The Lauter, also: ''Große Lauter'', is a small river of the Swabian Alb,

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 ...

. Its

Karst spring A karst spring or karstic spring is a spring (outflow of groundwater) that is part of a karst hydrological system. Description Because of their often conical or inverted bowl shape, karst springs are also known in German-speaking lands as a ''T ...

is inside the walls of the former nunnery at "Offenhausen", a small settlement near

Gomadingen Gomadingen is a town in the district of Reutlingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. About 85% of its territory is located on the Swabian Alps. It's the district where the Grafeneck Castlis situated. During the II World War, the castle was home ...

. The river discharges into 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 , p ...

after 42 km. The river has a long geological history since late

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

. Although the Swabian Alb is heavily karstified, this river's water runs aboveground all the way. The municipality of

Lauterach Lauterach is a town in the district of Bregenz in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. Honorary consulates of Finland, and the United Kingdom are located in Lauterach. The Lauterach Transmitter is a 116 m tall broadcasting facility. Europea ...

is named after the river Lauter.

Main sights

In addition to the untouched nature and the numerous castles and ruins, there are other places of interest, such as the main and country stud farm of Marbach with its world-famous horse breeding, the baroque cathedral ''Münster Unserer Lieben Frau'' in

Zwiefalten Zwiefalten is a municipality in the district of Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany located halfway between Stuttgart and Lake Constance. The former Zwiefalten Abbey dominates the town. The former monastery is considered one of the finest exa ...

, the Wimsener cave that can be navigated by boat or the former military training area in

Münsingen Münsingen ( Highest Alemannic: ''Münsige'') is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the former municipality of Trimstein merged into Münsingen, and on 1 Jan ...

. Since 2004, the Matthias Erzberger Memorial has been located in the district of Buttenhausen in Münsingen.

Tributaries

* Gächinger Lauter ''(left, near Gomadingen)'' * Schörzbach ''(left, in Gomadingen)'' * Dolderbach ''(left, Marbach an der Lauter)'' * Lauterle ''(right, near Wasserstetten)'' * Roßbach ''(left, in Buttenhausen)'' * Blaubrunnen ''(left, between Anhausen and Unterwilzingen)'' * (Inflow from the ''Schneiderstal'') ''(right, ahead of Unterwilzingen)'' * Tiefentalbach ''(right, between Wittsteig and Weiler)'' * Brünnelesbächle ''(left, just ahead of Lauterach)''

Water sports

The Lauter is a popular canoe waterway with different levels of difficulty. Above Buttenhausen the river is closed all year round, from Buttenhausen to Unterwilzingen in the period from March 15 to June 30. Exceptional approvals for individual drivers can be granted by the ''Naturschutzbehörde Ulm'' (nature conservation authority Ulm) for the section Anhausen to Unterwilzingen. Organized rides, commercial rentals and events require a year-round permit. In order to avoid over-exploitation of the water body, it is not permitted to drive on weekends and public holidays between Buttenhausen and Anhausen from 1 July to 30 September. Furthermore, there are minimum and maximum values for the water level for the traffic: In Indelhausen at the grain mill 30 cm is the minimum level, a minimum level of 45 cm is recommended. For the section between Unterwilzingen and the mouth of the Danube, a pass at a level of 75 cm and more at Lauterach is not permitted.

References

Rivers of Baden-Württemberg Rivers of Germany

Main sights

Tributaries

Water sports

See also

Further reading

References