Eisenbreche Klamm

Useful Information

Location:	Giebelstraße, 87541 Bad Hindelang. (47.455755, 10.436088)
Open:	no restrictions. [2023]
Fee:	free. [2023]
Classification:	Gorge
Light:	n/a
Dimension:	A=940 m asl.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Tourist Information Bad Hindelang, Unterer Buigenweg 2, 87541 Bad Hindelang, Tel: +49 8324 8920, Tel: +49 8324 892 500 E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

2019	permit for the construction of a hydroelectric power plant revoked.

Description

The Eisenbreche Klamm near Bad Hindelang cuts through the main dolomite bar in a narrow and deep gorge. Due to the large difference in altitude between the valley floor above and below the rock bar, the Ostrach had a large gradient, a lot of energy, and quickly cut its way into a narrow gorge. The gorge is protected as geotope number 780R007. It is a more or less undeveloped gorge. You cannot cross it like other gorges, but from the Giebelhaus bus you can have a look at Auelesgasse and Eisenbreche. From the Auele bus stop, a hiking trail leads to an outlook and further down to the gorge entrance.

The Ostrach River is formed about 7 kilometres south of Hinterstein at 1,060 m above sea level by the confluence of the Obertalbach and Bärgündesbach streams. On its way to Sonthofen, it flows through two gorges, the so-called Eisenbreche and the Auelswände gorge. For more than 500 years, the river has driven the water wheels of the old hammer mill near Bad Oberdorf. It then flows through Bad Hindelang and finally flows into the Iller.

The gorge gained a certain inglorious notoriety when it was to be used to generate electricity by means of a dam. A 5-metre-high dam above the gorge and a 1.25 km-long, piped diversion would lead the water to a hydroelectric power station. In times of energy crisis, such projects are understandable. After all, they have the lowest energy consumption compared to all other types of power generation. The absence of water would have impoverished the gorge ecologically, and of course it would not have been as spectacular. The project dates back to the 1950s, a corresponding application was rejected in 2001. But in 2013 the state parliament shifted the authority to issue permits for water-related interventions in nature conservation areas to the district offices. Elektrizitätswerke Bad Hindelang then re-submitted the application and District Administrator Anton Klotz signed the notice of approval under questionable legal circumstances. In 2017, the Augsburg Administrative Court upheld the complaints of BUND Naturschutz (BN) and LBV (Landesbund für Vogelschutz), and overturned the permit. Finally, in 2019, the Bavarian Administrative Court in Munich rejected the appeal. This means that legal recourse has been exhausted and the gorge is finally saved.