Lake Walen, also known as Lake Walenstadt or (), is one of the larger

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

s 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 ...

. Located in the east of the country, about two thirds of its area are in the canton of St. Gallen and about one third in the canton of

Glarus Glarus (; ; ; ; ) is the capital of the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Since 1 January 2011, the municipality of Glarus incorporates the former municipalities of Ennenda, Netstal and Riedern.Walhaz *''Walhaz'' is a reconstructed Proto-Germanic word meaning 'foreigner', or more specifically 'Roman', 'Romance-speaker' or '(romanized) Celt', and survives in the English words of 'Wales/ Welsh' and 'Cornwall'. The term was used by the ancien ...

' (), since in the

early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

Lake Walen formed the linguistic border between the

Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...

, who settled in the west, and the Romansh people, the Walhaz (), in the east.

Geography

The lake lies in a valley between the Appenzell Alps to the north and the

Glarus Alps The Glarus Alps () are a mountain range in central Switzerland. They are bordered by the Uri Alps and the Schwyz Alps to the west, the Lepontine Alps to the south, the Appenzell Alps to the northeast. The eastern part of the Glarus Alps contains ...

to the south. It has a long east-west extension but is relatively narrow in north-south direction, with a surface area of . It has a maximum depth of . The three main

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

of the lake are the Seez, Murgbach and

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 ...

. The latter continues its course from Walensee to Obersee (

Lake Zurich 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 ...

) through the Linth canal. Until the regulation of the Linth during the early 19th century, the Linth bypassed Walensee west of it and the lake's outflow was a river called the Maag, which merged with the Linth near Ziegelbrücke. The Seerenbach Falls and Rinquelle are adjacent to the north of the lake. The Schnittlauchinsel, near the eastern end of the lake, is the only island in the Walensee. The Churfirsten range raises steeply on the north side from the lake's level at to above sea level, joining the Mattstock () and Federispitz () to the west. The Paxmal near Walenstadt overlooks the lake. On the south, the lake is overlooked by the

Mürtschenstock The Mürtschenstock is a mountain massif of the Glarus Alps, overlooking the Walensee in the canton of Canton of Glarus, Glarus. It is composed of several summits, of which the highest (named ''Ruchen'') has an elevation of 2,441 metres above s ...

Massif, whose peak is above sea level, and the resort area Flumserberg. The highest point of the lake's drainage basin is the Tödi ().

Settlements and transportation

Apart from Walenstadt at the eastern end of the lake, other lakeside towns and villages are Weesen at the western end of the lake and Mühlehorn and Mols, Murg and Unterterzen south of the lake. Quinten, located on the northern shore of the lake, can only be reached on foot from Weesen or Walenstadt via a

hiking trail A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. " ...

or by boat (e.g. via a ferry from Murg) as there are no roads. Commercial passenger boats are operated by Walensee-Schifffahrt. To the south, the lake is followed by the A3 motorway and the Ziegelbrücke–Sargans railway line, with stations at , , and . Unterterzen railway station is connected via a

gondola lift A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate suppo ...

with Oberterzen and the resort area Flumserberg. There is also a continuous bike route ( Route 9) along the southern shore, featuring a section through tunnels (former railway tunnels) at Kerenzerberg.

Arts

The lake provided the inspiration for a solo piano piece by Hungarian Romantic composer

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

, Au lac de Wallenstadt. The piece is part of a collection of solo piano works inspired by his travels to

in the 1830s.

Gallery

Walensee Unterterzen-2.jpg, Walensee and Unterterzen, Quarten Walensee, Switzerland.JPG, Looking to the west towards Amden Amden Weesen Linthebene3.jpg, Escher canal (left), diverting the river Linth into Lake Walen, and the Linth canal (right), the present-day outflow of the lake Weesen 2011-07-31n.jpg, Commercial passenger boat Thumb IMG 0392 1024 Jet d'eau du lac de Walenstadt à Weesen.jpg, Weesen harbour Schnittlauchinsel Walenstadt.jpg, Schnittlauchinsel

References

External links