The Püttlach is a left tributary of the River Wiesent. It is about long and flows through the

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n region of

Franconian Switzerland Franconian Switzerland (, ) is an upland in Upper Franconia, Bavaria, Germany and a popular tourist retreat. Located between the River Pegnitz in the east and the south, the River Regnitz in the west and the River Main in the north, its relief ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Geography

Course

Fraenkische Schweiz Oberes Puettlachtal 006

The Püttlach rises in Franconian Switzerland, south of Bärnreuth at a height of about within the parish of Lindenhardter Forst-Nordwest, near the source of the Red Main and origin of the

Fichtenohe The Fichtenohe is a river of Bavaria, Germany. It flows into the Pegnitz in the town Pegnitz. It is also considered the upper course of the Pegnitz. See also *List of rivers of Bavaria A list of rivers of Bavaria, Germany: A * Aalbach * Abe ...

, a headstream source of the

Pegnitz river The Pegnitz () is a river in Franconia in the German state of Bavaria. The Pegnitz has its source in the town of the same name at an altitude of and meets the Rednitz at in Fürth to form the Regnitz river. Shortly after the source, the Pegn ...

. It initially flows northwest to the Pond (''Püttlachweiher''). There it turns sharply to the south and flows through woods. In Muthmannsreuth, it is fed from the left by the ''Heringsbach'' and, at Heringslohe, from the right by the ''Heroldsgraben''. West of

Trockau Trockau is a village in the district of Bayreuth, in Bavaria, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sout ...

is the ''Herrenmühle'' and, in the vicinity, a

sewage treatment plant Sewage treatment is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable to discharge to the surrounding environment or an intended reuse application, thereby preventing water p ...

. Just south of a second mill, the ''Heddelmühle'', it is joined from the right by the Kohlbrunnbach. Near the ''Hasenloch'' it is fed from the right by the ''Pullendorfer Bächlein'' brook. It flows through the eponymous parish of Püttlach in the borough of Pottenstein. To the south of the town it makes its way through fields and meadows to an area with many small ponds. There it is boosted from the left by the ''Grießbach'' stream. It continues to flow south through a deep valley to the Hollenberg Forest. Blocked by a

hill range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

, it turns 90 degrees to the west before cutting through the ridge and passes through the upper Püttlach valley, past the Adamsfels Cave as far as Pottenstein. In the town, the Weiherbach joins the Püttlach from the left. Nearby is another mill and, on the western edge of the town, the

hammer mill A hammer mill, hammer forge or hammer works was a workshop in the pre-industrial era that was typically used to manufacture semi-finished, wrought iron products or, sometimes, finished agricultural or mining tools, or military weapons. The featur ...

. The Püttlach now flows westwards through a narrow gorge and empties into the Wiesent at Behringersmühle where the Ailsbach (or ''Aßbach'') joins from the right (mouth height approximately ).

Tributaries

* Heringsbach (left) * Heroldsgraben (right) * Kohlbrunnbach (right) * Pullendorfer Bächlein (right) * Bodendorfer Bach (left) * Grießbach (left) * Haselbrunnbach (right) * Weihersbach (left) * Ailsbach (right)

Püttlach Valley

The Püttlach Valley has been incised deep into the countryside of the

Franconian Jura The Franconian Jura ( , , or ) is an upland in Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. Located between two rivers, the Danube in the south and the Main in the north, its peaks reach elevations of up to and it has an area of some 7053.8 km2. Emil Mey ...

and has many prominent rock formations. In the valley lie the settlements of Pottenstein and

Tüchersfeld Tüchersfeld is a church village in the Püttlach valley in Franconian Switzerland and belongs to the town of Pottenstein. Geography Due to the prominent rocks (sponge reefs in cone karst shapes) of a meander cutoff hill, which emerged as th ...

; in both places some of the houses are built directly on or against the rocks.

Nature

Fauna

;Fish The Püttlach, along with the Wiesent, is rich in fish, which include the following: * Trout (

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

river trout ''Salmo trutta fario'', sometimes called the river trout, is a river-dwelling freshwater predatory fish from the genus ''Salmo'' of the family Salmonidae. It is one of the three main subspecies of the brown trout (''Salmo trutta''), besides sea ...

carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...

tench The tench or doctor fish (''Tinca tinca'') is a freshwater, fresh- and brackish water, brackish-water fish of the order Cypriniformes found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including Great Britain, Britain and Ireland east into Asia as far ...

chub Chub is a common fish name. It pertains to any one of a number of ray-finned fish in several families and general. In the UK, the term ''chub'' usually refers to the species '' Squalius cephalus''. In addition, see sea chub. In family Cyprinid ...

perch Perch is a common name for freshwater fish from the genus ''Perca'', which belongs to the family Percidae of the large order Perciformes. The name comes from , meaning the type species of this genus, the European perch (''P. fluviatilis'') ...

eels Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order (biology), order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 Family (biology), families, 164 genus, genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the earl ...

and various species of white fish. ;Shrimps *

Signal crayfish The signal crayfish (''Pacifastacus leniusculus'') is a species of crayfish indigenous to North America. Introduced to Europe in the 1960s to supplement the North European ''Astacus astacus'' fisheries, which were being damaged by crayfish plague ...

spinycheek crayfish ''Faxonius limosus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Orconectes limosus'', is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is native to the east coast of North America, from Quebec to the lower James River (Virginia), James River, Virginia, ...

;Birds * Among the birds that live along the Püttlach Valley are

dippers Dippers are members of the genus ''Cinclus'' in the bird family Cinclidae, so-called because of their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater. Taxonomy The genus ''Cinclus'' ...

.PÜTTLACHTAL
/ref>

Flora

* Notable plant species of the Püttlach Valley include

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth ...

marsh-marigold ''Caltha palustris'', known as marsh-marigold and kingcup, is a small to medium sized perennial herbaceous plant of the buttercup family, native to marshes, fens, ditches and wet woodland in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It flow ...

s, Greek anemones, cowslips and

pasque flower The genus ''Pulsatilla'' contains about 40 species of herbaceous perennial plants native to meadows and prairies of North America, Europe, and Asia. Common names include pasque flower (or pasqueflower), wind flower, prairie crocus, Easter flower, ...

s.Im Püttlachtal
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puttlach (River) Rivers of Bavaria Rivers of Germany