Inn Valley
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, image = UnterinntalWest.JPG , image_caption = Lower Inn valley from Rattenberg castle , source1_location =
Swiss Alps The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (german: Schweizer Alpen, french: Alpes suisses, it, Alpi svizzere, rm, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss ...
(
Lägh dal Lunghin Lägh dal Lunghin (German: ''Lunghinsee'') is a lake at an elevation of 2484 m, below the peak of Piz Lunghin, in the Graubünden, Switzerland. It is considered the source of the Inn River. See also *List of mountain lakes of Switzerland ...
) , source1_elevation = , source1_coordinates= , mouth_location =
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 ...
(
Passau Passau (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's popu ...
) , mouth_elevation = , mouth_coordinates = , progression = , subdivision_type1 = Countries , subdivision_name1 = , subdivision_type2 = Cities , subdivision_name2 = , length = , discharge1_location=
mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
, discharge1_avg = , basin_size = The Inn ( la, Aenus; rm, En) 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 ...
in
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
,
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 ...
and
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 ...
. The river is long. 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 ...
and it is the third largest tributary of the Danube by discharge. The highest point of its
drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...
is the summit of
Piz Bernina Piz Bernina ( Romansh, it, Pizzo Bernina, ) is the highest mountain in the Eastern Alps, the highest point of the Bernina Range, and the highest peak in the Rhaetian Alps. It rises and is located south of Pontresina and near the major Alpine r ...
at . The
Engadin The Engadin or Engadine ( rm, ;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ' ...
e, the valley of the En, is the only Swiss valley whose waters end up in the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
(via the Danube).


Etymology

The name Inn is derived from the old Celtic words ''en'' and ''enios'', meaning ''water''. In a document of 1338, the river was named ''Wasser'' (German for water). The first written mention from the years 105 to 109 (Publii Corneli Taciti historiarium liber tertius) reads: "''... Sextilius Felix... ad occupandam ripam Aeni fluminis, quod Raetos Noricosque interfluit, missus...''" ("... Sextilius Felix was sent to capture the banks of the Inn, which flows between the Rhaetian people and the Noric people.") The river is also mentioned by other authors of the Roman Empire as ''Ainos'' (Greek) or ''Aenus'' (Latin). In medieval Latin it was written as ''Enus'' or ''Oenus''. The change in the old Bavarian language from ''e'' to ''i'' turned Enus to ''In''. Until the 17th century, it was written like this or ''Yn'', but also ''Ihn'' or ''Yhn''. The double-n appeared only in the 16th century, for example in the Tyrolian Landreim of 1557, and since the 18th century this spelling and pronunciation with a short vowel has been customary.Otto Stolz: ''Geschichtskunde der Gewässer Tirols.'' Schlern-Schriften, Band 32, Innsbruck 1932, S. 6–14 und 83–88
Digitalisat
The mentions in Roman times refer to the lower course. The Tyrolean section was first called Aenus by
Venantius Fortunatus Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus ( 530 600/609 AD; french: Venance Fortunat), known as Saint Venantius Fortunatus (, ), was a Latin poet and hymnographer in the Merovingian Court, and a bishop of the Early Church who has been venerate ...
in the 6th century. The name
Engadin The Engadin or Engadine ( rm, ;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ' ...
and the Romansh name ''En'' indicate that the upper reaches of the river have always been called this way. Even though it was occasionally believed that the Inn originated near the
Adige The Adige (; german: Etsch ; vec, Àdexe ; rm, Adisch ; lld, Adesc; la, Athesis; grc, Ἄθεσις, Áthesis, or , ''Átagis'') is the second-longest river in Italy, after the Po. It rises near the Reschen Pass in the Vinschgau in the prov ...
at the
Reschen Pass Reschen Pass (german: Reschenpass, ; it, Passo di Resia ) is a mountain pass across the main chain of the Alps, connecting the Upper Inn Valley in the northwest with the Vinschgau region in the southeast. Since 1919, the border between South Tyro ...
, since the 16th century at the latest the origin has been seen uniformly in the area of the lakes at the
Maloja Pass Maloja Pass (Italian: ''Passo del Maloja'', German: ''Malojapass'') (1815m a.s.l.) is a high mountain pass in the Swiss Alps in the canton of Graubünden, linking the Engadine with the Val Bregaglia, still in Switzerland and Chiavenna in Ital ...
. A connection may exist between the name Inn and the name of the French river
Ain Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where ...
.Arnaud Vendryes: ''L'Ain : le nom d'une rivière à travers les sources.'' In: Société d'Emulation du Jura, Travaux 2015, S. 147–168


Geography

The source is located in the
Swiss Alps The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (german: Schweizer Alpen, french: Alpes suisses, it, Alpi svizzere, rm, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss ...
, west of St. Moritz in the
Engadin The Engadin or Engadine ( rm, ;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ' ...
e region, which is named after the river ( Romansh ''Engiadina'';
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''vallis Eniatina''). Shortly after it leaves its source, the Inn flows through the largest lakes on its course, Lake Sils and
Lake Silvaplana Lake Silvaplana (german: Silvaplanersee; rm, Lej da Silvaplauna) is a lake in the Upper-Engadine valley of Grisons, Switzerland. It takes its name from the village of Silvaplana. The lake is also connected to the nearby Lej da Champfèr. Together ...
. It runs north-eastwards, entering Austria, and from
Landeck Landeck () is a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol, the capital of the district of Landeck. Geography Landeck is located in the Tyrolean Oberland in the west of the state at an elevation of about . The town is situated in the valley of the Inn Ri ...
eastwards through the Austrian state of
Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
and its capital,
Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...
(''bridge over the Inn''), and crosses the border into
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 ...
near
Kufstein Kufstein (; Central Bavarian: ''Kufstoa'') is a town in the Austrian state of Tyrol, the administrative seat of Kufstein District. With a population of about 19,600 it is the second largest Tyrolean town after the state capital Innsbruck. The great ...
. On Bavarian territory the river runs northwards and passes
Rosenheim Rosenheim is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is an independent city located in the centre of the district of Rosenheim (Upper Bavaria), and is also the seat of its administration. It is located on the west bank of the Inn at the confluence of the ...
,
Wasserburg am Inn Wasserburg am Inn (Central Bavarian: ''Wassabuag am Inn'') is a town in Rosenheim district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. The historic centre is a peninsula formed by the meandering river Inn. Many Medieval structures remain intact, giving the city a ...
, and
Waldkraiburg Waldkraiburg is a town in the district of Mühldorf, in Bavaria, Germany with a population of about 24,000. It is the biggest town in the district of Mühldorf. It is located on the river Inn, approximately ten kilometers southwest of Mühldorf ...
; then it turns east, runs through
Mühldorf Mühldorf am Inn (Central Bavarian: ''Muihdorf am Inn'') is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the district Mühldorf on the river Inn. It is located at , and had a population of about 17,808 in 2005. History During the Middle Ages, ...
and
Neuötting Neuötting is a Town#Germany, town in the Altötting (district), district of Altötting, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Inn (river), Inn, 2 km north of Altötting, about 70 km north of Salzburg, 80 southwest of Passau a ...
and is enlarged by two major tributaries, the
Alz The Alz () is a river in Bavaria, southern Germany, the only discharge of the Chiemsee. Its origin is on the northern shore near Seeon-Seebruck, Seebruck. It is a right tributary of the Inn (river), Inn, into which it flows in Marktl. Other towns ...
and the
Salzach The Salzach (Austrian: saltsax ) is a river in Austria and Germany. It is in length and is a right tributary of the Inn, which eventually joins the Danube. Its drainage basin of comprises large parts of the Northern Limestone and Central E ...
. From here to 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 forms the border between Germany (Bavaria) and Austria (
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 ...
). Towns on this last section of the river are
Marktl am Inn Marktl, or often unofficially called ''Marktl am Inn'' ("Little market on the river Inn"), is a village and historic market municipality in the state of Bavaria, Germany, near the Austrian border, in the Altötting district of Upper Bavaria. The ...
,
Simbach on Inn Simbach am Inn ( en, Simbach on the Inn) is a town on the river Inn (river), Inn in the Rottal-Inn district of Bavaria, Germany. The Austrian city Braunau am Inn lies on the opposite side of the river from Simbach. History Simbach was one of the ...
,
Braunau am Inn Braunau am Inn (; German for "Braunau on the Inn") is a town in Upper Austria on the border with Germany. It is known for being the birthplace of Adolf Hitler. Geography The town is on the lower river Inn below its confluence with the Salzach, w ...
and
Schärding Schärding ( , Bavarian name: Scharing) is a town in northern Austrian state of Upper Austria, the capital of the district of the same name, and a major port on the Inn River. Historically, it was owned by the Wittelsbach family, which reflects ...
. In
Passau Passau (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's popu ...
the Inn finally enters the Danube (as does the river
Ilz The Ilz () is a river running through the Bavarian Forest, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Danube and in length ( including its main source river Große Ohe), during which it travels down a height difference of ~140m. The Ilz is formed a ...
there). Although the Inn has a greater average flow than the Danube when they converge in Passau, and its watershed contains the Piz Bernina, the highest point in the Danube watershed, the Inn is considered a tributary of the Danube, which has a greater length, drains a larger surface area, and has a more consistent flow. The Inn is the only river originating in Switzerland that ends in the Black Sea (via the Danube).


Tributaries

* Right tributaries (in downstream order):
Flaz The Flaz is a river in the Swiss region of Engadin. The Flaz starts at the confluence of Bernina with Roseg; after that Flaz flows in the territory of Pontresina and Samaden where its waters reaches the Inn Inns are generally establishments ...
,
Spöl The Spöl or Aqua Granda is an Italian and Swiss river and is a tributary of the Inn. The source of the river is near Corno di Campo in the Province of Sondrio in Italy. It flows northeast past Livigno and into Lago di Livigno. It exits the ...
, Clemgia, Faggenbach, Pitzbach,
Ötztaler Ache The Ötztaler Ache is a river in the district of Imst, Tyrol, Austria, a right tributary of the Inn. It flows through the Ötztal valley, a southern branch the Inntal. Including its source rivers and , it is long. The Rofenache is the runoff o ...
,
Melach The Melach is a river of Tyrol, Austria, in the western part of the Innsbruck-Land District, a tributary of the Inn. The Melach has a length of . It is formed by the confluence of several smaller streams at the foot of the Lisenser Fernerkogel. ...
, Sill,
Ziller The Ziller () is a right tributary to the Inn, in the Zillertal in Tyrol, Austria. It is long, and its basin area is . It springs from the ridge of the Zillertal Alps, and feeds the Zillergründl Dam. In Mayrhofen it receives the Zemmbach (that ...
,
Alpbach Alpbach (, ) is a town in western Austria in the state of Tyrol. History The earliest written record of the name Alpbach comes from 1150, although human settlement is known to have begun there before and around the year 1000, and a bronze axe f ...
, Wildschönauer Ache,
Brixentaler Ache The Brixentaler Ache is river of Tyrol, Austria, a right tributary of the Inn. It passes through the districts of Kitzbühel and Kufstein. It is one of the largest tributaries of the Inn in the Tyrolean Unterland by catchment area (), but is only ...
,
Weißache The Weißache is a river of Tyrol, Austria, a tributary of the Inn. The Weißache flows in the Sölllandl, a valley between the Kaiser Mountains and the Hohe Salve. It rises at about on the in the and discharges in , a district of Kufstein, i ...
,
Kaiserbach The Kaiserbach (also called Sparchenbach) is a river of Tyrol, Austria, in the valley Kaisertal in the Kaiser Mountains in the Tyrolean Unterland. It rises at about near the Stripsenjoch saddle and empties in Untere Sparchen, a quarter of Kufstei ...
, Rohrdorfer Ache,
Sims Sims, sims or SIMS may refer to: Games * ''The Sims'', a life simulation video game series ** ''The Sims'' (video game), the first installment, released in 2000 ** ''The Sims 2'', the second installment, released in 2004 ** '' The Sims 3'', th ...
, Murn,
Alz The Alz () is a river in Bavaria, southern Germany, the only discharge of the Chiemsee. Its origin is on the northern shore near Seeon-Seebruck, Seebruck. It is a right tributary of the Inn (river), Inn, into which it flows in Marktl. Other towns ...
,
Salzach The Salzach (Austrian: saltsax ) is a river in Austria and Germany. It is in length and is a right tributary of the Inn, which eventually joins the Danube. Its drainage basin of comprises large parts of the Northern Limestone and Central E ...
, Enknach, Mattig, Ach,
Hartbach The Hartbach (also called Reichersberger Bach) is a river of Upper Austria, a small tributary of the Inn (river), Inn. The Hartbach originates in the Senftenbach area. It flows from South to North to the Inn and merges with it east of Obernberg ...
, Antiesen, Pram * Left tributaries (in downstream order; two different rivers called Rott exist): Beverin, Schergenbach, Sanna,
Gurglbach The Gurglbach is a river of Tyrol, Austria. The Gurglbach originates on the rock face near Nassereith. It flows from west to east to Tarrenz, the only village that it passes completely through. There, it changes its route and flows south to Imst ...
, Höttinger Bach, Mühlauer Bach,
Brandenberger Ache The Brandenberger Ache is a river of Bavaria, Germany, and of the Kufstein District, Tyrol, Austria. It is a long left tributary of the Inn. It starts as the outflow of the Spitzingsee in southern Bavaria, and flows from North to South to the to ...
,
Kieferbach Kieferbach (also: ''Thierseer Ache'') is a river of Tyrol, Austria and Bavaria, Germany. It flows into the Inn near Kiefersfelden. Course The river rises in Tyrol as Klausbach from several small, occasionally dry creeks on the north side of ...
, Auerbach, Kirchbach,
Mangfall The Mangfall is a river of Upper Bavaria, Germany. The Mangfall is the outflow of the Tegernsee lake and discharges in Rosenheim from the left into the Inn. It is long. Towns and villages on the Mangfall * Gmund am Tegernsee * Valley * Weyar ...
,
Rott Rott may refer to: Places * Rott (Ammersee), a tributary of the Ammersee, in Bavaria, Germany * Rott (Inn, Neuhaus am Inn), a tributary of the Inn at Neuhaus am Inn, in eastern Bavaria, Germany * Rott (Inn, Rott am Inn) a tributary of the Inn at ...
,
Attel Attel is a river of Bavaria, Germany. It flows into the Inn (river), Inn near Ramerberg. See also *List of rivers of Bavaria References

Rivers of Bavaria Rivers of Germany {{Bavaria-river-stub ...
,
Isen Isen may refer to: *Isen, Bavaria, a town in Germany *Isen, Kagoshima, a town in Japan * Isen (river) in Bavaria, Germany *The fictitious River Isen in Tolkien's literature * ISEN, a group of three French higher education establishments *Nissae Is ...
,
Rott Rott may refer to: Places * Rott (Ammersee), a tributary of the Ammersee, in Bavaria, Germany * Rott (Inn, Neuhaus am Inn), a tributary of the Inn at Neuhaus am Inn, in eastern Bavaria, Germany * Rott (Inn, Rott am Inn) a tributary of the Inn at ...


Flow

The average discharge at the
mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
of the Inn is .


2013 flood

On June 3, 2013, the discharge of the Inn in
Passau Passau (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's popu ...
reached and the water levels reached , the highest recorded historic flood level since 1501. The historic centre of Passau, where 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 ...
, Inn and
Ilz The Ilz () is a river running through the Bavarian Forest, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Danube and in length ( including its main source river Große Ohe), during which it travels down a height difference of ~140m. The Ilz is formed a ...
converge, was flooded severely.


Hydroelectric power plants

Currently, there are 24
hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is 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 renewable sources combined and ...
power plants on the Inn. 17 of them are operated by
Verbund AG Verbund AG, formerly known as Verbundgesellschaft or Österreichische Elektrizitätswirtschafts-AG, is Austria's largest electricity provider. Verbund covers around 40 percent of electricity demands in Austria and generates 90 percent thereof fro ...
. The power plants are listed beginning at the headwaters:


References


External links

* {{Authority control Rivers of Switzerland Rivers of Bavaria International rivers of Europe Engadin Rivers of Tyrol (state) Austria–Germany border Rivers of Graubünden Braided rivers in Europe Rivers of Austria Rivers of Germany