Fußacher puncture

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Map of the Rhine valley and the Rhine before the breakthrough. Detail from Carl Ferdinand Weiland (1782–1847), Map of Switzerland (1817)
The confluence of the Rhine with Lake Constance with the recognizable canalised course of the Rhine before its confluence

The Fußacher Durchstich is a 5 kilometer long canal in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg . It was created between 1895 and 1900 by the International Rhine Regulation. The canal runs from Höchst / Lustenau towards Hard / Fußach into Lake Constance and shortened the Alpine Rhine by several kilometers. The state treaty between Switzerland and Austria from 1892 forms the basis for the construction of the canal. The need for construction was recognized after the devastating floods in 1888 and 1890. In the contract it says: “Inspired by the wish, for the purpose of eliminating the risk of flooding and swamping for the two banks of the Rhine from the mouth of the Ill downstream to the mouth of the same in Lake Constance, a regulation based on the agreed general project according to technically proven principles have decided to enter into a contract on this… Works to be carried out at joint expense: 1. the lower penetration at Fussach… “The canal was flanked by flood dams. The distance between the dams was 110 meters.

The construction of the canal was also intended to prevent silting up of Lake Constance. A large part of the gravel and sand that the Rhine transports is removed with excavators in the mouth of the canal. Between 50,000 and 100,000 m³ of debris are dredged from the canal every year and sold to the construction industry. Initially, there was considerable resistance and protests against the construction of the canal from the affected Vorarlberg communities. They demanded the construction of a canal at the western end of the Rhine Valley in the area of ​​the municipality of St. Margrethen , i.e. on Swiss territory. On May 6, 1900, at Pentecost, the Rhine water was first led into the new canal. Since that day Rheineck is no longer on the Rhine, but on the so-called Old Rhine and the municipality of Fußach is on the Rhine.

In 1924 the canal's dams were extended into Lake Constance. This measure was intended to combat the silting up of Lake Constance. The 4.5 km long dykes led to a considerable reduction in the siltation of the lake. Nevertheless, sandbanks 20 to 30 meters long are created in Lake Constance every year. Critics claim that dredging the sand and gravel debris is of little use. It was originally assumed that Lake Constance would only silt up at this point in 10,000 years. After 15 years, however, the bed load of the Rhine from the canal has already covered half the distance between Fußach and Lindau . Originally, the bay in front of Fußach was over 40 meters deep. Today it is a shallow body of water.

After the flood disaster in Liechtenstein in 1927 , the dams were raised by 2.5 meters. The canal was too wide and alluvial material raised the canal bed massively. In order to increase the flow and thus prevent deposits, the width of the channel was reduced considerably. In the bottom delta of the Rhine, the width of the canal was reduced to 70 meters by 1975. The floor was also lowered by 4.4 meters between 1950 and 1971 by dredging. The construction of the canal made it possible to create large areas for agriculture and settlement. Areas that were originally threatened by constant flooding could be developed. Industry also settled along the flood dams.

A works railway was built for the construction and maintenance of the canal, the service railway of the International Rhine Regulation . The line with a gauge of 750 mm is only used today as a museum railway .

Web links

Commons : Fußacher Durchstich  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ State treaty between Switzerland and Austria-Hungary on the regulation of the Rhine from the mouth of the Ill downstream to its mouth in Lake Constance
  2. ↑ Horst Johannes Tümmers: The Rhine: A European river and its history . Book guild Gutenberg, Frankfurt am Main, Vienna 1994, ISBN 3-7632-4343-7 , p. 59 .
  3. ^ Rhine regulation history
  4. ↑ Tagblatt Rhein brings huge sand freight
  5. ^ Municipality of Rheineck Rhine correction
  6. ↑ Horst Johannes Tümmers: The Rhine: A European river and its history . Book guild Gutenberg, Frankfurt am Main, Vienna 1994, ISBN 3-7632-4343-7 , p. 61 .

Coordinates: 47 ° 28 ′ 56 ″  N , 9 ° 40 ′ 12 ″  E