Thur (Switzerland)
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The Thur is a river in north-eastern
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 ...
and a
tributary 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 they ...
of the
High Rhine High Rhine (, ; kilometres 0 to 167 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Lake Constance () and the city of Basel, flowing in a general east-to-west direction and forming mostly the Germany–Switzerland border. It is the first of fo ...
().


Name

The name was first attested in 886 A.D. as Dura. In the 13th century, the spelling Turia appears, and in the 14th century Thûr, Tûr. The name has been interpreted as an Old European hydronym, from *durâ or *duriâ “river” from the
Indo-European root The roots of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) are basic parts of words to carry a lexical meaning, so-called morphemes. PIE roots usually have verbal meaning like "to eat" or "to run". Roots never occurred alone in the langu ...
*dhu “to run, to hurry”.
Turgowe The Thurgau (''Turgowe, Turgovia'') was a pagus of the Duchy of Alamannia in the early medieval period. A County of Thurgau ('' Landgrafschaft Thurgau'') existed from the 13th century until 1798. Parts of Thurgau were acquired by the Old Swiss ...
, a village in the Duchy of Alamannia, was named after a body of water. The first mention of the village is slightly older than the earliest mention of the body of water. Around 745, it was cited in the village of Durgaugen. This led to the eventual naming of the canton as
Thurgau Thurgau (; ; ; ), anglicized as Thurgovia, and formally as the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts. Its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part of Eastern Switzerland. I ...
.


Course

The river's source is near
Wildhaus Wildhaus (High Alemannic: ''Wildhuus'') is a village and former municipality in the Toggenburg region of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland, since 2010 by merger with Alt St. Johann part of the municipality of Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann. T ...
in the south-east of the
Toggenburg Toggenburg is a region of Switzerland. It corresponds to the upper valley of the River Thur (Switzerland), Thur and that of the Necker (river), Necker, one of its afluents. Since 1 January 2003, Toggenburg has been a constituency (''Wahlkreis ...
region in the
canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...
of St. Gallen, south of
Säntis At above sea level, Säntis is the highest mountain in the Alpstein massif of northeastern Switzerland. It is also the culminating point of the whole Appenzell Alps, between Lake Walen and Lake Constance. Shared by three cantons, the mountain ...
mountain (
Alpstein The Alpstein are a subgroup of the Appenzell Alps in Switzerland. The Alpstein massif is in Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden and St. Gallen. Despite it being rather low when compared to other Alpine peaks – the highest mountain ...
). Near
Unterwasser Unterwasser () is a village in the Toggenburg region of the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland, situated at the confluence of the two streams forming the upper Thur (known as ''Säntisthur'' and ''Wildhausthur''). Formerly part of Wildhaus munici ...
, it forms two waterfalls. Subsequently, it flows mainly northward through the Toggenburg Valley. Near
Lütisburg Lütisburg is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Toggenburg (Wahlkreis), Toggenburg in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of St. Gallen (canton), St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Lütisburg is fi ...
, it is joined by the Necker. Close to the town of Wil, it turns eastward and the Thur continues through the canton of
Thurgau Thurgau (; ; ; ), anglicized as Thurgovia, and formally as the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts. Its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part of Eastern Switzerland. I ...
, which is named after the river. At
Bischofszell Bischofszell ( Alemannic: ''Bischefzèl'') is a village and a municipality in Weinfelden District in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district. In 1987, the city was awarded the Wakker Prize for the preservation of its ...
, at the confluence with the Sitter, the Thur changes its direction and continues in a general westward direction, passing by
Frauenfeld Frauenfeld (Alemannic German, Alemannic: ''Frauefäld'') is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Thurgau, Thurgau in Switzerland. The official language of Frauenfeld is (the Swiss variety of Standard) Swiss Standard Ge ...
, the capital of Thurgau, where it is joined by the River
Murg In enzymology, an undecaprenyldiphospho-muramoylpentapeptide beta-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase () is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction :UDP-N-acetylglucosamine + Mur2Ac(oyl-L-Ala-gamma-D-Glu-L-Lys-D-Ala-D-Ala)-diphosphoundecapreno ...
. The final of the Thur is in the
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 ...
. North of
Flaach Flaach is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Andelfingen (district), Andelfingen in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland. History Flaach is first mentioned in 1044 as ''Flach ...
, it then flows into the River
Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
(
High Rhine High Rhine (, ; kilometres 0 to 167 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Lake Constance () and the city of Basel, flowing in a general east-to-west direction and forming mostly the Germany–Switzerland border. It is the first of fo ...
) near the border between the canton of Zürich and the southern part of the
canton of Schaffhausen The canton of Schaffhausen, also canton of Schaffhouse (; ; ; ), is the northernmost Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Switzerland. The principal city and capital of the canton is Schaffhausen. The canton's territory is divided into three non-co ...
(
Rüdlingen Rüdlingen is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Schaffhausen (canton), Schaffhausen in Switzerland. History Rüdlingen is first mentioned in 827 as ''Ruodiningun''. Geography Rüdlingen has ...
- Buchberg), just a short distance south of the border with Germany. The mouth of the Thur lies only a few kilometers north of the confluence of the Rhine and
Töss Töss is a district in the Swiss city of Winterthur. It is district number 4. The district comprises the quarters Schlosstal, Dättnau, Eichliacker and Rossberg. It is named after the river Töss which flows through the district. In the Middle A ...
.


Tributaries

Tributaries are listed from source to mouth: * Wildhauser Thur (near
Unterwasser Unterwasser () is a village in the Toggenburg region of the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland, situated at the confluence of the two streams forming the upper Thur (known as ''Säntisthur'' and ''Wildhausthur''). Formerly part of Wildhaus munici ...
) * Wissthur (near
Stein Stein may refer to: Places Austria * Stein, a neighbourhood of Krems an der Donau, Lower Austria * Stein, Styria, a municipality in the district of Fürstenfeld, Styria * Stein (Lassing), a village in the district of Liezen, Styria * Stein a ...
) * Luteren (near Neu St. Johann) * Dietfurterbach (near
Dietfurt Dietfurt an der Altmühl (officially Dietfurt a.d. Altmühl, , ), commonly known as Dietfurt, is a Town#Germany, town in the Neumarkt (district), district of Neumarkt in Bavaria, Germany. The town is situated on the river Altmühl, and is 38  ...
) * Necker (near
Lütisburg Lütisburg is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Toggenburg (Wahlkreis), Toggenburg in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of St. Gallen (canton), St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Lütisburg is fi ...
) * Gonzenbach (near
Lütisburg Lütisburg is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Toggenburg (Wahlkreis), Toggenburg in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of St. Gallen (canton), St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Lütisburg is fi ...
) * Uze (near
Niederuzwil Uzwil is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Wil (Wahlkreis), Wil in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of St. Gallen (canton), St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Uzwil was first mentioned in 819 as ...
) * Glatt (near
Oberbüren Oberbüren is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Wil in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Oberbüren is first mentioned in 817 as ''ad Purias''. Geography Oberbüren has an area, , of . Of this area, 65.8% ...
) * Sitter (near
Bischofszell Bischofszell ( Alemannic: ''Bischefzèl'') is a village and a municipality in Weinfelden District in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district. In 1987, the city was awarded the Wakker Prize for the preservation of its ...
) ** Schwendibach ** Weissbach ** Rotbach ** Wattbach *** Gstaldenbach *** Buebenrütibach **
Urnäsch Urnäsch is a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Switzerland. History In 831 AD a part of Urnäsch known as ''Färchen'' was first mentioned. In the 10th century, Urnäsch was part of the administrative district Herisau. Fro ...
*** Wissebach * Furtbach * Giessen (near
Amlikon-Bissegg Amlikon-Bissegg is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Weinfelden (district), Weinfelden in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. The municipality was created on 1 January 1995 by a merger of A ...
) ** Wisebach *** Tobelbach *** Mättlibach * Kemme (near
Pfyn Pfyn is a municipality in Frauenfeld District in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. Pfyn gives its name to the ancient Pfyn culture, one of several Neolithic cultures in Switzerland which centered on intensive pig farming and trading, da ...
) ** Tosbach ** Furtibach * Seebach (near
Warth-Weiningen Warth-Weiningen is a municipality in the district of Frauenfeld in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. Geography Warth-Weiningen has an area, , of . Of this area, or 53.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 28.7% is forested. Of t ...
) *
Murg In enzymology, an undecaprenyldiphospho-muramoylpentapeptide beta-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase () is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction :UDP-N-acetylglucosamine + Mur2Ac(oyl-L-Ala-gamma-D-Glu-L-Lys-D-Ala-D-Ala)-diphosphoundecapreno ...
** Lützelmurg ** Lauche * Tägelbach * Ellikerbach * Mederbach ** Bruggbach ** Abistbach


Floods

The River Thur, undisturbed by any lake, from its source to its confluence with the Rhine, is a mountain stream that tends to rise sharply in water level under appropriate weather conditions. The biggest floods were in the years: * Flood of 1664 * Flood of 1693: Jakob Vogel von Alten reported that a piece of land of incredible size was suddenly torn away from the rest right next to his house and sank into the Thur. * Flood of July 29 and 30, 1789: This is considered the heaviest flood. * June 1876: Long-lasting and heavy rainfall caused all rivers to overflow, causing huge damage. Slopes, roads, houses were washed away. * May 13, 1999: The Thur River reached a historic flood level. The river flowed 1130 cubic meters of water per second.


Thurweg

Thurweg () is a 160-kilometer
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. " ...
that runs along the banks of the Thur river from
Wildhaus Wildhaus (High Alemannic: ''Wildhuus'') is a village and former municipality in the Toggenburg region of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland, since 2010 by merger with Alt St. Johann part of the municipality of Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann. T ...
to
Rüdlingen Rüdlingen is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Schaffhausen (canton), Schaffhausen in Switzerland. History Rüdlingen is first mentioned in 827 as ''Ruodiningun''. Geography Rüdlingen has ...
.The main attractions are: * Mount
Säntis At above sea level, Säntis is the highest mountain in the Alpstein massif of northeastern Switzerland. It is also the culminating point of the whole Appenzell Alps, between Lake Walen and Lake Constance. Shared by three cantons, the mountain ...
: The trail leads to the source of the Thur river on Mount
Säntis At above sea level, Säntis is the highest mountain in the Alpstein massif of northeastern Switzerland. It is also the culminating point of the whole Appenzell Alps, between Lake Walen and Lake Constance. Shared by three cantons, the mountain ...
, a scenic route in the Toggenburg district. * Thur Valley and
Zurich 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 ...
wine region: The trail leads through the plains of the Thur Valley and the
Zurich 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 ...
wine region, where the Thur flows into the
Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
. In the wine-growing region of the canton of
Zurich 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 ...
, the Thur shows its typical meanders up to the renatured Thur wetlands above the
Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
. *
Thurgau Thurgau (; ; ; ), anglicized as Thurgovia, and formally as the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts. Its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part of Eastern Switzerland. I ...
is a region known for its large number of cycling trails. *
Public transportation Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...
along the upper part of the river (–) is provided by
S-Bahn The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...
services of St. Gallen S-Bahn on the
Wil–Ebnat-Kappel railway The Wil–Ebnat-Kappel railway is a single-track standard-gauge line that runs through the Toggenburg region of Switzerland. It was built by the Toggenburgerbahn (Toggenburg Railway; TB). Its 25 kilometre-long, standard gauge line from via ...
and upper section of the
Bodensee–Toggenburg railway The Bodensee–Toggenburg railway is a mainly single-track standard-gauge line connecting on Lake Constance (''Bodensee'' in German) and the Toggenburg region in Eastern Switzerland. It was built by the Bodensee-Toggenburg-Bahn (BT), a former rai ...
lines. The middle section of the river is followed by the
Sulgen–Gossau railway The Sulgen–Gossau railway (SG) is a standard gauge railway in the Swiss cantons of St. Gallen and Thurgau, which was built by the ''Bischofszellerbahn'' (Bischofszell Railway) and the railway is also known by that name. Its , standard gauge lin ...
line between and , and the Thur Valley Railway line between Sulgen and , which are operated by services of St. Gallen S-Bahn and
Zürich 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, ...
. Besides, the river is followed by several bus routes, chiefly of
PostBus Switzerland PostAuto Switzerland, PostBus Ltd. (known as in Swiss Standard German (), in Swiss French (), in Swiss Italian (), and in Romansh () is a subsidiary company of the Swiss Post, which provides regional and rural bus services throughout Switz ...
.


See also

*
Appenzell Alps The Appenzell Alps () are a mountain range in Switzerland on the northern edge of the Alps. They extend into the cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden and St. Gallen and are bordered by the Glarus Alps to the west and the Rä ...
*
Rivers in Switzerland The following is a list of rivers of Switzerland (and tributaries thereof). Included rivers flow either entirely or partly through Switzerland or along its international borders. Swiss rivers belong to five drainage basins, i.e. of the Rhine, th ...


References

Rivers of Switzerland Rivers of the canton of St. Gallen {{Switzerland-river-stub