Upper Danube Valley (Upper Austria)
| Upper Danube Valley | ||
|---|---|---|
 On the Schlögener Schlinge, with the plateaus of Sauwald and Mühlviertler Hügelland and the ravine forests (aerial view in west direction upstream) |
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| location | Upper Austria , Bavaria | |
| Waters | Danube | |
| Mountains | Sauwald / Central Mühlviertel highlands | |
| Geographical location | 48 ° 28 '45 " N , 13 ° 46' 1" E | |
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| Type | Breakthrough valley | |
| rock | Granite ( Bohemian mass ) | |
| particularities | Schlögener Schlinge , European protected area | |
The Upper Danube Valley , also called Upper Danube or Danube Gorge , is the breakthrough valley of the Danube through the Bohemian Massif between Passau and Aschach in Upper Austria . It separates the Sauwald from the Central Mühlviertel highlands . The scenic highlight is the Schlögener Schlinge .
The area is protected as a Natura 2000 area as the Upper Danube and Aschach Valley European Protected Area and the Upper Danube Valley European Protected Area .
Location and landscape
After Vilshofen in Bavaria, the Danube cut into the gneiss rocks of the Bohemian Massif and separates some crystalline stocks up to Tullnerfeld in Lower Austria, so that it only runs in sections in the Alpine foothills . Between Vilshofen and the Eferdinger Basin lies an elongated plateau stretch south of the Danube , which is cut into two parts again by the Inn , which flows into the Danube at Passau: the Neuburg Forest in Bavaria and the Sauwald in Austria. The Austrian part of this breakthrough valley is called the 'Upper' Danube in Upper Austria. The valley separates the granite and gneiss highlands ( Mühlviertel ) from the Inn and Hausruck quarters, and the Sauwald also belongs to the Innviertel.
From the “three-river city” Passau (the Ilz still flows from the north ) down via Obernzell , the Danube still forms the border between Germany and Austria for about 20 kilometers; from the Jochenstein near Engelhartszell it flows entirely into Austria. Between Obernzell and the Schlögener Schlinge the Danube valley runs fairly straight in a south-easterly direction. After Waldkirchen , the Schlögener loop begins , a double meander, the largest compulsory meander in Europe: Here the Danube bends north and west against the direction of travel, and back again, and over the next 10 kilometers of the river there are some less pronounced loops. Then the course calms down, and near Aschach the Danube enters the Eferdinger Basin , a northern foothill of the Alpine foothills - just a few kilometers after Eferding, there is another smaller disturbance with the Kürnberger Wald and the loops near Linz .
The valley is narrow, the wooded valley flanks, called Donauleiten , descend over 200–300 meters in altitude from Sauwald and Mühlviertel towards the Danube, the northern slopes of the deciduous forest break off steeply, the southern slopes with coniferous forest more gently. In the meandering section there is near-natural forest on the steeper impact slope in a difficult cultivation position, on the Gleithang cultivated land. The valley floor is only occasionally wide enough for alluvial land and settlement area.
In the course of the breakthrough valley, numerous other gorge-like valleys of the tributaries and creeks enter from both sides, in particular the Große Kößlbach and the Kleine Kößlbach (Kesselbach) to the right of the Sauwald, and the Ranna , the Kleine and the Große Mühl from the north, as well as the Aschach , which flows from the Inn and Hausruckviertel hills after the end of the breakthrough valley , as does the Pesenbach from the north.
This river valley system forms the large western part of the Upper Austrian spatial planning unit Danube gorge and side valleys , which also includes the beginning of the Strudengau .
Settlement and traffic
The narrow valley is only sparsely populated. There are only a few places between the two medium-sized towns Eferding and Passau, namely (upstream) Aschach a. d. D. and Hartkirchen and surroundings, the villages around Haibach ob der D. , Neuhaus a. d. D. -Untermühl, Obermühl a. d. D. , Schlögen , Wesenufer , Niederranna , Engelhartszell , Jochenstein in Germany, Kasten (municipality of Vichtenstein) , Obernzell in Germany, Pyrawang , Erlau (district of Obernzell), as well as Lindau (district of Passau) and Haibach (municipality of Freinberg) near Passau.
The traffic artery is the B 130 Nibelungen Straße , which does not follow the Schlögener Schlinge, but the lower Aschach Valley, and then runs straight towards Schlögen, the rest of the route is on the right, southern bank of the Danube. There is no continuous road on the north bank. The only significant cross connection into the valley is the B 136 Sauwald Straße Engelhartszell– Schärding over the Sauwald, and the Danube bridge Niederranna into the Mühlviertel, as well as the car ferries Obermühl – Köbling and to the German Obernzell.
Nature reserves
The Danube is regulated across the entire valley, in particular the reservoirs of the two power plants Jochenstein and Aschach , and also in the free flow section between them with armourstones (block throw). Nevertheless, a few smaller sand and gravel banks and small remains of alluvial forest have survived. In contrast, the slopes with their little influenced canyon forests are of special nature conservation interest.
The entire range of the valley over a distance of about 45 km, including the side valleys and - not contiguous - the lower Aschachtal, was designated as a fauna-flora-habitat as a European protected area of Upper Danube and Aschachtal (AT3122000 / eu05_1 ∗ ⊙ ) in 2009 . It covers 7119 hectares.
In addition, the section of the river Schlögener Schlinge is also designated as a European protected area of 924 hectares under the name of the Upper Danube Valley European Protected Area (AT3112000 / eu05_2 ∗ ⊙ ) .
Six nature reserves were also integrated into this European protection : ∗∗
- Parts of the Ranna Valley (n108, 140.34 ha, 2002), here also borders the FFH area of the same name (AT3125000 / nn25 ∗ , 228 ha), in which the rest of the NSG is located
- the rock / forest area Schlossberg Neuhaus in Sankt Martin im Mühlkreis (n122, 83 ha, 2004)
- the valley of the Kleiner Kösslbach (n075, 67.24 ha, 1996/2001)
- the Predigtstuhl rock quarry on the Danube near Hinteraigen ( Hartkirchen municipality ) (n103, 25.66 ha, 2001)
- the hillside forests in the valley of the Große Mühl (n077, 23.14 ha, 1996)
- the Aschach valley in the municipality of Stroheim (n116, 8.37 ha, 2004)
The Pesenbachtal nature reserve is also located near the Ostend (n022, 250 ha, 1963).
On the German bank opposite is the Donauleiten nature reserve ( NSG-00277.01 , 401 ha, 1986). Through the LIFE project hillside and ravine forests in the upper Danube valley , a total of 79 km² have been designated as a project area for Natura 2000 along the Danube, Ilz and the Austrian side valleys - a similarly comprehensive cross-border protection zone network is emerging here as on the nearby Lower Inn .
- ∗The first number is the serial number of the common European list, the second that of the Upper Austrian Nature Conservation Book → European Protected Areas in Upper Austria
literature
- Helga Gamerith, Franz Grims, Erwin Hauser, Oliver Heberling, Regina Petz, Christian Schröck, Oliver Stöhr, Michael Strauch, Werner Weißmair, Franz Zwingler (arrangement): Room unit Danube gorge and side valleys . In: Office of the Upper Austrian Provincial Government, Nature Conservation Department (Hrsg.): Nature and Landscape / Concepts for Upper Austria . tape 19 . Lochen / Linz 2004 ( pdf , land-oberoesterreich.gv.at - revised 2007).
- F. Grims: The Danube Valley between Aschach and Passau, a refuge of remarkable plants in Upper Austria . In: Linzer biol. Contributions . Issue 9/1. Linz 1977, p. 5-80 ( supplement. Issue 9/2, 1978, pp. 225-226.).
Web links
- Experience Danube Nature , Advertising Association Danube Upper Austria
- Danube fishing district → Upper Danube , Upper Austria. State fishing association
Individual evidence
- ^ The Danube Valley from Hofkirchen to Aschach. (No longer available online.) In: Naturraum Donautal - donauleiten.com. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010 ; Retrieved November 7, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ The Danube gorge and side valleys as a unit . 2004, A7.2 Landscape: The Upper Danube Valley ... , p. 59 .
- ↑ Local subdivision of the Leiten slopes. (No longer available online.) In: donauleiten.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2010 ; Retrieved November 7, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ The Danube gorge and side valleys as a unit . 2004, A5.4 Water system , p. 22nd f .
- ↑ Danube ferry Obermühl – Köbling ( memento of the original from October 16, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , fischgasthof.at, accessed on October 16, 2017
- ↑ ferry times , obernzell.de
- ↑ Upper Danube and Aschach Valley European Protected Area. In: Genisys detailed view. State of Upper Austria, accessed on June 23, 2010 .
- ↑ Upper Danube Valley European Protected Area. In: Genisys detailed view. State of Upper Austria, accessed on June 23, 2010 .
- ^ Ordinance of the Upper Austria. State government with which the "Upper Danube and Aschach Valley" is designated as a European protected area and with which a landscape conservation plan is issued for this area. State Law Gazette No. 72/2009 (ris.bka); Annex 1 - General plan ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Annexes 2/1 to 2/8 - partial plans ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Attachments 2/9 to 2/16 - partial plans ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Attachments 3/1 to 3/3 - coordinate-related displays ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (all pdf, land-oberoesterreich.gv.at)
- ↑ Slope and ravine forests in the upper Danube valley: the LIFE-Nature project at a glance . donauleiten.com
