The Sihlwald is a

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

and

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

in the

Sihl Valley Sihl Valley ( German: ''Sihltal'') is a river valley and belongs to the Zimmerberg-Sihltal region located in the Horgen (district), district of Horgen in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland. Commonly ''Sihltal'' is used as the name of the Lower Sihl ...

of the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

canton of Zürich The canton of Zurich is an administrative unit (Swiss canton, canton) of Switzerland, situated in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton of Switzerland. Zurich is the ''de facto'' Capi ...

. It is a rare example of a large-scale and original forest, situated on the eastern slopes of the Albis hills to the west side of the Sihl river. Although the forest is owned by the

city of Zürich Zurich (; ) is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The urban area was home to 1.45 mi ...

, it is situated outside the city boundary, within the municipality of Horgen and several adjoining municipalities. The Sihlwald now forms part of the Zürich Wilderness Park. The city of Zürich received the Sihl forest, or Sihlwald, as a gift in 1309 from the Hapsburgers and again in 1524 through the dissolution of the Fraumünster convent. Over the following centuries, the forest provided

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

with timber and firewood. From 1876 on, there was even a

forest railway A forest railway, forest tram, timber line, logging railway or logging railroad is a mode of railway transport which is used for forestry tasks, primarily the transportation of felling, felled Trunk (botany), logs to sawmills or railway stations. ...

which facilitated the work in the forest. However, the trees have not been felled since the 1990s; this is due to the actions of forest director Andreas Speich, in order to preserve the forest's unique composition. On August 28, 2009, the

Federal Office for the Environment Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

declared the Sihl forest a "regional nature park of national importance". The protection of Sihl forest was established through a forest reserve agreement in 2007 and a cantonal Protection Ordinance in 2008. In 2009, the management of the Sihlwald was combined with that of the nearby Langenberg Wildlife Park, to form the Zürich Wilderness Park. The forest can be reached via the Sihlwald railway station, served by service S4 of the

Zurich S-Bahn The Zurich S-Bahn () system is a network of rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zurich and portions of neighbouring cantons (Aargau, Glarus, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, ...

Picture gallery

Besucherzentrum Sihlwald.JPG, The Sihlwald visitors centre Kleiner Bach im Wildnispark Zürich-Sihlwald.JPG, A stream in the forest Sihlwald-1.jpg, View from Forest Nature Trail Sihlwald ramson 20200427 2.jpg, Ramson (allium ursinum) blooming

References

External links

*
Pages on the Sihlwald from the Wildnispark Zürich web site
(in German) Horgen Sihl 1309 establishments in Europe 14th-century establishments in Switzerland {{Zürich-geo-stub