Au peninsula
Encyclopedia
The Au peninsula is located in the Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 Lake Zürich
Lake Zurich
Lake Zurich is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zurich. It is also known as Lake Zürich and Lake of Zürich. It lies approximately at co-ordinates ....

 at the municipality Au
Au, Zurich
Au is a village in the municipality Wädenswil in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland.First mentioned in the year 1130 as «Naglikon» and 1316 as «Owe», Au belongs politically to the urban area of the south-eastern city of Wädenswil on Lake Zurich.- Transport :Au ZH railway...

 between Wädenswil
Wädenswil
-References:...

 and Horgen
Horgen
Horgen is a village in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.It is one of the larger towns along the south bank of the Lake of Zurich.- History :Horgen is also the type-site of Switzerland's middle Neolithic archaeological culture...

 in the Canton of Zurich
Canton of Zürich
The Canton of Zurich has a population of . The canton is located in the northeast of Switzerland and the city of Zurich is its capital. The official language is German, but people speak the local Swiss German dialect called Züritüütsch...

.

History

The roughly half a square kilometer large peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....

 is first mentioned in the year 1316 as «Owe» belonging to the commandry of the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...

 in Bubikon
Bubikon
Bubikon is a municipality in the district of Hinwil in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.-History:Some names of localities have Celtic origins, others may have Roman origins. Fiefs of the St. Gallen Abbey are first mentioned around 744 in Berlikon , Bubikon is first mentioned in 811 as...

. Until 1835 it was a domain of the old Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

 republic.

The farm Au was acquired by the Swiss General Hans Rudolf Werdmüller (1614–1677). His Venetian style estate went over into the possession of Colonel Hans von Schulthess-Bodmer, who rebuilt it 1928/29 as a neo-baroque villa, constructed by architect Johann A. Freytag. The estate and a little landside lake belongs since 1989 to the Canton of Zurich.

Au peninsula got further literary honor: The German poet Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock
Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock
Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock was a German poet.-Biography:Klopstock was born at Quedlinburg, the eldest son of a lawyer.Both in his birthplace and on the estate of Friedeburg on the Saale, which his father later rented, young Klopstock passed a happy childhood; and more attention having been given...

 (1724–1803) immortalized his 1750s visit in his „Ode an den Zürichsee“ (Ode to the Lake Zurich). Among the famous residents was the author Mentona Moser (1874–1971), who was born on the Au: „Ich habe gelebt“ (I've lived, a book of Au-related descriptions) is one of her published books. Her mother was considered one of the richest women in Europe in 19th century; in her residence „Belle au bois dormant“ she met poets, philosophers, scientists and industrial magnates. Local industrials founded in 1911 the so called Au-consortium, that bought the middle part of the Au-Hill, together with the guest house and prevented the idyllic peninsula to be overbuilt and preserved it for public use.

Sights

Further highlights on Au peninsula include the spacious park of Schloss Au, the hiking trail around the peninsula and its protected area, picnic places and a small lido on Lake Zürich shore, and the Wine museum and its vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...

s. The peninsula has also a renowned restaurant (Landgasthof).
Tourist boat trips, run by the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft
Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft
The Lake Zurich Shipping Company or Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft is a public Swiss company operating passenger ships and boats on Lake Zürich....

 (ZSG), sail from Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

 and Rapperswil
Rapperswil
Rapperswil-Jona is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.Besides Rapperswil and Jona, which were separate municipalities until 2006, the municipality includes Bollingen, Busskirch, Curtiberg, Kempraten-Lenggis, Wagen, and Wurmsbach.-Today:On...

.

External links

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