Lake Achen (german: Achensee) is a
lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much lar ...
north of
Jenbach in
Tyrol, Austria
Tyrol (; german: Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a state (''Land'') in western Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical Princely County of Tyrol. It is a constituent part of the present-day Euroregion Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino (t ...
. It is the largest lake within the federal state, and has a maximal depth of 133 metres. Together with the Achen Valley it parts the
Karwendel
The Karwendel is the largest mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps. The major part belongs to the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, while the adjacent area in the north is part of Bavaria, Germany. Four chains stretch from west to east; in ...
mountain range in the west from the
Brandenberg Alps
The Brandenberg Alps (german: Brandenberger Alpen) are a sub-group of the Northern Limestone Alps, that run in front of the Eastern Alps for their whole length. They lie entirely in Austria between Achensee in Tyrol, the Inn Valley and the Bava ...
in the east.
Water quality is near drinking water, with sight up to 10 m below the surface. An alpine lake, water temperature is accordingly low, rarely above 20 °C. Its size and wind conditions make it suitable for
windsurfing
Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing g ...
.
Eben am Achensee,
Achenkirch, and
Pertisau are municipalities on the lake. The Achensee and its hinterland serves as the model for the 'Tiernsee', setting of the
Chalet School series of children's books by
Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
Elinor M. Brent-Dyer (6 April 1894 – 20 September 1969) was an English writer of children's literature who wrote more than one hundred books during her lifetime, the most famous being the ''Chalet School'' series.
Early life and education
Br ...
.
History
The city of
Innsbruck bought the lake in 1919 from the
St. Georgenberg-Fiecht Abbey, who had received it from the rulers of
Schlitters
Schlitters is a municipality in the Schwaz district in the Austrian state of Tyrol.
Geography
Schlitters lies in the Ziller Valley
The Ziller Valley (german: Zillertal) is a valley in Tyrol, Austria that is drained by the Ziller River. It is the ...
around 1120.
Powerplant
Since 1924, the lake is managed by the
Tiroler Wasserkraft AG (TIWAG), which was founded for this purpose.
Originally, its only outflow was the ''Achenbach'', feeding the
Isar
The Isar is a river in Tyrol, Austria, and Bavaria, Germany, which is not navigable for watercraft above raft size. Its source is in the Karwendel range of the Alps in Tyrol; it enters Germany near Mittenwald and flows through Bad Tölz, ...
. Since 1927, when a power plant in
Jenbach was finished, it primarily feeds the
Inn
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
, at a level difference of 380 m below. Eight
pelton wheel
The Pelton wheel or Pelton Turbine is an Impulse (physics), impulse-type water turbine invented by American inventor Lester Allan Pelton in the 1870s. The Pelton wheel extracts energy from the impulse of moving water, as opposed to water's dead w ...
s at 500 RPM produce a total of 96 MW.
In winter, the level of the lake is lowered by up to 6 meters; accordingly the size of the lake keeps changing. At maximum level, the reservoir can store 66 million m³ of water.
Tourism
When the
Lower Inn Valley Railway
The Lower Inn Valley Railway (german: Unterinntalbahn) is a two-track, electrified railway line that is one of the major lines of the Austrian railways. It was originally opened as the '' k.k. Nordtiroler Staatsbahn'' (Imperial and Royal North ...
() railway was finished in 1859, tourism started to flourish. In order to make the abbey profit, the first
steamboat ''St. Josef'' was acquired in 1887.
Furthermore the construction of the 7 km long
Achenseebahn
The Achensee Railway (german: Achenseebahn, ) is a long metre gauge railway running between Jenbach () and Seespitz () on Lake Achen in Tyrol (Austria). Within its length it rises some in height, with the steeper sections using the Riggenbac ...
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller struc ...
rack railway
A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack and pinion, rack rail, usually between the running Track (rail transport)#Rail, rails. The trains are fitted with one or ...
was initiated, which went into service in 1889 between
Jenbach and ''Seespitz''. On 21 July that year a second steamboat, the ''St. Benedikt'', went into service. In 1890 the two boats with a capacity of 320 seats transported about 30,000 persons.
In 1911 a third scheduled boat, the ''Stella Maris'' went into service. It was the first passenger boat on a lake in the
Danubian monarchy
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
originally equipped with a
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...
. The boat was designed for 400 passengers, and featured a particularly silent engine at low rpm, similar to those that later were used in the submarines of World War I.
However, the ''Stella Maris'' was difficult to manoeuvre. When the lake was bought by the city of Innsbruck in 1919, the boat was renamed into ''Stadt Innsbruck''. In 1925 a motorboat named ''Tirol'' was acquired, and in 1927 for the first time more than 100,000 persons were transported.
In 1959 the ''St. Benedikt'' was replaced with a modern ship of the same name with a diesel engine. In 1971 the ''Tirol'' was replaced with a larger ''Tirol II'' for 40 passengers. In 1994 the ''MS Tirol'' went into service, replacing the ''Stadt Innsbruck'', and in August 2007 the ''MS Stadt Innsbruck''
replaced the ''St. Benedikt''.
Gallery
Image:Achensee Seespitz um 1900.jpg, Seespitz about 1900
Image:achensee_winter.jpg, Achensee in winter
Image:Pertisau_Achensee.jpg, View from mountain top of Big Unnütz towards Pertisau (SW)
Image:Achenseekraftwerk_Inntal_Jenbach_Tirol.jpg, Achenseekraftwerk in Inntal
The Inntal is the valley containing the Inn river in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. The valley has a total length of 517 km and the biggest city located in Inntal is Innsbruck.
The valley is divided into the following sections based on ...
valley
Image:Achenseebahn Seespitz.jpg, Achenseebahn
The Achensee Railway (german: Achenseebahn, ) is a long metre gauge railway running between Jenbach () and Seespitz () on Lake Achen in Tyrol (Austria). Within its length it rises some in height, with the steeper sections using the Riggenbac ...
with steam boat St. Benedikt (II)
Notes and references
Literature
* Naupp, Thomas OSB und Pinggera, Dr. Gert-Klaus: ''Stiftsmuseum Fiecht, Dokumente zur Geschichte von St. Georgenberg-Fiecht'' (Katalog)
* Armbruster, Karl; Pawlik, Hans Peter: ''Jenbach – Achensee. Die Tiroler Zahnradbahn.'' Slezak Verlag, Wien 1993; 96 S.
External links
Achensee powerplant architecture archive
{{Authority control
Lakes of Tyrol (state)
Reservoirs in Austria