The Töss Valley (German: ''Tösstal'') is a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

and a

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

of the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Tössegg - Rhinsberg 2011-09-21 13-42-52

Geography

The valley embraces parts of the

Zürcher Oberland The Zürcher Oberland ("Zurich highlands") in Switzerland, is the hilly south-eastern part of the canton of Zurich, bordering on the Toggenburg, including the districts of Uster, Hinwil, Pfäffikon as well as the Töss Valley as far as the di ...

including the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

Hinwil Hinwil is a municipality in the district of Hinwil in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History The village Hinwil from which the later municipality took its name is first mentioned in 745 as ''Hunichinwilari'', in a donation made by Bea ...

, Pfäffikon and

Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austri ...

, in addition to parts of the Zürcher Unterland (lower Töss valley). Usually ''Tösstal'' is the name of the upper Töss valley, i.e. its narrow, valley-like area in the southeast of the city of

. The river

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 Mi ...

rises at ''Tössstock'' mountain (el. 1,154 m) flows along the valley including the municipalities and villages of Steg, Lipperschwändi and Wellenau (villages of Fischenthal), Bauma, Juckern, Blitterswil, Saland, Tablat, Wila, Turbenthal, Zell, Rikon, Kollbrunn, and Sennhof near Winterthur. The Tösstal is a popular recreation area and well known for

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A His ...

tours in the surrounding mountains as Schnebelhorn and Hulftegg pass, and for skating and biking along Töss. The lower Töss valley includes the widely flattened parts in the west of Winterthur; it compromises the quarters of Winterthur called

and Wülflingen, the municipalities Neftenbach, Pfungen, Dättlikon,

Embrach Embrach is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Coat of arms Blazon '' Gules, two keys argent in saltire.'' Until the middle of the 16th century seals with the image of St. Peter were used. Today's ...

, Rorbas, Freienstein and Teufen where the Töss joins the

Rhine The Rhine ; french: Rhin ; nl, Rijn ; wa, Rén ; li, Rien; rm, label=Sursilvan, Rein, rm, label=Sutsilvan and Surmiran, Ragn, rm, label=Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader and Puter, Rain; it, Reno ; gsw, Rhi(n), including in Alsatian dialect, Al ...

at Tössegg.

History

First settlement of the upper Töss valley by Celts is considered probable. After the Romans had withdrawn from the area of Winterthur (Vitudurum), the Alemanni advanced into the Töss valley. In the 19th century, water power was the basis of a flourishing textile industry that settled along the course of the river. The poor

smallholder A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...

population earned money by carving wooden spoons in addition to working in the factories, which earned the region the name Chellenland (Swiss German: Chelle = English: cooking spoon). The water power of the Töss, however, also repeatedly caused flooding and brought much destruction to the region. In 1876, the Töss Valley Railway was completed, connecting the cities of Winterthur and Rapperswil. The driving force behind its realisation was the Swiss railway builder Adolf Guyer-Zeller, who also initiated the construction of the Jungfrau Railway. Until 1956, the steam railway was one of the last still in operation in Switzerland; to this day, the Dampfbahn-Verein Zürcher Oberland still runs steam locomotives on the Hinwil-Bauma line.

Transportation

The ''Tösstalstrasse'' (

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

) was built in 1837, the ''Tösstalbahn'' ( S26) opened in 1872/76.

Literature

* Hans Bernhard: ''Wirtschafts- und Siedelungsgeographie des Tösstales''. In: Jahresberichte der Geographisch-Ethnographischen Gesellschaft in Zürich, Vol. 11, 1910-1911
Digitalisat
* Kurt Hutter ''et al.'': ''Das Tösstal''. Birkenhalde Verlag, 2007. .

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toss Valley River valleys of Switzerland Regions of Switzerland High Rhine basin Landforms of the canton of Zürich