Lech, Fluss#

Lech, River (the name is of Celtic origin, Latin "Licus"), river in the west of Austria, rises south of Rote Wand, the highest peak in Vorarlberg, flows through Vorarlberg over a distance of 12 km and through the north-west of Tirol over 78 km, leaves Austrian territory near Fuessen and empties into the River Danube near Ingolstadt (Germany). Average water flow 44.1 m3/sec. near Aschau. The Hornbachkette mountain range is north of the Lech valley in Tirol, a rift valley without terraces, the Lechtal Mountains are south of the Lech valley. The "Lech-Gries" area, situated between the towns of Haeselgehr (1,006 m) and Weissenbach (885 m) is partly a barren area. Dialect, as well as style of the houses, show Alemannic influences. The Lech valley used to be an emigration area, especially stucco workers, carpenters and merchants emigrated from this area. The Lech valley was also the setting of W. von Hillern´s novel "Die Geierwally", which in turn provided the story for A. Catalani´s opera "La Wally".