The Ostrach is a long right tributary stream 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 ...
in
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 ...
.
Geography
The Ostrach originates on the north side of the
European watershed, in the vicinity of
Fleischwangen in the
Landkreis Ravensburg
Ravensburg is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the southeast of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from southwest clockwise) Bodensee, Sigmaringen and Biberach, the Bavarian urban district Memmingen and the districts Unterallgà ...
and drains out of the Pfrunger wetlands. It runs parallel to the Ablach for most of its length, flowing between two moraine hills by Ostrach, through the Weithart, and the Göge-Ablach plateau. The mouth of the Ostrach lies in Hundersingen, a suburb of the community of
Herbertingen
Herbertingen ( Swabian: ''Herberdenga'') is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. The municipality Herbertingen consists of the villages Herbertingen, Hundersingen, Marbach and Mieterkingen. Herbertingen ...
in the
Landkreis Sigmaringen where it runs for to the Danube. The catchment area is .
Localities on the Ostrach
Die Ostrach traverses or touches several districts and communities from its source to the Danube: The locale of
Fleischwangen, where it originates,
Guggenhausen,
Riedhausen, Ostrach and its subdivisions of Laubbach, Jettkofen, Wangen, Einhart and Habsthal, the
Mengen city subdivision of
Rosna, the
Hohentengen
Hohentengen is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe ...
subdivisions of Bremen and Beizkofen, and finally by Hundersingen, where it reaches the Danube.
Tributaries
Tributaries of the Ostrach include the
Wilhelmsdorf canal, die Fleischwanger Ach (creek), the Hornbach, the Tiefenbach and the Seebach.
Ecology
Since 2005, a beaver population has developed in the Pfrunger-Burgweiler wetlands – since October 2008 verifiable. In the upper range of the Ostrach, the beavers have erected a dam across the stream, creating a pond that holds 1000 cubic meters of water, causing the tributaries of the Ostrach to overflow their banks, to the great frustration of the farmers in Riedhausen and Laubbach.
A seven million Euro protection project was planned with the goal to protect the wetlands and the watershed.
[Florian Unger: ''Natur. Staudamm quer durch die Ostrach. Im Pfrunger-Burgweiler Ried sind Biber am Werk – Sorge um Stauung und überflutete Wiesen''. In: '']Südkurier
The Südkurier is a regional daily newspaper in Germany serving the regions northwest of Lake Constance, Hochrhein and Black Forest with its headquarters Konstanz, Germany. The paper appears with a circulation of around 130,000, six times per w ...
'' of 11. November 2008 The project has been finished in 2015.
References
{{Reflist
See also
*
List of rivers of Baden-Württemberg
A list of rivers of Baden-Württemberg, Germany:
A
* Aal
* Aalbach
* Aalenbach
* Ablach
* Ach
*Acher
* Adelbach
*Aich
* Aid
* Aischbach, tributary of the Kinzig
* Aischbach, tributary of the Körsch
*Aitrach, tributary of the Danube
*Aitrach, tr ...
Rivers of Baden-Württemberg
Bodenseekreis
Swabia
Rivers of Germany