Lech

Lech (lĕkh), river, c.175 mi (280 km) long, rising in Vorarlberg, W Austria, and flowing NE into S Germany past Augsburg to the Danube River. The Wertach River is its chief tributary. There are about 20 hydroelectric stations on the river, of which Rain (105,000 kW capacity) is the largest. In 1632, Gustavus II of Sweden defeated the Count of Tilly near the mouth of the Lech.

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Lech

a river in central Europe, rising in SW Austria and flowing generally north through S Germany to the River Danube. Length: 285 km (177 miles)

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Lech 

a river in Austria and the Federal Republic of Germany; a right tributary of the Danube. Length, 248 km; basin area, 4,100 sq km. The river’s sources are on the northwestern slopes of the Lechtaler Alps.

In Austria, the Lech flows in a deep valley through the mountains; in the Federal Republic of Germany, it crosses the Swabian-Bavarian Plateau. The mean flow rate in the river’s middle course at the city of Landsberg is 85 cu m per sec; at the mouth of the Lech, the flow rate is about 120 cu m per sec. There are flash floods in summer. A hydroelectric power plant is located on the Lech. In the Federal Republic of Germany, the river is used for floating timber. The cities of Fiissen, Landsberg, and Augsburg (Federal Republic of Germany) are situated on the Lech. At the battle of the Lech, on Aug. 10, 955, south of Augsburg and on August 11–12, northwest of Augsburg, the troops of the German king Otto I routed the Hungarian nomads that had ravaged Central Europe since the beginning of the tenth century, thus putting an end to their raids.