The Inn (; ;
Etymology
The name Inn is derived from the old Celtic words
en and
, meaning
water. In a document of 1338, the river was named
Wasser (German for water). The first written mention from the years 105 to 109 (Publii Corneli Taciti historiarium liber tertius) reads: "
... Sextilius Felix... ad occupandam ripam Aeni fluminis, quod Raetos Noricosque interfluit, missus..." ("... Sextilius Felix was sent to capture the banks of the Inn, which flows between the Rhaetian people and the Noric people.")
["Wolf-Armin Frhr. v. Reitzenstein: Lexikon bayerischer Ortsnamen. Herkunft und Bedeutung. C.H.Beck, Munich 2006] The river is also mentioned by other authors of the Roman Empire as
Ainos (Greek) or
Aenus (Latin). In medieval Latin it was written as
Enus or
Oenus. The change in the old Bavarian language from
e to
i turned Enus to
In. Until the 17th century, it was written
In or
Yn, but also
Ihn or
Yhn. The double-n appeared only in the 16th century, for example in the Tyrolian Landreim of 1557, and since the 18th century this spelling and pronunciation with a short vowel has been customary.
[Otto Stolz: Geschichtskunde der Gewässer Tirols. Schlern-Schriften, Band 32, Innsbruck 1932, S. 6–14 und 83–88 ( Digitalisat)]
The mentions in Roman times refer to the lower course. The Tyrolean section was first called Aenus by Venantius Fortunatus in the 6th century. The name Engadin and the Romansh name En indicate that the upper reaches of the river have always been called this way. Even though it was occasionally believed that the Inn originated near the Adige at the Reschen Pass, since the 16th century at the latest the origin has been seen uniformly in the area of the lakes at the Maloja Pass.
A connection may exist between the name Inn and the name of the French river Ain.[Arnaud Vendryes: L'Ain : le nom d'une rivière à travers les sources. In: Société d'Emulation du Jura, Travaux 2015, S. 147–168]
Geography
The source of the Inn is located in the
Swiss Alps, west of St. Moritz in the
region, which is named after the river (
Romansh language Engiadina;
Latin language vallis Eniatina). Shortly after it leaves its source, the Inn flows through the largest lakes on its course,
Lake Sils and
Lake Silvaplana. It runs north-eastwards, entering Austria, and from
Landeck eastwards through the Austrian state of Tyrol and its capital,
Innsbruck (
bridge over the Inn), and crosses the border into
Bavaria near
Kufstein.
On Bavarian territory the river runs northwards and passes Rosenheim, Wasserburg am Inn, and Waldkraiburg; then it turns east, runs through Mühldorf and Neuötting and is enlarged by two major tributaries, the Alz and the Salzach. From here to the Danube, it forms the border between Germany (Bavaria) and Austria (Upper Austria). Towns on this last section of the river are Marktl am Inn, Simbach on Inn, Braunau am Inn and Schärding.
In Passau the Inn finally enters the Danube (as does the river Ilz there). Although the Inn has a greater average flow than the Danube when they converge in Passau, and its watershed contains the Piz Bernina, the highest point in the Danube watershed, the Inn is considered a tributary of the Danube, which has a greater length, drains a larger surface area, and has a more consistent flow.
The Inn is the only river originating in Switzerland that ends in the Black Sea (via the Danube).
Tributaries
-
Right tributaries (in downstream order): Flaz, Spöl, Clemgia, Faggenbach, Pitzbach, Ötztaler Ache, Melach, Sill, Ziller, Alpbachtal, Wildschönauer Ache, Brixentaler Ache, Weißache, Kaiserbach, Rohrdorfer Ache, Sims, Murn, Alz, Salzach, Enknach, Mattig, Ach, Hartbach, Antiesen, Pram
-
Left tributaries (in downstream order; two different rivers called Rott exist): Beverin, Schergenbach, Sanna, Gurglbach, Höttinger Bach, Mühlauer Bach, Brandenberger Ache, Kieferbach, Auerbach, Kirchbach, Mangfall, Rott, Attel, Isen, Rott
Flow
The average discharge at the
River mouth of the Inn is .
2013 flood
On 3 June 2013 the discharge of the Inn in
Passau reached
and the water levels reached , the highest recorded historic flood level since 1501.
The historic centre of Passau, where the
Danube, Inn and
Ilz converge, was flooded severely.
Hydroelectric power plants
Currently, there are 24
Hydroelectricity power plants on the Inn. 17 of them are operated by
Verbund.
The power plants are listed beginning at the headwaters:
|
Islas | 4.3 | 17 |
Ova Spin | 50 | 100 |
Pradella | 288 | 1,000 |
| Martina | 70 | 290 |
Imst | 89 | 550 |
Kirchbichl | 19.3 | 131 |
Langkampfen | 31.5 | 169 |
| Oberaudorf-Ebbs | 60 | 268 |
| Nussdorf | 48 | 245.8 |
| Rosenheim | 35 | 179.5 |
| Feldkirchen | 38 | 204 |
| Wasserburg | 29 | 165.7 |
| Teufelsbruck | 25 | 150.4 |
| Gars | 30 | 169.2 |
| Jettenbach | 6 | 30.2 |
| Töging | 85 | 564.6 |
| Neuötting | 26 | 159.4 |
| Perach | 19 | 128.4 |
| Stammham | 23 | 136.4 |
| Braunau-Simbach | 100 | 550 |
| Ering-Frauenstein | 72 | 434 |
| Egglfing-Obernberg | 84 | 485 |
| Schärding-Neuhaus | 96 | 541.8 |
| Passau-Ingling | 86 | 504.7 |
|
See also
-
List of rivers of Austria
-
List of rivers of Germany
-
List of rivers of Switzerland
External links
