Hurden
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Hurden is a
village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
in the municipality of Freienbach in the canton of
Schwyz Schwyz (; ; ) is a town and the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ''Bundesbriefmuseum''. The of ...
in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. First mentioned in 1217, the name "de Hurden" was used for the peninsula and for the fish traps made of woven work, called "Hürden" or "Hurden", which were used by the locals.


Geography

The village of Hurden is located on a
peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...
protruding from the southern shore of
Lake Zürich Lake Zurich (, ; ) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zurich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or can be used to describe the lake as a whole, or just that part of the lake downstream of the Hurden peninsula and ...
at its narrowest point. The peninsula has its origin in the retreat of the
Linth The Linth (pronounced "lint") is a Switzerland, Swiss river that rises near the Linthal, Glarus, village of Linthal in the mountains of the cantons of Switzerland, canton of canton of Glarus, Glarus, and eventually flows into the Obersee (Züri ...
glacier at the end of the last glacial period when Lake Zürich was formed. This retreat left a
moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...
across the valley now occupied by Lake Zürich. The higher southern section of this moraine extends above the lake's water level and forms the peninsula, whilst the lower northern section forms a shallow section in the otherwise deep lake. Together these separate Lake Zürich into two parts, the larger lower lake to the north-west, and the smaller upper lake ( ''Obersee'') to the east. The artificial
Seedamm The Rapperswil Seedamm is the artificial causeway at the narrowest area of Lake Zurich between Hurden, Hurden (SZ) and Rapperswil (SG). The structure contains two bridge segments and is approximately long. The Seedamm carries a road () and ...
uses a combination of artificial causeways and bridges to cross the shallow water between the tip of the peninsula to
Rapperswil Rapperswil (Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dial ...
on the northern shore of the lake, and carries both road and rail links. To the west of the Seedamm, there is a wooden bridge for pedestrians (''
Holzbrücke Rapperswil-Hurden Holzbrücke Rapperswil-Hurden is a wooden pedestrian bridge between the city of Rapperswil and the village of Hurden crossing the Obersee (the upper part of Lake Zurich) in Switzerland. On 6 April 2001, the footbridge was opened. With a leng ...
''), which was built in 2001 as a reconstruction of the first bridge between eastern and western lakesides. Since the construction of the Hurden ship canal, across the base of the peninsula, the natural peninsula has been transformed into an artificial island. The ''Sternenbrücke'' bridge carries both road and railway across the ship canal. At Hurden also the '' Frauenwinkel'' protected area is situated. Its name origins from a donation by the emperor Otto I in 965 AD to the pin ''Unserer lieben Frau'' (''Our Lady'') to the Einsiedeln Abbey.


Transport

The village is transited by the Rapperswil–Pfäffikon railway line and by a major road, both of which cross the
Seedamm The Rapperswil Seedamm is the artificial causeway at the narrowest area of Lake Zurich between Hurden, Hurden (SZ) and Rapperswil (SG). The structure contains two bridge segments and is approximately long. The Seedamm carries a road () and ...
. Hurden railway station, in the village, is served by the Zürich S-Bahn line S40 and was served by S-Bahn S5 before the timetable revision of late 2015. In 1943 southern Hurden was divided by the construction of the Hurden ship canal, which connected the upper to the lower Lake Zürich. Now the ships of the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (ZSG) were able to pass from Lake Zürich to the upper Lake Zürich, and the peninsula actually was a real island which was cut off from the mainland. The ''Sternenbrücke'' bridge, across the Hurden ship canal, was renewed between March 15 and November 2010 to allow 40 ton trucks to cross the Seedamm.


History

Archaeological relicts have been found at the ''Technikum'' island settlement, and the remains of a first wooden bridge (1523 BC, reconstructed in 2001) to Hurden located on the ''Obersee'' lakeshore nearby the so-called '' Heilig Hüsli'' at the northwestern part of the
Seedamm The Rapperswil Seedamm is the artificial causeway at the narrowest area of Lake Zurich between Hurden, Hurden (SZ) and Rapperswil (SG). The structure contains two bridge segments and is approximately long. The Seedamm carries a road () and ...
area. The four neighbouring Prehistoric settlements, as well as the early lake crossings, are part of the
UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
'' Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps'', including also the settlements Freienbach–Hurden Rosshorn and Freienbach–Hurden Seefeld. Around 1523 BC, also the first lake crossings on ''Obersee'' between Rapperswil and Hurden were discovered in 2001, followed by several reconstructions at least until the late 2nd century AD when the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
built wide wooden bridge under Empire
Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...
(161-180).''Unterwasserarchäologische Projekte Kanton St. Gallen''
Neue Zürcher Zeitung The (''NZZ''; "New Newspaper of Zurich") is German language daily newspaper, published by NZZ Mediengruppe in Zurich. The paper was founded in 1780. It has a reputation as a high-quality newspaper, as the German Swiss newspaper of record ...
(January 20/21, 2001): '' Die Brücke auf dem Grund des Zürichsees]''
Historians mention a 10th-century ferry station assumably at the so-called ''
Einsiedlerhaus Einsiedlerhaus ("Hermit's dwell") is a historic building with an adjoint garden which is part of the former town wall of the medieval Switzerland, Swiss town of Rapperswil in the Canton of St. Gallen. Location Situated on the shore of Zürich ...
'' in Rapperswil – in 981 AD as well as the vineyard on the
Lindenhof hill The Lindenhof (''"Tilia, linden yard"'') is a moraine hill and public square in the historic center of Zurich, Switzerland. It is the site of the Switzerland in the Roman era, Roman and Carolingian era Kaiserpfalz around which the city has histor ...
– between Kempraten on lake shore, Lützelau and Ufenau island and assumably present Hurden, which allowed the pilgrims towards Einsiedeln to cross the lake before the prehistoric bridge at the Seedamm isthmus was re-built. By 1358, ferry services between Rapperswil and Hurden are mentioned. Between 1358 and 1360,
Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria Rudolf IV (1 November 1339 – 27 July 1365), also called Rudolf the Founder (), was a scion of the House of Habsburg who ruled as duke of Austria (self-proclaimed archduke), Styria and Carinthia from 1358, as well as count of Tyrol from 136 ...
, built a wooden bridge across the lake that has been used to 1878 – measuring approximately in length and wide. A small wooden bridge from Ufenau island to Hurden is mentioned around 1430, so-called ''Kilchweg in die Uffnow'', meaning ''chorchgoing to the Ufnau island''. During Old Zürich War in 1443 the bridge was set on fire, and as a result of the Second Battle of Villmergen in 1712, Hurden was reigned by the Protestant cantons of Zürich, Bern and Glarus. During the Helvetic Republic, in 1798, Hurden became part of the new established ''Distrikt Rapperswil'' in the Canton of Linth, and in 1803 it was part of the new established Pfäffikon. In 1873 the Swiss federal parliament approved the construction of the today's stone dam and bridge. Beginning in 1990, luxurious villas were widely built in Hurden, which in part on newly reclaimed area created for and with a private harbour. In 2001 a new wooden footbridge was opened alongside the dam for the first meters of the crossing. It was built in quite the same place as the original bridge linking Rapperswil with the nearby bridge chapel ('' Heilig Hüsli'').


Cultural Heritage

Located on '' Obersee'' lakeshore in Hurden and situated at the ''
Seedamm The Rapperswil Seedamm is the artificial causeway at the narrowest area of Lake Zurich between Hurden, Hurden (SZ) and Rapperswil (SG). The structure contains two bridge segments and is approximately long. The Seedamm carries a road () and ...
'' isthmus between the ''Zürichsee'' and the ''Obersee'' lake area, the area was in close vicinity to the prehistoric lake crossings, neighbored by four Prehistoric pile dwelling settlements: Freienbach–Hurden Rosshorn, Freienbach–Hurden Seefeld, Seegubel and Rapperswil-Jona–Technikum. Because the lake has grown in size over time, the original piles are now around to under the water level of . As well as being part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', the settlements are also listed in the
Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance #REDIRECT Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance {{R from other capitalisation ...
as ''Class A'' objects of national importance.


See also

* Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps


References


External links

* * {{authority control Villages in the canton of Schwyz Populated places on Lake Zurich Freienbach Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Schwyz