Kinzig (Rhine)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the Rhine tributary in Baden-Württemberg. For the Main tributary in Hesse, see Kinzig (Main).
Kinzig
The Kinzig in Wolfach
Course of the Kinzig
Location
CountryGermany
StateBaden-Württemberg
Reference no.DE: 234
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationLoßburg
 • elevation682 m
Mouth 
 • location
In Kehl-Auenheim
 • elevation
134 m
Length93.3 km (58.0 mi) [1]
Basin size1,403 km2 (542 sq mi) [1]
Discharge 
 • locationat Schwaibach gauge [2]
 • average22.8 m³/s
 • minimumRecord low: 1.08 m³/s (in 14.09.1919)
Average low: 3.62 m³/s
 • maximumAverage high: 296 m³/s
Record high: 914 m³/s (in 24.12.1919)
Basin features
Progression
Wolf, Harmersbach

The Kinzig is a river in southwestern Germany, a right tributary of the Rhine.

It runs for 93 km from the

last glacial period the Kinzig and the Murg created a common Kinzig-Murg
river system.

Course of the river

The origin of the Kinzig is located on the land of the town of

levees. Renaturation is in progress in the area where the Schutter
flows into the Kinzig.

Name

In 1099 the river was first mentioned as ad Chinzechun, ad aliam Chinzichun, in 1128 as Kinzicha. In 1539, 1543, 1560, 1620, 1652 and 1654 it was listed as Künzlin, Küntzgen, Kintzg, Kintzgen, Oberkentzgenwüß and Köntzig, respectively. In 1837 it was referred to for the first time as Kinzig.

According to

Celtic kent meaning various kinds of quick movement or from the Lepontic
word Centica (Cinti) which means "water".

With all these possibilities in mind, we can return to Adolf Bach and Bruno Boesch, who think these derivations doubtful. In addition, the question remains of how far the Celts or Pre-Celts had settled the Kinzig area, and which settlers had originally given the river its name. While these questions are difficult to answer for pre-historic times, the fact is that the Kinzig only created a small canyon in its upper part. A completely different river with many twists and turns presents itself as it moves towards the

Upper Rhine River Plains. At the end of the last ice age it wound its way through the Plains for a long time, on the way absorbing the Murg and only joining the Rhine after it reached the general area of Hockenheim
.

Tributaries

In the Black Forest many tributaries empty into the Kinzig, including several longer streams of 20-30 kilometres in length, most coming from the north or south. The following is a list of those over 10 kilometres in length:

The largest tributary overall reaches the Kinzig a little before its mouth in the Upper Rhine Plain:

  • Schutter, from the left near Kehl, 56.8 km and 338.2 km².

Importance as a transport and trade route

Timber rafting

Rafters at the mouth of the Wolfach during the Rafter Festival, summer 2004 in Wolfach

In the past, the Kinzig was very important for

timber raft ran down the Kinzig in 1896. Today, timber rafting festivals, museums in Gengenbach, Wolfach and Schiltach, as well as numerous technical facilities, such as weirs
recall the timber rafting era.

Historical Roman road

An old travel map of the upper Kinzig valley, c. 1716

The width, length and the favourable east-west direction of the middle and lower valley of the Kinzig make it important for as a communication route. For example, the

Rhine Knee (Rheinknie) at Basel. During the revolt of the Batavi
in 69/70 this detour had proved a problem.

Fauna and flora

Fauna

A regeneration program has been in progress since 2002 to re-introduce salmon into the Kinzig by putting young salmon into the water and removing obstacles. These efforts seem to be successful as in early 2005, for the first time in 50 years, salmon spawn were found in a river in Baden-Württemberg.

Flora

The Kinzig valley is the deepest in the inner Black Forest. In the lower Kinzig valley the villages are below 200 metres above sea level. The climate in the valley is therefore milder than in most other areas of the Black Forest. In the lower valley fruit and wine are produced; Gengenbach, Ortenberg and Ohlsbach are well-known names of wine-growing villages, some of which are on the Baden Wine Road. The countryside around the Kinzig valley in spring blooms far earlier than the surrounding regions of the Black Forest.

Infrastructure

The width, length and favourable east-west direction in the middle and lower valley make the Kinzig Valley important for infrastructure. The

Upper Germanic country except for Burladingen which was in Rhaetian territory. The surprising discovery of the fortification in Frittlingen in 1992 only a few kilometers southeast of Rottweil shows that the Kinzigtalstraße was secured and covered with a tight net of military fortifications. The suggestion that the Kinzig Valley itself was home to another fortification has thus gained credibility. Until then, it was supposed that there must have been one or two more yet to be discovered fortifications merely on the basis that the distance between the known ones in Offenburg and Waldmössingen was very big. Another fortification is assumed in Rottenburg
by the end of the 1st century however, it is not clear whether it existed as early as 73/74 AD or not until later in 98 AD.

Roughly at the same time that the Kinzigtalstraße was built, Roman forts were constructed further north on the right side of the

Lopodunum), Heidelberg and Baden-Baden
(Aquae). Whether these were advanced posts or the Roman border between 73 and 98 AD, (following a generally defined line east of the Rhine), has yet to be determined.

In 98 AD, in the area of present-day southwest Germany, the route between Odenwald and Neckar came under Roman control, making the connection from Mainz to Augsburg shorter yet. As a result, the Kinzigtalstraße lost superregional significance.

In present-day Germany, the federal highway B 33 runs parallel to the Kinzig from Offenburg until it leaves the Kinzig in the upper valley to follow the Gutach towards Villingen-Schwenningen. From Hausach on towards Freudenstadt, the federal highway B 294, follows the upper Kinzig.

For the Black Forest Railway (Schwarzwaldbahn) train service, the valley is also very important. It runs from Offenburg to Hausach where it turns into the Gutach Valley to continue on to Konstanz at Lake Constance. In the upper Kinzig Valley, the Kinzig Valley Railway (Kinzigtalbahn) provides a connection between Hausach and Freudenstadt.

The Kinzig near Biberach
The Kinzig near Steinach

Towns and villages

(starting at the origin)

Castles, abbeys and stately homes

  • Gallery
  • The Schenkenburg near Schenkenzell
    The Schenkenburg near Schenkenzell
  • Schloss Wolfach
    Schloss Wolfach
  • Abbey church and Loretto Chapel of the Capuchin abbey in Haslach, Feb 2006
    Abbey church and Loretto Chapel of the Capuchin abbey in Haslach, Feb 2006
  • The ruins of Hohengeroldseck
    The ruins of Hohengeroldseck
  • Gengenbach Abbey
    Gengenbach Abbey
  • Schloss Ortenberg, May 2008
    Schloss Ortenberg, May 2008

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Map services of the Baden-Württemberg State Office for the Environment, Survey and Conservation (Landesanstalt für Umwelt, Messungen und Naturschutz Baden-Württemberg)
  2. ^ Deutsches Gewässerkundliches Jahrbuch Rheingebiet, Teil I 2009

Sources

  • Emil Imm (ed.) - Land um Kinzig und Rench, Rombach-Verlag (1974)
  • Kurt Klein - Leben am Fluss, Schwarzwald-Verlag (2002)
  • STALF, A. (1932): Korrektion und Unterhaltung der Kinzig. Die Ortenau 19. pp 124–144.
  • NEUWERCK, A. (1986): Der Lachsfang in der Kinzig. Die Ortenau 66. pp 499–525.
  • Bach, Adolf, Deutsche Namenkunde, Bd. II/2, Heidelberg 1981
  • Bahlow, Hans, Deutschlands geographische Namenwelt, Frankfurt 1985, p. 263
  • Boesch, Bruno, Kleine Schriften zur Namenforschung, Heidelberg 1981
  • Buck, M. R., Oberdeutsches Flurnamenbuch, Stuttgart 1880, p. 130
  • Keinath, Walther, Orts- und Flurnamen in Württemberg, Stuttgart 1951
  • Krahe, Hans, Unsere ältesten Flussnamen, Wiesbaden 1964
  • Obermüller, Wilhelm, Deutsch – Keltisches Wörterbuch, 1872, Reprint-Druck, Vaduz 1993, Bd. II, pp 178f
  • Springer, Otto, Die Flussnamen Württembergs und Badens, Stuttgart 1930, pp 53, 60
  • Traub, Ludwig, Württembergische Flußnamen aus vorgeschichtlicher Zeit in ihrer Bedeutung für die einheimische Frühgeschichte, in: Württembergische Vierteljahrshefte für Landesgeschichte, XXXIV. Jahrgang, 1928, Stuttgart 1929, p. 16

External links

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