Garda lake

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Lake Garda,
Lago di Garda, Bènaco
Benacus creino.jpg
View of Nago-Torbole and the lake
Geographical location Northern Italy
Tributaries Aril , Barbarano, Bornìco, Dugale dei Ronchi, Gusa, Maguzzano, Marra, Ponale , San Severo, Sarca , Sermana, Toscolano, Varone
Drain Mincio
Islands Isola del Garda , Isola dell'Olivo, Isola del Sogno, Isola di San Biagio or I conigli, Isola di Trimelone
Places on the shore Desenzano del Garda , Riva del Garda , Salò
Data
Coordinates 45 ° 38 ′  N , 10 ° 40 ′  E Coordinates: 45 ° 38 ′  N , 10 ° 40 ′  E
Lake Garda (Lombardy)
Garda lake
Altitude above sea level 65  m slm
surface 369.98 km²
length 51.6 km
width 17.2 km
volume 49.3 km³dep1
scope 158.4 km
Maximum depth 346 m
Middle deep 133.3 m
Catchment area 3556 km²

particularities

largest lake in Italy

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The Lake Garda ( Italian Lago di Garda or Benaco ), one of the Italian lakes , is the largest lake in Italy . Its ancient name was from around 200 BC. BC to AD 800 Lacus benacus . The name is said to come from an ancient deity named Benacus . In the past Ice Age, Lake Garda was formed by a branch of the Adige Glacier, the traces of which can still be traced today, especially through the terminal moraines around the south bank, for example. B. at Lonato del Garda , Solferino , Valeggio sul Mincio and Custoza . The first settlements on the lake shore date back to the year 2000 BC. Chr.

geography

location

Lake Garda lies between the Alps in the north and the Po plain in the south. The north of the lake belongs to the Trentino-Alto Adige region , the west to Lombardy and the east to Veneto . This means that the three provinces of Trento (north), Verona (east) and Brescia (west) share administration.

The northern shore of the lake is bordered by two thousand meter peaks of the Garda mountains such as Monte Baldo ; the southern bank is already in the northern Italian plain .

There are well-known wine-growing areas near the lake :

  • South of Desenzano del Garda is the Lugana -region
  • To the east of Lake Garda are the areas of Bardolino and Soave wine
  • The Valpolicella area is also to the east (between Lake Garda and Verona)

Places on Lake Garda

Garda lake
Region
Trentino-Alto Adige
 region
Veneto
 region
Lombardy
Province of Trento
(from west to east) 		Province of Verona
(from north to south) 		Brescia Province
(from south to north)

The mountain village of Bagolino and the cities of Lonato del Garda , Brescia and Verona are in the vicinity of the lake .

Inflows and outflows

Lake Garda is mainly fed by the Sarca river . This flows into the lake at the north end near Torbole . As Mincio , the river leaves Lake Garda at Peschiera del Garda and later flows into the Po . With a total of 25 tributaries, there is an artificial inflow in the form of 1,959 completed Adige Lake Garda tunnel , which tunnel exit is located at the southern end of Torbole and in case of strong floods leading Adige opens.

level

The zero level at Peschiera del Garda is 64.027  m slm. It is subject to strong seasonal fluctuations, as the water of Lake Garda is used via its Mincio drain to irrigate the intensively agricultural areas between Verona and Mantua . On the other hand, the fluctuations are also due to the withdrawal of water for electricity generation in the upper reaches of the Sarca.

The level low was reached in 2003 and 2007 with 8 cm below level zero in each case, the highest level was on July 2, 1879 at 216 cm above level zero. In 1960 the level stood at 212 cm due to the opening of the Etsch-Gardasee tunnel . The level of 1673 and 1746, when the town of Desenzano del Garda was flooded, cannot be determined . In addition to Peschiera , the water level is also measured in Riva del Garda and Torri del Benaco .

Islands

There are five islands in the lake , the largest, Isola del Garda with Villa Borghese, is near Salò . About two kilometers south of it, also in the bay of Manerba and San Felice , is the Isola San Biagio, also known as "i Conigli" (German: the rabbits). San Biagio is a popular destination that can be reached by boat or on foot from the mainland (waist-deep or dry feet depending on the water level). Before Assenza (between Porto di Brenzone and Malcesine ) is the Isola di Trimelone , but this is a restricted military area . A little further north of Trimelone is the Isola del Sogno near Malcesine in the Val di Sogno and to the north of it the Isola dell'Olivo.

climate

The winds on Lake Garda

Due to the location, the climate is sub-Mediterranean with hot summers and mild winters with little rainfall. The annual average temperature is between 13 and 15 ° C. Gardone Riviera, on the south-western shore of the lake, has the mildest climate north of the Apennines . The main winds on the northern lake are the Ora and the Pelér . The Ora is a south wind that starts at noon and blows into the early evening hours. The Pelér, also known under the name Vento (Italian for wind ), is a north wind that starts in the second half of the night and lasts until mid-morning. Because of these winds, the northern Lake Garda between Torbole and Malcesine is very popular with sailors and surfers.

Garda lake
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
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Temperature in ° C
Source: local authorities
Average monthly temperatures for Lake Garda
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 6th 8th 13 18th 22nd 26th 29 27 25th 18th 12 8th O 17.7
Min. Temperature (° C) 0 1 5 8th 12 15th 17th 17th 14th 10 6th 2 O 9
Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 3 4th 5 6th 6th 9 10 8th 7th 4th 2 3 O 5.6
Rainy days ( d ) 5 6th 6th 9 10 10 7th 6th 5 6th 8th 7th Σ 85
Water temperature (° C) 8th 8th 9 10 12 18th 19th 20th 19th 16 12 10 O 13.4
Humidity ( % ) 86 77 77 77 74 74 75 75 79 86 87 87 O 79.5
T
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6th
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26th
15th
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Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
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Source: local authorities

history

Numerous pile dwelling settlements date from the Bronze Age , which were built directly on the lake shore or in the immediate hinterland of Lake Garda and have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2011 .

The battle at Lacus Benacus ( Latin for Lake Garda ) was fought in November 268 on the shores of Lake Garda in northern Italy between the Alemanni and the Romans under Emperor Claudius Gothicus .

Under the signories , Lake Garda fell under the influence of the Scaliger between the 13th and 14th centuries , who built numerous castles, especially on the eastern and southern banks ( Malcesine , Torri del Benaco , Lazise and Sirmione ). In the 15th century, the lake and its shores became the scene of the struggle for supremacy in Northern Italy between the Duchy of Milan under the Viscontis and the Republic of Venice . The transport of a Venetian fleet from the Adige Valley over the mountains to Torbole in 1439, a company called Galeas per montes by the Republic of Venice, counted as a military masterpiece . With the border on the Adda River established in the Peace of Lodi in 1454 , Lake Garda finally fell under the influence of the Doge Republic. The latter in particular expanded Peschiera on the strategically important drain of the Mincio into a fortress , which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2017 .

During the War of the Spanish Succession at the beginning of the 18th century, General Vendôme tried to advance with his troops over the north bank towards the north and left a trail of devastation. Numerous castles were destroyed by the French, such as Castel Penede in Nago , the castle of Arco or Castel Drena , which have been preserved as ruins. On April 19, 1706, Vendôme defeated the imperial troops under the command of Christian Detlev von Reventlow in the battle of Calcinato on the south bank of the lake .

The Battle of Rivoli , which took place near the town of Rivoli (southeast of Garda) in the First Coalition War in January 1797 , was a key success of the French army under Napoleon Bonaparte in the Italian campaign over a numerically superior Habsburg army under Field Marshal Alvinczy . Due to the Treaty of Pressburg of December 26th, 1805, with which the County of Tyrol became part of Bavaria, the northern tip of Lake Garda belonged to the Kingdom of Bavaria as the so-called Etschkreis from the beginning of 1806 to the beginning of 1810 and then, like the rest of the lake, to the Kingdom of Italy . After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the entire lake fell to the Austrian Empire and was part of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia .

The Battle of Solferino on the south bank was the decisive battle in the Sardinian War between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia and its ally France under Napoléon III. The defeat of the Austrians at Solferino on June 24, 1859 paved the way for the unification of Italy . The cruelty of the battle and the helplessness of the wounded soldiers led Henry Dunant (1828–1910) to found the Red Cross and led to the agreement of the Geneva Convention of 1864.

After the loss of Lombardy and the associated western shore of Lake Garda in 1859, Austria also lost the eastern shore in 1866 after the Third Italian War of Independence with Veneto , only the northern tip, with Riva del Garda, remained with Austria-Hungary until 1918 . The lake was also called "Gartsee" at this time. During the First World War , the front ran along the north bank of the lake, on which numerous fortifications had been built.

After the fall of Mussolini , at the request of the German government in northern Italy, the puppet government of the fascist Italian Social Republic ( Repubblica Sociale Italiana , also: Republic of Salò ) was installed under Mussolini's leadership as a counter-government, which had its seat of government in the town of the same name on the west bank of Lake Garda. The state existed between September 23, 1943 and April 25, 1945. On April 30, 1945, with the liberation of Torbole and Riva by the 10th US Mountain Division, the Second World War ended on Lake Garda.

ecology

vegetation

Mediterranean cypress trees on the Gardesana Occidentale
Detail of the painting Madonna della quercia ( Oak Madonna ) by Girolamo dai Libri (after 1533). The picture shows Lake Garda seen from the south. In the foreground the Mincio River, where John the Baptist is believed to be baptizing Jesus.

Around Lake Garda, Mediterranean trees such as Mediterranean cypresses , oleanders , cedars , olive trees and palm trees shape the appearance. Agaves, opuntia and caper bushes thrive on the sun-drenched slopes. Lake Garda is famous for its orangeries (Limonaia) , where lemons and oranges used to be grown. Only a few lemonades are still managed, especially as a tourist attraction. Most of them can be found on the west bank of the Riviera dei Limoni between Salò and Limone. On the east bank is one in Torri del Benaco . The east bank is called Riviera degli Olivi , as there are large olive groves on the slopes of Monte Baldo.

Fish fauna

In the northern part of the lake there is predominantly gravelly ground and near the shore, hundreds of meters of steep underwater slopes, on which the endemic Lake Garda trout ( carpione in Italian ) live. While brown trout are usually only found in the area where streams meet, rainbow trout can be found throughout the lake. Typical for Lake Garda are the chub that appear in larger swarms . Other fish species are eels , pike , perch , pikeperch and introduced largemouth bass . Other common fish species are roach , Ukelein , feints and whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) . Warmth-loving fish species such as carp and tench live in the flatter southern area .

Aquatic Neobiota

Allochthonous species have been represented in Lake Garda for centuries . The first neozoon introduced by humans and made their home there is the carp, which was used as the food fish in 1725. Lake Garda is one of the Italian lakes for which long-term studies on aquatic neobiota are available. On the basis of bibliographic studies and field investigations, almost 40 neobiota could be detected. The majority of these are neozoa, while only three neophytes are known of the aquatic plants. The neozoa are almost equally divided between fish and invertebrates . While the former were deliberately released as fish stock, the invertebrates unintentionally entered the lake via boat and ship traffic. In the spread of these species, water tourism through pleasure boats played an essential role. The neophytes, on the other hand, got into Lake Garda via aquariums and ponds.

Of the 34 fish species found in the lake, 16 and thus 47% of the species native to the lake are neozoa. In 1918, the Bodenseefelchen was also stocked with fish in Lake Garda. This species, also known as lavaret on the lake, is considered invasive and is believed to be partly responsible for the decline in the endemic Lake Garda trout.

Some invertebrate neozoa are particularly invasive, of which 15 species have been found in the lake. Including species that have been observed for the first time in Italy, as the 1970 detected zebra mussel , which has spread rapidly in the lake as well as since 2003 proven Large Dikerogammarus that the domestic Flohkrebsart Echinogammarus stammeri has in the southern part of the lake completely suppressed and only the Occurs north bank. One of the particularly invasive species is the Chinese pond mussel , which was observed on the southwest bank in 2009. Crayfish have been identified as invasive crayfish species since 1998 and American red marsh crayfish since 2003 .

Among the allochthonous aquatic plants, the large water garland from the frog-bite family and the narrow-leaved waterweed appear as neophytes . The invasive distribution of the large water garland, which has been documented since the early 1970s, is probably responsible for the disappearance of the splaying water crowfoot , which only occurred in the lake section belonging to Trentino and was last detected in 1992. The Canadian waterweed was first detected near Brenzone in 2009 and has now spread to the ports on the north bank. The Canadian waterweed , which has been detected since 1974, has not been observed since the beginning of the 2010s.

economy

Agriculture

Different crops are cultivated around the lake: in the north mainly fruit and citrus fruits, in the east and south olive trees and wine (e.g. Garda, Bardolino).

Garda is a Denominazione di origine controllata (short: DOC) region for white, rosé and red wines. The zone includes 25 municipalities in the province of Brescia, six municipalities in the province of Mantua and 40 municipalities in the province of Verona. Approved grape varieties are Groppello Gentile , Barbera , Cabernet Franc , Cabernet Sauvignon , Chardonnay , Cortese , Merlot , Pinot Blanc , Pinot Noir , Pinot Gris and Riesling . The individual zones of the DOC are Riviera del Garda Bresciano , Lugana , San Martino della Battaglia and Bardolino .

tourism

Lake Garda is a popular travel destination. There are hotels, guest houses, holiday apartments and campsites around the lake. Most of the holiday homes are open from late March to early October. The main season is July and especially August. Most hotels, cafes and restaurants are closed during the winter months. In 2018 there were 24 million overnight stays on the bank every year.

There are numerous amusement parks such as Gardaland or Canevaworld on the southern shore of the lake . The north bank is especially popular with climbers, mountain bikers and surfers.

traffic

Street

Lake Garda is surrounded by a well-developed road network. The two longest sections are the Gardesana riverside roads.

  • SS11 SS 11 (Padana Superiore): from Desenzano del Garda to Peschiera del Garda
  • SS45bisOn the west bank, the Gardesana Occidentale (SS 45 bis) leads from Salo to Riva del Garda
  • SS249The Gardesana Orientale (SS 249) runs on the east bank from Peschiera del Garda to Riva del Garda
  • SS572 SS 572 di Salò: from Salò to Desenzano del Garda

Lake Garda can be easily reached via two motorways:

  • A4 Autostrada A4 (also called Serenissima ), which runs in an east-west direction in the south of the lake, with the exits Desenzano, Sirmione and Peschiera del Garda
  • A22 Autostrada A22 ( Autostrada del Brennero ), which runs east of the lake from Brenner to Modena, with the Verona Nord, Rovereto Süd and Affi exits

railroad

The Verona - Milan railway line runs along the southern shore of Lake Garda , with stations in Peschiera and Desenzano. In the past there were three branch lines to which the north bank ( local line Mori – Arco – Riva ), the west bank ( tram line Brescia – Salò – Gargnano ) and the east bank ( railway line Verona – Caprino / Garda ) were connected. The last of these branch lines (Verona-Garda) ceased operations in 1956, the other two in the 1930s.

shipping

Many places on Lake Garda are connected by the ferry service of the Italian state company Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi . Currently (as of 2019) 23 ships are in use, including hydrofoils and catamarans .

Climbing aids

It is about 75 km from Bergamo Airport to the south bank; from the airport, Venice-Tessera is about 160 km away. From Milan Malpensa Airport (about 150 km from the southern shore of Lake Garda), there is no direct train to Verona and Lake Garda .-->

Picture gallery

literature

  • Thomas Bremer: Focus. Lake Garda. In: Zibaldone . No. 36. Stauffenburg-Verlag, Tübingen 2003, ISBN 3-86057-988-6 .
  • Francesca Ciutti, Maria Elena Beltrami, Ivano Confortini, Simone Cianfanelli, Cristina Cappelletti: Non-indigenous invertebrates, fish an macrophytes in Lake Garda (Italy) . In: CNR - Water Research Institute (IRSA) (Ed.): Journal of Limnology Vol. 70 (N. 2) 2011 , Page Press, Pavia 2011 ( PDF )
  • Andreas Stinsky: The 30 most famous archaeological sites on Lake Garda and in the surrounding area. With trips to Verona, Brescia, Bergamo and Trento . Nünnerich-Asmus-Verlag, Mainz 2018, ISBN 978-3-961760-16-9 .

Web links

Commons : Lake Garda  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikivoyage: Lake Garda  - travel guide
Wiktionary: Lake Garda  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Misura del livello del Lago di Garda. In: comunitadelgarda.it. Retrieved November 18, 2019 (Italian).
  2. ↑ The Lake Garda level in Italian (PDF; 2.16 MB), accessed on August 23, 2017.
  3. ↑ gardasee-aktiv.de
  4. ↑ Francesca Ciutti, Maria Elena Beltrami, Ivano Confortini, Simone Cianfanelli, Cristina Cappelletti: Non-indigenous invertebrates, fish an macrophytes in Lake Garda (Italy) pp. 315, 318
  5. ↑ a b Francesca Ciutti, Maria Elena Beltrami, Ivano Confortini, Simone Cianfanelli, Cristina Cappelletti: Non-indigenous invertebrates, fish an macrophytes in Lake Garda (Italy) p. 318
  6. ↑ Francesca Ciutti, Maria Elena Beltrami, Ivano Confortini, Simone Cianfanelli, Cristina Cappelletti: Non-indigenous invertebrates, fish an macrophytes in Lake Garda (Italy) p. 317
  7. ↑ Lake Garda is reaching its limits. Süddeutsche Zeitung Digitale Medien GmbH / Süddeutsche Zeitung GmbH, August 4, 2018, accessed on June 8, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Ferry connections on Lake Garda
  9. ↑ Used ships on Lake Garda