Dreiflüsseeck - Where Three Rivers Meet

Three rivers from three directions meet at the so-called Dreiflüsseeck: Danube, Inn and Ilz offer an impressive natural spectacle here. Looking downstream from the foot of the Niederhaus castle, you can see the Ilz streaming into the Danube from the left and a bit further down, the river Inn streaming into the Danube from the right.

Green, blue and black

The water from the Inn, which comes directly from the Alps, is green, the one from the Danube is blue and the water from the Ilz is black as it comes directly from a moorland. This is why the Danube features three watercolours for a longer part after the three rivers meet. It is remarkable how the powerful stream of the Inn’s green water pushes aside the water from the Danube.

This correlates for one with the occasionally large water volumes of the Inn, but mainly with the major difference in depth of both rivers (Inn: 1.90 metres / Danube: 6.80 metres) - “the Inn is an overcurrent in the Danube”. On average, the Inn carries five per cent more water than the Danube itself; but this is primarily due to the Inn’s strong flooding during the thawing period. The Danube, on the other hand, shows a significant steady water level. The Danube carries more water than the Inn for most of the year (seven months, October to April) - this is one of the reasons why the river has the name Danube after they merged together. Another reason: The name is also based on the river’s route until they arrive in Passau. The Danube trumps with 647 kilometres the Inn (510 kilometres).