The Isen is a small river in southeast

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and s ...

with a length of about 81 kilometres. The Isen rises near Lacken (in the municipality of Maitenbeth, district of Mühldorf am Inn) and flows through one of the most unspoiled regions of Old Bavaria (''Altbayern''): the Isen Valley. First seeing the light of day in the district of Mühldorf, the waters of the Isen flow initially into the district of Erding the villages of

Isen Isen may refer to: * Isen, Bavaria, a town in Germany *Isen, Kagoshima, a town in Japan * Isen (river) in Bavaria, Germany *The fictitious River Isen in Tolkien's literature * ISEN, a group of three French higher education establishments *Nissae I ...

Lengdorf Lengdorf is a municipality in the district of Erding in Bavaria in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany ...

and

Dorfen Dorfen is a town in the district of Erding, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 50 km east of Munich and 29 km south of Landshut. Transportation Dorfen is situated at the Munich-Mühldorf railway. People * Johann Georg von Di ...

, and then return again to Mühldorf district coursing through ( Schwindegg, Ampfing,

Mettenheim Mettenheim is a municipality in the district of Mühldorf in Bavaria in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Ge ...

Mühldorf am Inn Mühldorf am Inn (Central Bavarian: ''Muihdorf am Inn'') is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the district Mühldorf on the river Inn. It is located at , and had a population of about 17,808 in 2005. History During the Middle Ages, ...

and Erharting). Finally it flows into 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 ...

in the district of Altötting, municipality Winhöring, opposite

Neuötting Neuötting is a town in the district of Altötting, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Inn, 2 km north of Altötting, about 70 km north of Salzburg, 80 southwest of Passau and almost 100 km east of Munich. It is a sto ...

. The mouth of the Isen where it discharges into the Inn was moved further west to between the villages of Kronberg and Unterau in the municipality of Winhöring in the 19th century during the building of the München–Mühldorf–Simbach railway line. Its original mouth was near the village of Kager. Even today a few marshy spots in the fields and meadows give away the old course of the Isen. The Isen Valley, with its tributaries, is a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and a ...

(''Fauna-Flora-Habitat-Richtlinie'' or ''FFH'') that is threatened by the construction of the A 94 motorway. The

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through ...

of the Isen is moderately to critically polluted. Its tributaries are the Lappach, Ornaubach, Kagnbach and

Goldach Goldach is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rorschach in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Goldach is first mentioned in 789 as ''Goldaha'', though this comes from a later copy of the original document. In ...

Sources

* Rudolf Angermeier, Adolf Kunzmann: ''Isengau''. Pannonia-Verlag, Freilassing 1978.

References

TV Documentaries

* ''Die Isen''. TV series ''Topographie'' by

Dieter Wieland Dieter or dieter may refer to: * A person committed to dieting People Dieter is a German given name (), a short form of Dietrich, from ''theod+ric'' "people ruler", see Theodoric. Given name *Dieter Althaus (born 1958), German politician * ...

. Bayerischer Rundfunk 1981. * ''Mein Isental''. Nature documentary by Jan Haft. Bayerisches Fernsehen 2007. 45 min. {{Authority control Rivers of Bavaria Rivers of Germany