The Iller (; ancient name Ilargus) is a river of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

and

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is a right

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

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 ...

, long. It is formed at the confluence of the rivers

Breitach The Breitach is a mountain river, the southwestern (left) source of the Iller in the Allgäu Alps, in the states of Vorarlberg (Austria) and Bavaria (Germany). Detail The river originates in , a part of Mittelberg, in the Kleinwalsertal as the ...

Stillach Stillach is a river of Bavaria, Germany. At its confluence with the Breitach and the Trettach in Oberstdorf, the Iller is formed. See also *List of rivers of Bavaria A list of rivers of Bavaria, Germany: A * Aalbach * Abens * Ach * Afferbac ...

and

Trettach Trettach is a river of Bavaria, Germany. At its confluence with the Breitach and the Stillach in Oberstdorf, the Iller is formed. See also *List of rivers of Bavaria A list of rivers of Bavaria, Germany: A * Aalbach * Abens * Ach * Afferbach ...

near

Oberstdorf Oberstdorf ( Low Alemannic: ''Oberschdorf'') is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. It is the southernmost settlement in Germany and one of its highest towns. At the&nb ...

in the

Allgäu The Allgäu (Standard German: , also Allgovia) is a region in Swabia in southern Germany. It covers the south of Bavarian Swabia, southeastern Baden-Württemberg, and parts of Austria. The region stretches from the pre-alpine lands up to the A ...

region of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

, close to the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n border. From there it runs northwards, passing the towns of

Sonthofen Sonthofen is the southernmost Town#Germany, town of Germany, located in the Oberallgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. Neighbouring Oberstdorf is situated 14 km farther south but is not classified as a town. In 2005, Sonthofen was awarded "Al ...

Immenstadt Immenstadt im Allgäu () is a town in Oberallgäu, the southernmost district of Bavaria, Germany, in the German Alps. First mentioned in a 1275 administrative tract, it was granted town privileges in 1360, which makes it one of the oldest towns in ...

, and

Kempten Kempten (, (Swabian German: )) is the largest Town#Germany, town of Allgäu, in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. The population was about 68,000 in 2016. The area was possibly settled originally by Celts, but was later taken over by th ...

Bij Steinheim, de Iller foto2 2014-07-28 13

Between

Lautrach Lautrach is a municipality in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and ...

near

Memmingen Memmingen (; Swabian: ''Memmenge'') is a town in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is the economic, educational and administrative centre of the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the river that marks the Baden-Wü ...

and

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

it forms the border between the two German States Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg for about . The river flows into the Danube in the city centre of Ulm. The Iller has a catchment area of . It ranks as the seventh of Bavaria's rivers by water flow, with an average throughput of at

Senden The town of Senden is the second-largest town of the district of Neu-Ulm in Bavaria and is located at the border to Baden-Württemberg. The town belongs to the Donau-Iller-Nahverkehrsverbund. Senden's neighbours are Neu-Ulm in the north, Weiße ...

, a short distance upstream from the Danube. The power of the river is used for the production of

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other Renewabl ...

via eight power stations with a total net capacity of 51 MW (1998). A bicycle route follows the Iller, which is also a popular location for rafting and trekking.

Sources

* Bogner, Franz X. (2009). ''Allgäu und Iller aus der Luft.'' Theiss-Verlag 2009. . * Kettemann, Otto and Winkler, Ursula (ed.): ''Die Iller'', 2000, (2nd, expanded edition) * Nowotny, Peter (1999). ''Die Iller und ihr Tal'', 1999, Verlag Eberl,

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Baden-Württemberg Rivers of Bavaria Rivers of Germany