The Wyna (or Wyne) is a river located mostly in

canton of Aargau Aargau ( ; ), more formally the Canton of Aargau (; ; ; ), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capital is Aarau. Aargau is one of the most northerly cantons of Switzerland, by th ...

, but also in

canton of Lucerne The canton of Lucerne ( ; ; ; ) is a Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Switzerland. It is located in the country's central, German-speaking Switzerland, German-speaking part. The population of the canton (as of ) is . , the population included 57 ...

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 runs through the ''Wynetal'' (the Wyne Valley). It is a tributary of the

Suhre The river Suhre is a 34 kilometer long tributary of the river Aare in the Swiss cantons of Lucerne and Aargau. The river rises in Sempachersee (or Lake Sempach) at an elevation of 504 meters above sea level, and joins the Aare east of the town Aa ...

. The Wyna is 32 km long (main outflow in Reinach (AG): 0.9 m³/s). Larger towns in Wynetal are

Beromünster Beromünster is a municipality in the district of Sursee in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. On 1 January 2004 the former municipality of Schwarzenbach merged into the municipality of Beromünster.Menziken Menziken is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Kulm (district), Kulm in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau in Switzerland. On 1 January 2023 the former municipality of Burg, Aargau, Burg merged to form the m ...

, Reinach (AG) and

Gränichen Gränichen is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Aarau (district), Aarau of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau in Switzerland. Geography The river Wynetal, Wyna flows north at first and heads northwest t ...

River

The ''Wyna'' is started by several headwaters south-west of Neudorf (LU) in the Lindewald (forest), 17 km north-east from

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

. Near Underdorf, the ''Lochbach'', or Hole Creek, which starts in the Chegelwald, west of Neudorf, joins the Wyna. Then, it runs north through Beromünster (still canton of Lucerne), through Menziken and Reinach (now in canton of Aargau), west of

Zetzwil Zetzwil is a municipality in the district of Kulm in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. Geography Zetzwil has an area, , of . Of this area, or 51.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 37.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, ...

, through

Oberkulm Oberkulm is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Kulm (district), Kulm, in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History Oberkulm is first mentioned in 1045 as ''Chulenbare'', though this is for ...

and

Unterkulm Unterkulm is a municipality in the district of Kulm in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History Both Roman ruins near the church and late-Roman coins at Sonnenhof indicate that the area near Unterkulm was settled during the Roman era. Ho ...

, through Teufenthal (AG), and through Gränichen before joining the Suhre at 385m in Suhr, which joins the

Aare The Aare () or Aar () is the main tributary of the High Rhine (its discharge even exceeds that of the latter at their confluence) and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to i ...

further north, just three kilometres later. Tributaries that feed the Wyna include the Lochbach (left, in Underdorf), Moosbach (left, north of Beromünster), Schwarzenbach (right, south of Menziken), Rickenbach (left, south of Menziken), Vorderdorfbach Zetzwil/Totenbächli (right, in Zetzwil), and Dorfbach Gontenschwil/Sagenbach (left, after Zetzwil]), Dorfbach Teufenthal (right, in Teufenthal (AG)), Pfendelbach (left, west of the hamlet Bleien), Refentalbach (right, just after Bleien), Lochbach (left, in Gränichen).

Valley

The valley, the ''Wynetal'' (or Germanized also known as ''Wynental''), is fairly narrow, with an average width of about 500 meters, and drops very smoothly from 670m a.s.l. in Neudorf to 406m a.s.l. in Gränichen. Quite steep hills rise on both sides, carved by tributary valleys. In the east, a mountain range (about 810m to 600m a.s.l.) separate the Wynetal from the

Seetal The Seetal is a valley in the cantons of Canton of Lucerne, Lucerne and Aargau in Switzerland. The valley descends from south to north from near Eschenbach, Lucerne, Eschenbach (in the canton of Lucerne) to Lenzburg (in the canton of Aargau) ...

with the

Hallwilersee __NOTOC__ Lake Hallwil (German: ''Hallwilersee'') is a lake largely in the Canton of Aargau, Switzerland, located at . It is the largest lake in Aargau and lies mostly in the districts of Lenzburg and Kulm on the southern edge of the canton. The s ...

and the

Baldeggersee __NOTOC__ Lake Baldegg () is a lake in the Canton of Lucerne, Switzerland. Its area is about 5.2 km2 and its maximum depth is 69 m. See also *List of lakes of Switzerland This article contains a sortable table listing all major lakes of ...

. The mountain range in the west (about 870m to 570m a.s.l.) separate the Wyne Valley from the Suhretal with the

Sempachersee __NOTOC__ Lake Sempach (German: ''Sempachersee'') is a lake in the canton of Lucerne, Switzerland. Its area is about and its maximum depth is . A island named ''Gamma Insel'' is located east of Sursee. In the 17th century the lake counted with ...

, from which the Suhre rises. Municipalities found in the Wynental from beginning to end of the Wyna are: Neudorf, Beromünster, Burg (AG) and Menziken,

Pfeffikon Pfeffikon is a former Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Sursee (Amt), Sursee in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Lucerne (canton), Lucerne in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the former municipality of Pfeffikon m ...

and Reinach (AG), Leimbach (AG),

Gontenschwil Gontenschwil is a municipality in the district of Kulm in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History Gontenschwil is first mentioned in 1173 as ''Gundoltswilre'' in a grant to the monastery at Beromünster. In 1236, ownership of part of vil ...

, Zetzwil,

and then

, Teufenthal (AG), Gränichen, and finally Suhr. The general region is also known as the ''Stumpenland'' due to the cigar industry that once centered in Menziken.

Glacial genesis

The upper portions of the valley was carved by the Reuss Glacier. Large moraine deposits remain at Zetzwil and Gontenschwil. The surrounding hills are largely

molasse __NOTOC__ In geology, "molasse" () are sandstones, shales and conglomerates that form as terrestrial or shallow marine deposits in front of rising mountain chains. The molasse deposits accumulate in a foreland basin, especially on top of flys ...

Transportation

Connecting road 23 runs along the Wyna for the majority of the valley's length from Beromünster to Suhr. This road is referred to variously as Aargauerstrasse, Hauptstrasse, Aarauerstrasse, Wynentalstrasse, and numerous names north of Teufenthal and is a popular cycling route. The Wynental branch of the narrow-gauge Menziken–Aarau–Schöftland railway line serves the Wynental, running from

Aarau Aarau (, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital of the northern Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau. The List of towns in Switzerland, town is also the capital of the d ...

to Menziken.

Points & Events of Interest

''Naturschutzgebiet Vogelmoos''
(Bird Moss Nature Preserve), one source of the Wyna

in Beromünster (Ascension Day procession)
''Stiftskirche''
(collegiate church) St. Michael, Beromünster – dating to 1034
Schloss Liebegg (castle)
north of Teufenthal
Schloss Trostburg (castle)
east of Teufenthal (private estate) * Hiking trails along and near the Wyna, connecting Beromünster, Menziken, and Gunzwil.

References

External links

Historische Vereinigung Wynental
(Wynental Historical Society)
Google Earth map
* Removal of dams and renaturalization of Wyna at Menziken * Good discussion of renaturalization efforts

Photographs

* {{Authority control Valleys of Switzerland Rivers of Switzerland Rivers of the canton of Lucerne Rivers of Aargau Landforms of the canton of Lucerne Landforms of Aargau