The Lech (, ''Licca'') is a river in

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 ...

. It is a right tributary 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 , p ...

in length with a

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, ...

of . Its average discharge at the mouth is . Its source is located in the Austrian

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the ...

, where the river rises from lake Formarinsee in 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, Swi ...

at an altitude of . It flows in a north-north-easterly direction and crosses the German border, forming the Lechfall, a waterfall; afterwards the river enters a narrow gorge (the Lechschlucht). Leaving the Alps, it enters the plains of 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 ...

Füssen Füssen is a town in Bavaria, Germany, in the district of Ostallgäu, situated one kilometre from the Austrian border. The town is known for violin manufacturing and as the closest transportation hub for the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau ca ...

at an elevation of in the German state 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 ...

, where it used to be the location of the boundary with Swabia. The river runs through the city of Füssen and through the

Forggensee The Forggensee, also called the Roßhaupten Reservoir, is a reservoir located north of Füssen in the county of Ostallgäu in Bavaria, Germany and one of many lakes in the region around Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein castles. With a surface ...

, a man-made lake which is drained in winter. Here, it forms rapids and a waterfall. The river flows further northwards through a region called the

Lechrain Lechrain is the name of an informally defined region of Germany extending southwards from Augsburg towards the foothills of the Alps along the Lech river, mainly on the east bank. It forms a boundary region between Bavaria and Swabia. The Lechrai ...

, and passes the cities of Schongau, Landsberg,

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...

(where it receives the

Wertach Wertach is a small town in the Oberallgäu district, southern Bavaria, (Germany), in the German Alps. It is situated on the river Wertach, southeast of Kempten. The town was the childhood home of the writer W. G. Sebald. History Wertach was ...

) and

Rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...

before entering the

just below

Donauwörth Donauwörth () is a town and the capital of the Donau-Ries district in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is said to have been founded by two fishermen where the rivers Danube (Donau) and Wörnitz meet. The city is part of the scenic route called "Roman ...

at an elevation of . It is not navigable, owing to its torrential character and the gravel beds which choke its channel. There are extensive views of the Lech valley from

Neuschwanstein Castle Neuschwanstein Castle (german: Schloss Neuschwanstein, , Southern Bavarian: ''Schloss Neischwanstoa'') is a 19th-century historicist palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. T ...

, near Füssen.

Etymology

Inscriptions from 8/7 B. C. prove that the river name is first mentioned in the Celtic tribe name ''Licates''. The river itself is called ''Likios'' or ''Likias'' in the 2nd century. Around the year 570 the name ''Licca'' is found in records. In the 8th century, names such as ''Lecha'' and ''Lech'' appeared. The term ''Licus'' is still used in 1059. The name stands in analogy to the Welsh word ''llech'' ("stone slab") and the Breton word ''lec'h'' ("gravestone"). In this context, the meaning of the word "Lech" is explained as "the stony".

History

On more than one occasion, historic events have been decided on the banks of this river. * In 278 Roman emperor Probus vanquished a larger invasion force of Burgundians and

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...

, which had been raiding the Roman province of Rhaetia. * At Lechfeld, a stony plain between the Lech and the Wertach near Augsburg,

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...

defeated the Magyars in August 955. * In the

Battle of Rain The Battle of Rain , also called Battle of the River Lech, took place on 15 April 1632 near Rain in Bavaria during the Thirty Years' War. It was fought by a Swedish-German army under Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, and a Catholic League force l ...

in April 1632, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden defeated and mortally wounded

Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly ( nl, Johan t'Serclaes Graaf van Tilly; german: Johann t'Serclaes Graf von Tilly; french: Jean t'Serclaes de Tilly ; February 1559 – 30 April 1632) was a field marshal who commanded the Catholic League's ...

Hydroelectric power plants

Currently, there are 33 hydroelectric power plants on the Lech. The power plants are listed beginning at the headwaters:"Fichtner: Die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit von großen Laufwasserkraftwerken im liberalisierten Strommarkt – Endbericht (Langfassung). Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Arbeit, 2003 , 10 , Lechstaustufe 8a – Kinsau , , 9.2 , , 1992 , , Lechstaustufe 8a Kinsau

, - , 11 , Lechstaustufe 9 – Apfeldorf , , 7.2 , , 1944 , , Lechstaustufe 9 GO-1

, - , 12 , Lechstaustufe 10 – Epfach , , 8.3 , , 1948 , ,

, - , 13 , Lechstaustufe 11 – Lechblick , , 8.1 , , 1943 , ,

, - , 14 , Lechstaustufe 12 – Lechmühlen , , 7.9 , , 1943 , ,

, - , 15 , Lechstaustufe 13 – Dornstetten , , 8.2 , , 1943 , , Lechstaustufe unterhalb von Seestall

, - , 16 , Lechstaustufe 14 – Pitzling , , 7.9 , , 1944 , ,

, - , 17 , Lechstaustufe 15 – Landsberg , , 8.0 , , 1944 , ,

, - , 18 , Lechstaustufe 18 – Kaufering , , 16.7 , , 1975 , , , - , 19 , Lechstaustufe 19 – Schwabstadl , , 12.0 , , 1981 , , , - , 20 , Lechstaustufe 20 – Scheuring , , 12.2 , , 1980 , , , - , 21 , Lechstaustufe 21 – Prittriching , , 12.1 , , 1983 , , , - , 22 , Lechstaustufe 22 – Unterbergen , , 12.4 , , 1982 , ,

, - , 23 , Lechstaustufe 23 – Mandichosee , , 12.0 , , 1978 , , Mandichosee Staumauer

, - , 24 , Hochablass , , 3.1 , , 2013 , , Hochablass Augsburg Foto Stadtwerke Augsburg

, - , 25 , Eisenbahnerwehr , , 3.2 , , 2006 , ,

, - , 26 , Wolfzahnauwehr , , 2.0 , , 2010 , ,

, - , 27 , Kraftwerk Gersthofen , , 9.9 , , 1901 , , , - , 28 , Kraftwerk Langweid , , 7.0 , , 1908 , , Lechmuseum Bayern 12

, - , 29 , Kraftwerk Meitingen , , 11.6 , , 1922 , , Kraftwerk Meitingen02

, - , 30 , Staustufe Ellgau , , 10.0 , , 1952 , , , - , 31 , Staustufe Oberpeiching , , 12.3 , , 1954 , , , - , 32 , Staustufe Rain , , 11.2 , , 1955 , , , - , 33 , Staustufe Feldheim , , 8.5 , , 1960 , , , -

Gallery

File:Lech Augsburg.jpg, The Lech in

File:Lech-between-landsberg-kaufering.JPG, The Lech, in the background the city of Landsberg File:Tussen Weissenbach en Forchach, de Lech foto7 2014-07-25 13.33.jpg, The Lech between Weissenbach and Forchach File:Tussen Elmen en Stanzach, der Lech foto6 2014-07-25 14.34.jpg, The Lech between Elmen and

Stanzach Stanzach is a municipality in the Reutte district in 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 histori ...

File:Blick auf Lech und Apfeldorf.jpg, The Lech between Apfeldorf and

Epfach Epfach is a village and former municipality () located on the left bank of Lech, in the municipality of Denklingen in the Upper Bavarian District of Landsberg, Bavaria, Germany. History Around 14 BCE there was, near the present village, on t ...

File:Lech River.jpg, The Lech River b
Andrei Gavrilița

References

* Eberhard Pfeuffer: ''Der Lech.'' Wissner-Verlag, Augsburg 2010, . * R. Zettl: ''Lechauf-lechab.'' Wißner-Verlag 2002, . * Dr. Peter Nowotny: ''Erlebnis Lech.'' Verlag – J. Eberl KG, Immenstadt 2001. * Dr. Bernhard Raster: ''Nutzung und anthropogene Veränderung des Lechs in historischer Zeit.'' Diss. Würzburg 1979. * Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv (Hrsg.): ''Altbayerische Flusslandschaften an Donau, Lech, Isar und Inn.'' = Ausstellungskatalog, Anton H. Konrad, Verlag Weißenhorn 1998. * Werner Gamerith: ''Lechtal.'' Tyrolia Verlag, Innsbruck-Wien 2002. * Peter Nasemann: ''Lebensraum Füssener Lech.'' Holdenrieds Druck- und Verlags GmbH, o. J. * Norbert Müller: ''Augsburger Ökologische Schriften, Heft 2: Der Lech.'' Stadt Augsburg 1991, ;Specific

External links