Inn cycle path

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Inn cycle path between Passau and Wernstein am Inn on the left bank
Signposting in Tyrol between Hall and Schwaz

The Inn Cycle Path , also known as the Inn Valley Cycle Path , is an international long-distance cycle path . It leads from Maloja in Switzerland via Innsbruck in Austria to Passau in Germany and is approx. 520 km long. It follows the course of the Inn through high mountains , hill country and floodplain.

course

The Inn cycle path mostly runs close to the river, but not always on paved roads, especially in the floodplains. Sections leading away from the course of the river run on paths and side roads; occasionally, routes with heavy traffic have to be used.

The first section has quite steep sections in parts, later the climbs are weaker. The cycle path is continuously, but not consistently, signposted; the quality of the signage varies.

From the Maloja to Landeck , the Inn Valley loses about 1000 meters in height over 150 km, with valley sections with a slight gradient alternating with valley steps and gorges. Here it is much easier to cycle downstream than upstream, although there are not a few places where you cycle uphill down the valley. From Landeck to Passau there is only a 300 meter loss of altitude on 360 km, so the effort in both directions is the same overall, depends almost entirely on the wind direction. A strong wind often blows into the valley in the afternoon between Kufstein and the edge of the Alps.

Landscapes and Places

Switzerland

The last few kilometers in the Lower Engadine near Martina GR are divided by the Inn cycle path with the road for motor vehicles (left), that's how narrow the valley is there

The signposting begins in the village of Maloja , just a few meters below the apex of the road of the same name to Italy. The path follows the banks of three lakes at 1,800 meters above sea level, the mountains behind it reach more than 3,000 meters. The uppermost railway connection ( Rhaetian Railway ) is 16 km down the Inn in the health resort of St. Moritz , which is the largest town in the Engadine despite its only 5205 inhabitants .

The Julier Pass , the highest road connection with the Rhine Valley, reaches the Inn Cycle Path in Silvaplana , 6 km before St. Moritz. The quieter Albula Pass , part of the Swiss Veloroute No. 6 , is only 30 meters higher and only reaches the Inntal Cycle Path 16 km below St. Moritz. In the further course of the river cycle path, here also part of route 6, touches smaller alpine towns such as Ardez and Scuol . It is only paved from the junction of Albulastraße to Susch and near the mountain village of Ftan .

Austria

Because the Inn cycle path to Imst runs together with the Via Claudia Augusta , there are corresponding historical information boards along the way

From Pfunds to 20 km after Landeck , the Innweg is also part of the Via Claudia Augusta long-distance cycle path , which connects Augsburg to the Adige Valley via Fernpass and Reschenpass , mostly not exactly on the route of the Roman road . Landeck is the uppermost Austrian town on the Inn and the uppermost main railway connection ( Arlbergbahn ) on the Inn Cycle Path. From just before Landeck to behind Kufstein, a large part of the route runs on cycle paths and farm roads directly on the banks of the Inn, some sections instead of (or also) on the bank right next to the Inntal motorway. At Telfs , a gravel cycle path branches off towards Seefeld and Garmisch ; near Scharnitz it leads to the Isar cycle path .

Innsbruck is the provincial capital of Tyrol with a number of interesting buildings and museums. Quiet side routes to the Brenner Pass branch off partly here and partly further west. This is followed by the cities of Hall , Schwaz , Brixlegg and Rattenberg with historical town centers from the time when the Inn was an important traffic artery for the salt and ore trade. There are two interesting branches between Schwaz and Brixlegg: At Jenbach and Wiesing you can cycle up to the Achensee and you are then on the Via Bavarica Tyrolensis . The Zillertal flows out at Strass . From Kufstein the valley has a different character with the breakthrough of the northern limestone Alps .

Between Kufstein and the German border you can turn eastwards with a few meters of altitude into the Kaiserwinkl , an east-west valley south of the northern Limestone Alps, which crosses with the valley of the Großache , which flows from the Kitzbühel valley to the Chiemsee . The lowest-lying Austrian town on the Inn is Erl, known for its Passion Play .

Germany

Information boards on the Inn cycle path near Mühldorf am Inn on complex renaturation measures

The mountains of the German edge of the Alps have more wooded peaks than steep peaks. At the foot of the Alps, the Mangfall plain joins the Inn Valley from the west , through which you can comfortably cycle almost half of the route to Munich . The Lake Constance-Königssee cycle path also crosses in Neubeuert . Rosenheim , the largest German city on the Inn, lies at the mouth of the Mangfall .

Then the hills of the Bavarian Alpine foothills determine the landscape. In parts, the cycle path runs over these hills far away and far above the river.

The old town of Wasserburg, located in a bend in the river in the deep valley, is worth seeing . The industrial city of Mühldorf also has a pretty old town in the Inn-Salzach style.

Border river

The Inn cycle path ends in Passau , the Inn (left) joins the Danube . In addition to this river, there is also an international long-distance cycle path , the Danube cycle path

To the north of the Austrian border town of Braunau you cycle through the European reserve " Unterer Inn ". However, the river itself is more of a chain of reservoirs from the mouth of the Salzach to Schärding . In the three-river city of Passau, the Inn finally flows into the Danube.

literature

Books

cards

Web links

Commons : Innradweg  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wikivoyage: Inn Cycle Route  - Travel Guide