The Argen is a river in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It flows into Lake Constance between Kressbronn am Bodensee and Langenargen as the third largest tributary to the lake. It is long; if one includes the Obere Argen and its source river Seelesgraben, the combined length is.
Course
The headwaters of the Argen rise in the Allgäu. There are two headwaters: the Obere Argen and the Untere Argen. The two arms wrap around the Große Kreisstadt of Wangen im Allgäu and meet each other in the Neuravensburg district of Wangen im Allgäu.
Untere Argen
The origin of the Untere Argen is the confluence of Börlasbach and Stixnerbach at the western entrance to Missen at about above sea level in the Allgäu region of Bavaria. From the confluence, it first flows north to Isny im Allgäu, then northwest to Waltershofen, then southwest to Primisweiler. Past Primisweiler, it merges with the Obere Argen. The main tributaries are the Wengener Argen and the Haslach. The Federal highwayA96 crosses it a number of times.
Obere Argen
The Obere Argen originates in a marshy area north-west of Oberstaufen in the Allgäu and initially flows through a gorge named Eistobel, then underneath the Argentobelbrücke, then past Grünenbach towards Wangen im Allgäu. From there it goes on via Neuravensburg to Pflegelberg, where it is united with the Untere Argen.
Lower reaches
, the Argen has cut a deep and wide valley into the landscape, which has led to place names such as Gitzensteig. In some place, the valley is over a kilometer wide. The edges of the valley rise steeply up to in places, and the valley floor is at the level of Lake Constance. Further down its course, the river bed becomes increasingly broad. The river here flows past the villages of Laimnau, Apflau and Badhütten. In the lower part of its course, the Argen was straightened considerably. Oxbow lakes no longer exist because of the intensive agriculture of the valley. In recent years at least the massive concrete walls alongside the river have been replaced in most of the shallower zones by large stones. Near the estuary at Kressbronn, gravel will be mined in larger quantities, creating new lakes along the river.
The mouth into Lake Constance is flanked on both sides with ports or pleasure boats. On the left is a camping grounds name Gohren. Another camping grounds can be at Laimnau, next to a restaurant. Further leisure facilities can be found in this area. At its mouth, the Argen is wide, which is fairly wide for such a short river. Depending on the weather, is may have a large discharge as well. To defend against floods, protective walls have been constructed along the river. Kayaking is possible; bathing facilities are available.
Level
About below the Gießenbrücke bridge in Kressbronn, a water level measuring station exists on the Kresbronn side of the river. It is operated by the "Flood Forecasting Center Baden-Württemberg" and the "State Institute for Environment, Measurements and Nature Conservation Baden-Württemberg". It is operated by the Regierungsbezirk Tübingen. The zero level for this station is at an elevation of.
An area of approximately flanking the Argen was declared a nature reserve by the regional council of Tübingen on 16 December 1997. Its official name is Naturschutzgebiet Argen and it is registered as reserve number 4282. The reserve covers the area between the confluence of the Obere and Untere Argen and the mouth into Lake Constance. It includes the river, including the steep slopes, floodplain forest and swamp forests, valleys and flood embankments. Of the total, of the reserve are in the Bodenseekreis district and in the Ravensburg district.
The roads along the Argen between Argensteg and Gießenbrücke are used in the annual Bodensee-Marathon. Runners must run on the road on the Kresbronn side to Gießenbrücke, then cross the bridge and run along the river on the Langenargen side to Argensteg, then via Gohren to the finish at Kressbronn Lakeside Sports Hall.
