We are standing in front of the Vorarlberg Ill Power Plant Reservoir.

The Ill Power Plant erected a fish climber in 2004 in Schruns-Rodund.  The project was developed with the hydro laboratory Schleusinger, a part of the University in Weimar, Germany.  The fish climber allows fish and other small animals that live in the water to get upstream.

The Ill is a tributary of the Rhine River to the south east.  It is 75 km. long and flows into the Rhine just north of Feldkirch.  In Giesingen, the water flows at 66 m³ per second.  The main cities that it flows by are St. Gallenkirch at 878 meters above sea level, Schruns at 690 meters, Bludenz at 588 meters and Feldkirch at 458 meters above sea level.  The Ill is the main rivier in the south eastern part of Vorarlberg and springs from the Vermunt and Ochsen Valley glaciers in the Silvretta group on the border to Switzerland.  Alongside of producing electricity, the Ill power plant, with its reservoirs, plays an important role in flood protection measures because of its ability to regulate the levels of water on short notice.  Please be careful - the water level of the Ill can rise very quickly!  Let's go on towards Tschagguns.