The Niesen is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

peak of the

Bernese Alps The Bernese Alps are a mountain range of the Alps located in western Switzerland. Although the name suggests that they are located in the Berner Oberland region of the canton of Bern, portions of the Bernese Alps are in the adjacent cantons of Va ...

in the

Canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

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 ...

. The summit of the mountain is in elevation. It overlooks

Lake Thun Lake Thun () is an Alpine lake in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland named after the city of Thun, on its northern shore. At in surface area, it is the largest Swiss lake entirely within a single canton. The lake was created after the last gl ...

, in the

Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland (; ; ), sometimes also known as the Bernese Highlands, is the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern. It is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context it is referred to as ''Oberland'' witho ...

region, and forms the northern end of a ridge that stretches north from the

Albristhorn The Albristhorn (or Albrist) is a mountain in the Bernese Alps, overlooking Lenk and Adelboden in the canton of Bern. It is the highest summit of the chain lying between the Wildstrubel and Lake Thun Lake Thun () is an Alpine lake in the Ber ...

and Mannliflue, separating the

Simmental The Simmental (; ) is an alpine valley in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland. It expands from Lenk to Boltigen, in a more or less south-north direction ( Obersimmental), and from there to the valley exit at Wimmis near Spiez it takes a west-e ...

and

Kandertal The Kander is a river in Switzerland. It is long and has a Drainage basin, watershed of . Originally a tributary of the Aare, with a confluence downstream of the city of Thun, since 1714 it flows into Lake Thun upstream of the city. The drainag ...

valleys.

Geography

Administratively, the summit is shared between the municipalities of

Reichenbach im Kandertal Reichenbach im Kandertal () is a village and municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental (administrative district), Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (can ...

to the southeast, and

Wimmis Wimmis is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental (administrative district), Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. Histo ...

to the west and north. Both municipalities are in the

canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

. The summit can be reached easily by using the

Niesenbahn funicular The Niesenbahn is a funicular railway above Lake Thun in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. It links a lower terminus, in the village of Mülenen at and adjacent to Mülenen railway station, Mülenen station on the Lötschberg railway line, with ...

from

Mülenen Mülenen is a village in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district of the Swiss canton of Bern. The village is divided between the municipalities of Reichenbach im Kandertal and Aeschi bei Spiez. Mülenen station, on the Lötschberg ra ...

(near Reichenbach). The construction of the funicular was completed in 1910. Alongside the funicular is the longest

stairway A stairwell or stair room is a room in a building where a stair is located, and is used to connect walkways between floors so that one can move in height. Collectively, a set of stairs and a stairwell is referred to as a staircase or stairway. ...

in the world, with 11,674 steps. It is only open to the public once a year for a stair run event. Originally the mountains name was Yesen. «An Yesen» transformed to Niesen. Yesen is yellow gentian and still flowers on the Niesen to this day. Because of its shape, the Niesen is often called the Swiss Pyramid. The Niesen may have influenced some modernist paintings by

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

, in which an abstracted pyramidal form is seen.Rosenthal, Mark. “The Prototypical Triangle of Paul Klee.” The Art Bulletin, vol. 64, no. 2, aylor & Francis, Ltd., College Art Association 1982, pp. 299–310, https://doi.org/10.2307/3050222. “The title ''Niesen'' makes explicit another identity of the triangle besides the Egyptian pyramid. "Niesen" is the name of a pyramidally shaped mountain in the Bernese Alps on Lake Thun, not far from Klee's childhood home near Bern. The area was a favorite of Klee's for hiking and vacationing; in 1915 he spent several days with his friend Louis Millet in the town of Gunten, which faces the Niesen from directly across the lake. Klee's study of the mountain from a dramatic vantage point recalls his affirmation, six years earlier, that Cézanne was "the teacher ''par excellence''." As in Cézanne's ''Mont Ste.-Victoire'' paintings (Fig. 2), Klee, in ''Niesen'', contrasts the strength of the mountain stretching to the skies with a patchy landscape below.”

References

External links

Niesen.ch: Niesen News website
��
Nesen-funicular.ch: Niesen Funicular website
��
Hikr.org: NiesenMeteocentrale.ch: Current weather data and forecast for Niesen-Kulm
��

Gallery

{{Authority control Bernese Alps Mountains of the Alps Mountains of the canton of Bern Two-thousanders of Switzerland

Geography

See also

References

External links

Gallery