammersee.Amper
After exiting the Ammersee near Eching am Ammersee, the Amper valley first cuts through a terminal moraine landscape of the Isar-Loisach glacier from the Würm glacial period near Grafrath and then flows through the Munich gravel plain from Fürstenfeldbruck. To the northeast of Dachau it comes into the area of the tertiary Danube-Isar hill country and finally flows into the Isar at Moosburg. Southwest of Moosburg, most of its water (30 m³/s) is withdrawn from the Amper and fed to the Isar through a canal south of Moosburg. This water is used to generate energy in the Uppenborn works on the Mittlere-Isar canal through another connecting canal. Immediately before it flows into the Isar, another part of the water is branched off and flows as the Klötzlmühlbach north of the Isar to Landshut.Tributaries
The first tributary of the Ammer is shortly after the connection of the outflows from the Große Ammerquellen with the Linder is the approximately 7 kilometers long near Kohlbach. Its longest tributary in the Ammergau Alps is the Halbammer, which flows into it from the left at Saulgrub. In the area of the Ammer Gorge, the Ammer only takes in smaller streams. After exiting the gorge, the 19-kilometer-long Eyach and the 43-kilometer long Ach, which forms the outflow of the Staffelsee and is the longest tributary of the Ammer before it flows into the Ammersee, flow into it from the right in quick succession near Oberhausen. Larger tributaries in the further course to the Ammersee are the Angerbach near Weilheim in Upper Bavaria, the Grünbach near Wielenbach and the Kinschbach near Pähl, all of which flow into them from the right. Larger tributaries of the Ammersee are the Rott near Dießen am Ammersee and Kienbach and Fischbach inNature and environmental protection
Since the middle of the 19th century, the natural course of the Ammer and Amper has been significantly changed by flood protection and the construction of power plants - with far-reaching consequences for the native flora and fauna. The continuity of the flowing water is often disturbed by weirs. This makes the migration and distribution of fish upstream and downstream more difficult or even impossible. The dike in some areas also meant an interference with the ecological balance. The alluvial forests were shielded from the natural water inflow by the dikes, so that the alluvial forest is only in remnants. In order to preserve the original river landscape, at least in some areas, several nature reserves, such as the Amperauen nature reserve with Leitenwälder between Fürstenfeldbruck and Schöngeising, have been designated. The AmmerBusiness
Shipping
The Amper is only navigable in part and has no significance for inland navigation. From 1880 to 1939 a regular steamboat connection operated between Stegen am Ammersee and Grafrath, which was mainly used by excursionists from Munich. These took the train to Grafrath and walked about 1.5 km from the train station to the landing stage. There they boarded the boat to Stegen, where they could transfer to Ammersee steamships. After the opening of the railway line betweenPower generation
Two hydropower plants are of historical importance. As early as 1891/92, the first hydropower plant in Bavaria was built by Oskar von Miller in Schöngeising. The world's first rail power station for single-phase alternating current, the Kammerl power station, went into operation a few years later around 1898 west of Saulgrub in the Ammertal valley. It served to supply the 23-kilometer-long line between Murnau and Oberammergau belonging to the Lokalbahn Aktien-Gesellschaft, which started the first scheduled electric train service in 1905. The Amperwerke was founded in 1908 in order to systematically use the hydropower on the Amper. A number of other run-of-river power plants along the river system with regional economic importance emerged in this way, mostly up to the First World War. These are works, among others. in Unterbruck near Fürstenfeldbruck (1892), Olching, Dachau, Hebertshausen, Volkmannsdorf near Allershausen or Kranzberg (1911). Hydropower plants require a consistently high water level so that energy generation does not come to a standstill in months with little rainfall. This was ensured by building a few smaller canals, weirs and a storage reservoir near Fürstenfeldbruck. At Zolling, Amper supplies the Zolling power plant with cooling water via a canal. The Haag hydropower plant is located on the same canal.Tourism
In addition to a number of interesting cities along the Ammer and Amper rivers such as Weilheim, Fürstenfeldbruck, Dachau and Moosburg, the Ammersee in particular is of touristic importance. Along the Ammer, the Schleier waterfalls south ofLiterature
* Franz X. Bogner: Ammer and Amper from the air: portrait of a river landscape. Bayerland-Verlag, Dachau 2009, * Norbert Göttler: To Ammer and Amper - A cultural and historical hike. 3. Edition. Bayerland-Verlag, Dachau 2004, ISBN 3-89251-060-1 * Martin Siepmann, Brigitta Siepmann: Werdenfelser Land and Upper Ammertal. Bayerland-Verlag, Dachau 1995, ISBN 3-89251-213-2References
External links
* Rivers of Bavaria Ammersee Rivers of Germany {{Bavaria-river-stub