The Lech ( Latin : Licus , Licca ) is a river in Austria and Germany . It is a right tributary of the Danube 255 kilometres (158 mi) in length with a drainage basin of 3,919 square kilometres (1,513 sq mi). Its average discharge at the mouth is 115 m/s (4,100 cu ft/s). Its source is located in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg , where the river rises from lake Formarinsee in the Alps at an altitude of 1,870 metres (6,120 ft). It flows in a north-north-easterly direction and crosses the German border, forming the Lechfall, a 12-metre-high (39 ft) waterfall; afterwards the river enters a narrow gorge (the Lechschlucht). Leaving the Alps, it enters the plains of the Allgäu at Füssen at an elevation of 790 metres (2,580 ft) in the German state of Bavaria , where it used to be the location of the boundary with Swabia . The river runs through the city of Füssen and through the Forggensee , a man-made lake which is drained in winter. Here, it forms rapids and a waterfall.
6-570: The river flows further northwards through a region called the Lechrain , and passes the cities of Schongau , Landsberg , Augsburg (where it receives the Wertach ) and Rain before entering the Danube just below Donauwörth at an elevation of 410 metres (1,330 ft). It is not navigable, owing to its torrential character and the gravel beds which choke its channel. There are extensive views of
12-625: A borderland, in this case between Bavaria and Swabia. It stretches from the foothills of the Alps into the Danube valley. The main settlements are Kempten , Füssen , Kaufbeuren , Peiting , Schongau , Landsberg am Lech , Augsburg , Friedberg , Mering and Donauwörth . Before the Christian era the land was occupied by Celts, then by Romans and later by Alemanni and Bavarians. Under the Romans it
18-521: Is the name of an informally defined region of Germany extending southwards from Augsburg towards the foothills of the Alps along the Lech river, mainly on the east bank. It forms a boundary region between Bavaria and Swabia . The Lechrainer dialect has traces of Bavarian and Alemannic and is considered a transitional dialect. The name "Lechrain" includes the Old High German "rein", indicating
24-616: The Welsh word llech ("stone slab") and the Breton word lec'h ("gravestone"). In this context, the meaning of the word "Lech" is explained as "the stony". On more than one occasion, historic events have been decided on the banks of this river. Currently, there are 33 hydroelectric power plants on the Lech. The power plants are listed beginning at the headwaters: Lechrain Lechrain
30-537: The Lech valley from Neuschwanstein Castle , near Füssen. Inscriptions from 8/7 B. C. prove that the river name is first mentioned in the Celtic tribe name Licates . The river itself is called Likios or Likias in the 2nd century. Around the year 570 the name Licca is found in records. In the 8th century, names such as Lecha and Lech appeared. The term Licus is still used in 1059. The name stands in analogy to
36-695: Was the province of "Raetia II". In the 8th century it lay on the border between Bavaria and Swabia in the Merovingian and Carolingian periods. It was then occupied by Guelphs , Hohenstaufens and from the 13th century, the Wittelsbach dynasty . The land was always disputed between Bavaria and the Swabian imperial city of Augsburg. In the 19th century, when Augsburg and east Swabia were incorporated in Bavaria it lost its political meaning, but it retains
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