Old Bavarian Donaumoos
Encyclopedia
The Old Bavarian Donaumoos is a former bog
on the southern side of the Danube
river, south west of Ingolstadt
, Bavaria
, in the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen
district. The bog, drained from 1790 onwards, has now dropped 3 metres (9.8 ft) in surface level because of the drainage and associated environmental effects. The Donaumoos was once the largest bog in Southern Germany
.
It is one of two former bogs named Donaumoos, the other being the Swabian Donaumoos , also predominantly located in Bavaria, between Ulm
and Gundelfingen
. Of the Bavarian bogs, the Moose, 95 percent have been dried out, a trend the Bavarian government wishes to reverse by re-flooding some of the former bogs.
was formed in the Donaumoos through the incomplete decomposing of plant materials. The peat formed at a rate of one millimetre per annum, to eventually reach a thickness of up to 10 metres in the Donaumoos.
Up until 1790, the 180 square kilometres of the Donaumoos bog were mostly inaccessible. From 1790 onwards, under the initiative of Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria
, the bog was systematically drained. 473 kilometres of canals were built to drain the Donaumoos and, alongside the straight canals, villages were formed. Living conditions in the Moos were however difficult and new settlers for the region were hard to find.
To compensate for the later problem, the Bavarian government relaxed its long-standing policy of not allowing non-Catholics to live in Bavaria
. In 1802, it permitted 120 Mennonite
families to settle in the Danube bogs. The new settlers were given numerous advantages, like subsidies, freedom from military service, tax-and rent-free use of the land for 10 years. Economic difficulties in the mid-1850s however forced the Mennonites to abandon their colony again and eventually emigrate to the United States
.
Other Protestants
- Lutherans
and some reformed
- settled in the Donaumoos to stay, however. As a result, in the 19th century there established three Protestant parishes in Karlshuld, Ludwigsmoos and Untermaxfeld, some of the very few existing in rural southern Bavaria before 1945.
Apart from non-Catholics, the Bavarian government also recruited convicts to settle in the area.
The Moos was also home to one of Bavaria's most notorious criminals, Theo Berger
(1941–2003), who was able to muster considerable support in the region during his four escape attempts from prison. Berger, who was the subject of a 1986 documentary, Der Al Capone vom Donaumoos (The Al Capone
of the Donaumoos), was send to a collective 137 years in jail and died in the Straubing
prison in 2003.
The dewatering of the peat causes mineralization
and thereby a lowering of the level of the land. On average, one to two centimetres of height are lost annually. The dried-out peat becomes very fine and is prone to wind erosion. Additionally, in the early days, peat was used as a fossil fuel
and mined in the Donaumoos.
All this has resulted in a number of problems. The Donaumoos is now three metres lower than it was in 1790. Of the 180 square kilometres (69 sq mi) of the bog, 60 have disappeared altogether. The dewatering canals have to constantly be lowered because of the drop of the surface level. However, where the canals join the Danube, this process has its limitations. Drainage from the Donaumoos to the river has slowed down and, after heavy rains, large areas of the Moos are flooded.
In 1991, the Donaumoos Zweckverband was formed, a public organisation which has the Regierungsbezirk
Upper Bavaria
, the district Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, the communities of Königsmoos
, Karlshuld
, Karlskron
and Pöttmes
as well as the local water departments as its members. A development plan was passed in 2000 with the aim of achieving a number of goals by 2030. Part of the plan is to preserve the Donaumoos as a habitat for people as well as flora and fauna.
Of the original character of the Moos, the peat bog, little is left. The remaining parts in the south and west of the Donaumoos, where the peat is still up to four metres thick, is to be protected and resupplied with water. Agricultural use of this area will not be possible anymore after this.
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
on the southern side of the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
river, south west of Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, in the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen
Neuburg-Schrobenhausen
Neuburg-Schrobenhausen is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Pfaffenhofen, Aichach-Friedberg, Donau-Ries and Eichstätt, and by the city of Ingolstadt.-History:...
district. The bog, drained from 1790 onwards, has now dropped 3 metres (9.8 ft) in surface level because of the drainage and associated environmental effects. The Donaumoos was once the largest bog in Southern Germany
Southern Germany
The term Southern Germany is used to describe a region in the south of Germany. There is no specific boundary to the region, but it usually includes all of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, and the southern part of Hesse...
.
It is one of two former bogs named Donaumoos, the other being the Swabian Donaumoos , also predominantly located in Bavaria, between Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
and Gundelfingen
Gundelfingen
Gundelfingen im Breisgau is a municipality directly north of the city Freiburg in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.Gundelfingen is one of the larger municipalities in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district...
. Of the Bavarian bogs, the Moose, 95 percent have been dried out, a trend the Bavarian government wishes to reverse by re-flooding some of the former bogs.
History
The Donaumoos was formed after the last glacial period, which ended approximately 10,000 years ago, in the wet lowlands on the southern side of the Danube . Over a period of time, peatPeat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
was formed in the Donaumoos through the incomplete decomposing of plant materials. The peat formed at a rate of one millimetre per annum, to eventually reach a thickness of up to 10 metres in the Donaumoos.
Up until 1790, the 180 square kilometres of the Donaumoos bog were mostly inaccessible. From 1790 onwards, under the initiative of Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria
Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria
Charles Theodore, Prince-Elector, Count Palatine and Duke of Bavaria reigned as Prince-Elector and Count palatine from 1742, as Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1742 and also as Prince-Elector and Duke of Bavaria from 1777, until his death...
, the bog was systematically drained. 473 kilometres of canals were built to drain the Donaumoos and, alongside the straight canals, villages were formed. Living conditions in the Moos were however difficult and new settlers for the region were hard to find.
To compensate for the later problem, the Bavarian government relaxed its long-standing policy of not allowing non-Catholics to live in Bavaria
Electorate of Bavaria
The Electorate of Bavaria was an independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1623 to 1806, when it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Bavaria....
. In 1802, it permitted 120 Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
families to settle in the Danube bogs. The new settlers were given numerous advantages, like subsidies, freedom from military service, tax-and rent-free use of the land for 10 years. Economic difficulties in the mid-1850s however forced the Mennonites to abandon their colony again and eventually emigrate to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Other Protestants
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
- Lutherans
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
and some reformed
Reformed churches
The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations characterized by Calvinist doctrines. They are descended from the Swiss Reformation inaugurated by Huldrych Zwingli but developed more coherently by Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger and especially John Calvin...
- settled in the Donaumoos to stay, however. As a result, in the 19th century there established three Protestant parishes in Karlshuld, Ludwigsmoos and Untermaxfeld, some of the very few existing in rural southern Bavaria before 1945.
Apart from non-Catholics, the Bavarian government also recruited convicts to settle in the area.
The Moos was also home to one of Bavaria's most notorious criminals, Theo Berger
Theo Berger
Theo Maximilian Berger was a notorious Bavarian criminal, best known for his numerous escapes from prison. Despite escaping four times, Berger spent 36 years in jail and eventually committed suicide there...
(1941–2003), who was able to muster considerable support in the region during his four escape attempts from prison. Berger, who was the subject of a 1986 documentary, Der Al Capone vom Donaumoos (The Al Capone
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
of the Donaumoos), was send to a collective 137 years in jail and died in the Straubing
Straubing
Straubing is an independent city in Lower Bavaria, southern Germany. It is seat of the district of Straubing-Bogen. Annually in August the Gäubodenvolksfest, the second largest fair in Bavaria, is held....
prison in 2003.
Environmental impact
The draining of the Donaumoos caused some drastic environmental side effects.The dewatering of the peat causes mineralization
Mineralization (biology)
In biology, mineralization refers to the process where an organic substance is converted to an inorganic substance.This may also be a normal biological process which takes place during the life of an organism such as the formation of bone tissue or egg shells, largely with calcium.This term may...
and thereby a lowering of the level of the land. On average, one to two centimetres of height are lost annually. The dried-out peat becomes very fine and is prone to wind erosion. Additionally, in the early days, peat was used as a fossil fuel
Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
and mined in the Donaumoos.
All this has resulted in a number of problems. The Donaumoos is now three metres lower than it was in 1790. Of the 180 square kilometres (69 sq mi) of the bog, 60 have disappeared altogether. The dewatering canals have to constantly be lowered because of the drop of the surface level. However, where the canals join the Danube, this process has its limitations. Drainage from the Donaumoos to the river has slowed down and, after heavy rains, large areas of the Moos are flooded.
In 1991, the Donaumoos Zweckverband was formed, a public organisation which has the Regierungsbezirk
Regierungsbezirk
In Germany, a Government District, in German: Regierungsbezirk – is a subdivision of certain federal states .They are above the Kreise, Landkreise, and kreisfreie Städte...
Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany.- Geography :Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered around the city of Munich. It is subdivided into four regions : Ingolstadt, Munich, Bayerisches Oberland , and Südostoberbayern...
, the district Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, the communities of Königsmoos
Königsmoos
Königsmoos is a municipality in the district of Neuburg-Schrobenhausen in Bavaria in Germany.It is located within the Old Bavarian Donaumoos....
, Karlshuld
Karlshuld
Karlshuld is a municipality in the district of Neuburg-Schrobenhausen in Bavaria in Germany.-History:The locality was created in the course of the dewatering of the Donaumooses begun at 1790 in the year 1795 as colony of Karl baron v. kind of hitting a corner. The place was until 1840 seat of an...
, Karlskron
Karlskron
Karlskron is a municipality in the district of Neuburg-Schrobenhausen in Bavaria in Germany.It is located within the Old Bavarian Donaumoos....
and Pöttmes
Pöttmes
Pöttmes is a municipality in the district of Aichach-Friedberg in Bavaria in Germany....
as well as the local water departments as its members. A development plan was passed in 2000 with the aim of achieving a number of goals by 2030. Part of the plan is to preserve the Donaumoos as a habitat for people as well as flora and fauna.
Of the original character of the Moos, the peat bog, little is left. The remaining parts in the south and west of the Donaumoos, where the peat is still up to four metres thick, is to be protected and resupplied with water. Agricultural use of this area will not be possible anymore after this.