The Blinde Rot, also called the Adelmannsfelder Rot, is a river in the Ellwangen Hills in the north of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, that rises in the municipality Frankenhardt and discharges into the Kocher in the municipality of Abtsgmünd.

Blinde Rot
Adelmannsfelder Rot
Blinde Rot near Bühlerzell
The course of the Blinde Rot
Location
CountryGermany
StateBaden-Württemberg
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationNear Vorderuhlberg, Frankenhardt municipality
 • coordinates49°03′21″N 9°59′22″E / 49.0559°N 9.9894°E / 49.0559; 9.9894
 • elevationc. 503 metres (1,650 ft)
Mouth 
 • location
Kocher, near Schäufele, Abtsgmünd municipality
 • coordinates
48°54′15″N 9°59′16″E / 48.9043°N 9.9878°E / 48.9043; 9.9878
 • elevation
c. 363 metres (1,191 ft)
Length28.5 kilometres (17.7 mi) [1]
Basin size60.7 km2 (23.4 sq mi)
Basin features
ProgressionKocherNeckarRhineNorth Sea
WaterbodiesFleckenbachsee, Betzenweiher

Geography

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The Blinde Rot rises on the gravel sandstone plateau on the northern foothills of the Ellwangen Hills, flows shortly thereafter through the lake of Fleckenbachsee and then meanders southwards through river meadows, before swinging abruptly west in front of the Hornberg hill, about 2 km before emptying into the Kocher near Schäufele.

The whole length of its valley lies on the Middle Keuper rocks. Its neighbouring rivers, which run through valleys roughly parallel to the Blinde Rot to the west as east, the Bühler and the Jagst, both flow in the opposite direction, i.e. to the north.

Tributaries

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The tributaries of the Blinde Rot from source to mouth are:

Name Length
(km)
Orientation Confluence elevation
(m above sea level)
Confluence location Source / course
Kohlenbach 0.6 right 486 southwest of Frankenhardt-Ipshof from the eastern Schäfer, ends in the Fleckenbachsee
Kaltenbach 2.2 right 469 after the pond of Betzenweiher at Rosenberg-Betzenhof from the western Schäfer
Forellenbach 1.9 right 467 between Rosenberg and Betzenhof-Zollhof from the Strut
Höllholzbach 1.1 right 461 opposite Rosenberg-Zollhof flows through the Brunnenklinge
Eisenbach 1.7 left 459 south of Rosenberg-Zollhof from the Eisennagel
Kaltenbach 1.2 left 456 opposite Rosenberg-Uhlenhof from Birkhof
Neumüllerswaldbach 0.8 left 451 opposite the southern edge of Rosenberg-Ludwigsmühle from northern Vogelbuck
Vogelkingenbach 1.1 left 449 below and opposite Rosenberg-Ludwigsmühle from southern Vogelbuck
Stream through the Wolfsklinge 1.3 right 448 400 m SSW of Rosenberg- Ludwigsmühle from the west bend in the K 2628 road
Stream through the Wolfsklinge 0.7 left 442 southwest of the Old Castle
Fuchsbach 1.6 left 439 flows through the Fuchsklinge
Dollesbach 2.6 right 438 from Bühlerzell-Kammerstadt, flows through the lake of Treibsee
Scherrbach 1.6 right 436 from Spatzenhof
Einsiedelsbach[2] or perhaps the Einsiedelbach 2.1 left 435 at the sign where the 49th latitude and 10th longitude intersect from Rosenberg-Hohenberg
Stream through the Höfelesklinge 1.0 right 430 400 m NNE of Bühlerzell-Röhmen
Stadelsbach 4.1 left 425 at Bühlerzell's Röhmen saw mill from Rosenberg-Zumholz
Heidenfeldbach 0.8 right 425 east of Bühlerzell-Grafenhof at the sewage farm
Buchweiherbach 0.9 right 417 southeast of Adelmannsfelden-Mittelwald Outflow of 0.8 hectare pond of Buchenweiher at Adelmannsfelden-Mittelwald
Waldbach 2.4 left 415 east opposite the Adelmannsfelden-Vorderwald Sommerhalde from Rosenberg-Hinterbrand
Geißbach 1.9 left 412 opposite Vorderwald along the municipal boundary from Adelmannsfelden to Neuler at a track bridge over the Blinde Rot Source region south of Rosenberg-Hütten
Tributary at the old Herrenmühle mill 0.5 right 408 at the feet of Adelmannsfelden-Ottenhof
(Tributary) 0.6 right 407 between Ottenhof and Adelmannsfelden-Dollishäusle
Klingenbach 1.1 right 405 Bridge on the L 1073 from Neuler-Gaishardt to Adelmannsfelden rises in the western urban area of Adelmannsfelden, passes through the klinge between the village and north Dollishäusle
Haldenbach 3.0 left 398 Adelmannsfelden Paper Mill rises northeast of Gaishardt
Klingenbach (!) 1.3 left 395 begins below Neuler-Leinenfirster Teufelskanzel
Fürtlebach 1.2 right 390 400 m south of Neuler-Burghardsmühle begins south of Abtsgmünd-Herrenwald
Hartenbach 1.9 left 389 Source area in Neuler-Pfaffenhölzle
Jungholz Bach 0.5 right 385
Franzbach 1.7 right 385 begins east of Abtsgmünd-Pommertsweiler
Zobelsbach 1.4 left 383 from Neuler-Ramsenstrut
Rotwiesenbach 0.6 right 383 from the Gschäl
Fischbach 3.0 right 380 from the eastern slopes of the Büchelberger Grat
Bach through the Birkenklinge 0.5 left 378 Abtsgmünd oil and sawmill from the Zanken
Ölmühlbach 0.6 right 378 Abtsgmünd oil and sawmill from Abtsgmünd-Unterwilflingen
Höftbach 1.0 left 375 from Neuler-Binderhof
Götzenreutebach 0.5 right 374 from Geigersberg
Geigersbergbach 0.4 left 374 at Westknick
Buchhaldenbach 0.6 left 371 from the northwestern slope of the Hornberg, empties into a side branch
Forchenwald Bach 0.6 right 368 from Geigersberg. Mouth in the "Valley of the Blinde Rot" nature reserve
Kotenbach 1.2 right 367 northeast of Abtsgmünd-Schäufele from southeast Wilflingen

Environment and protected areas

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The Blinde Rot initially flows through a very shallow depression, but from about Willa it cut more deeply and nowhere exceeds a maximum width of 150 metres. Mostly enclosed on both sides by wooded slopes, a small-scale, natural river landscape has survived on the valley floor. Pastures and meadows alternate here with woods, including elsewhere rare carrs. The river winds freely through both in natural meanders with steep and gently banks, accompanied by sandbanks, oxbow lakes and pools that are slowly silting up. The upper reaches, the valley from the village of Bühlerzell to the hamlet of Grafenhof, are designated as a protected landscape. This reserve was formed by a local act issued by the Ostalbkreis district office on 5 May 1994 and covers an area of 358 hectares. Immediately thereafter until the Burghardmühle mill below Adelmannsfelden is the protected landscape known as the "Valley of the Blinde Rot". It covers 84.5 hectares and was established on 20 December 1968.

Fauna

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The nature reserve of the Valley of the Blinde Rot (Naturschutzgebiet Tal der Blinde Rot) is a habitat rich in fauna. In the valley, 28 breeding bird species have been observed, including the white-throated dipper, the common kingfisher, the Eurasian woodcock and the marsh warbler. Two reptiles are native here: the viviparous lizard and slowworm, and the 7 species of amphibian include the fire salamander and yellow-bellied toad. In the waters of the Blinde Rot live the rare river trout and the endangered brook lamprey, and on the floodplain are numerous species of butterfly and dragonfly.

Flora

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Along the shore of the blind red are Alnus glutinosa and willows. In the extensively farmed wetlands still grow Trollius europaeus. In the wetlands to find the source bulrush and various sedges like the Yellow, the tassel visible, the felt and the fox sedge. An orchid that come Broad, the meat red and the rare green-winged orchid in the valley before, else the yellow aconite and the forest-Columbine.

Water quality

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The blind was red with 2004 levels detected over her for this run from about the inflow of Geißbachs lightly loaded (class I-II).[3]

History

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In the catchment area, which is more than half covered by forests, forestry was formerly predominantly characterised by charcoal burning, resins, and especially the extraction of timber. It was processed in sawmills into sawn timber, but most of it was used as fuel, turned into firewood for those living in the valley. Most of the timber from the forests was transported along the Blinde Rot and Kocher to Schwäbisch Hall where the saltworks had a great demand for firewood.

Sights and structures

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  • Fleckenbachsee lake and Fleckenbach Sawmill
  • Middle reaches of the river with oxbow lakes, sandstone rocks and several steep side valleys
  • St. James' pilgrimage church in Hohenberg in Rosenberg about 3 km east of the river at a height of 568 metres on the Zeugenberg
  • Adelmannsfelden Castle

Economy

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Waterpower used to be used in the valley of the Blinde Rot to drive several sawmills, paper and oil mills. There is still a small sawmill at Betzenhof.[4] On the Ludwigsmühle below Willa is a medium-sized woodmill. Hydropower is still used today at four locations in the valley.

Importance as a transport route

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In the valley, there are hardly any roads along the river. Apart from, the L 1060 at Willa and the L 1073 in Adelmannsfelden are no maintained roads of more than local significance.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Map services of the Baden-Württemberg State Office for the Environment, Survey and Conservation (Landesanstalt für Umwelt, Messungen und Naturschutz Baden-Württemberg)
  2. ^ according to the TK25 map, in the LUBW-FG10 database, probably incorrectly called the Einsiedelbach.
  3. ^ Biological Water Quality Map 1 : 350,000 scale by the Baden-Württemberg State Office for the Environment, Survey and Conservation (Landesanstalt für Umwelt, Messungen und Naturschutz Baden-Württemberg) (pdf, 11.7 MB)
  4. ^ Personal observation around 2005.