The Limmat is a river in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. The river commences at the outfall of

Lake Zurich __NOTOC__ Lake Zurich ( Swiss German/ Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used t ...

, in the southern part of the city of Zurich. From Zurich it flows in a northwesterly direction, after 35 km reaching the river Aare. The confluence is located north of the small town of Brugg and shortly after the mouth of the

Reuss Reuss may refer to: * Reuss (surname) *Reuss (river) in Switzerland *Reuss (state) or Reuß, several former states or countries in present-day Germany, and the Republic of Reuss * Reuss Elder Line and Reuss Younger Line The Principality of Reus ...

. The main towns along the Limmat Valley downstream of Zurich are Dietikon, Wettingen, and

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

. Its main tributaries are the

Linth The Linth (pronounced "lint") is a Swiss river that rises near the village of Linthal in the mountains of the canton of Glarus, and eventually flows into the Obersee section of Lake Zurich. It is about in length. The water power of the Lin ...

, via Lake Zurich, the

Sihl The Sihl is a Swiss river that rises near the Druesberg mountain in the canton of Schwyz, and eventually flows into the Limmat in the centre of the city of Zürich. It has a length of , including the Sihlsee reservoir, through which the river ...

, in Zurich, and the Reppisch, in Dietikon. The hydronym is first attested in the 8th century, as ''Lindimacus''. It is of

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...

origin, from ''*lindo-'' "lake" (

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

''llyn'') and ''*magos'' "plain" (Welsh ''maes''), and was thus presumably in origin the name of the plain formed by the

Power generation

Like many Swiss rivers, the Limmat is intensively used for production of hydroelectric power: along its course of , its fall is used by no less than ten hydroelectric

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

s. These include:

Navigation

Historically, the Limmat was an important navigation route. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, voyages from Zurich to Koblenz are recorded. In 1447, the Emperor Frederick III granted the privilege of free navigation on the Limmat and on the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

to Zurich. Because of the current, navigation was typically downstream only, with the barges being sold on arrival. Today, the Limmat is navigable for much of its length by small craft only, with many of the hydroelectric power plants incorporating boat lifts. The traditional boat type used on the river is the weidling, a flat-bottomed vessel that is usually long. The uppermost stretch of the river through the centre of Zurich is navigable by rather larger vessels, albeit limited by low bridges. On this stretch of the river the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (Lake Zurich Navigation Company) operates its Limmat boat service, from the

Landesmuseum Landesmuseum (‘state museum’) may refer to a museum of a state of Germany or a state of Austria: *Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt, Germany * Landesmuseum Mainz, Germany *Landesmuseum Württemberg, Germany *Landesmuseum Hannover, Germany *Po ...

, using low-profile motor boats.

Towns near the river

*In the

canton of Zurich Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

: *# Zurich *#

Oberengstringen Oberengstringen is a municipality in the district of Dietikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, located in the Limmat Valley (German: ''Limmattal''). History Oberengstringen is first mentioned in 870 as ''Enstelingon''. In 1306 it was men ...

Unterengstringen Unterengstringen is a municipality in the district of Dietikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, located in the Limmat Valley (German: ''Limmattal''). Geography Unterengstringen has an area of . Of this area, 36.5% is used for agricultu ...

*# Schlieren *# Dietikon *#

Geroldswil Geroldswil is a municipality in the district of Dietikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, located in the Limmat Valley. History Geroldswil is first mentioned in 1255 as ''Geroltzwiler''. Geography Geroldswil has an area of . Of this are ...

*# Oetwil an der Limmat *In the canton of Aargau *# Spreitenbach *# Würenlos *# Neuenhof *# Wettingen *#

Ennetbaden Ennetbaden is a municipality in the district of Baden in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland, located in the Limmat Valley (German: ''Limmattal''). History Ennetbaden is first mentioned about 1261-64 as ''Alio Badin''. Geography Ennetbaden has ...

*# Nussbaumen AG *# Untersiggenthal *# Turgi

Cultural Heritage

Located on the swamp land between Limmat and Zürichsee around Sechseläutenplatz on small islands and peninsulas in Zürich,

Prehistoric pile dwellings around Zürichsee Prehistoric pile dwellings around Lake Zurich comprises 11 – or 10% of all European pile dwelling sites – of a total of 56 prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps in Switzerland, that are located around Lake Zurich in the cantons ...

were set on piles to protect against occasional flooding by the

and

Jona Jona may refer to: * Jona, Switzerland, a village of the municipality Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland * Jona (river), in the cantons of Zürich and St. Gallen in Switzerland * ''Jona'' (album), an album by Jona Viray People with the given name * Jo ...

. Zürich–Enge Alpenquai is located on '' Zürichsee'' lakeshore in Enge, a locality of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

of Zürich. It was neighbored by the settlements at Kleiner Hafner and Grosser Hafner on a then peninsula respectively island in the effluence of the Limmat, within an area of about in the city of Zürich. As well as being part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', the settlement is also listed in the Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance as a ''Class object''.

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Rivers of Switzerland Geography of Zürich Rivers of the canton of Zürich