Hurden (Freienbach)
Encyclopedia
Hurden is a village
in the municipality of Freienbach
in the canton
of Schwyz in Switzerland
. First mentioned in 1217, the name "de Hurden" was used for the peninsula and for the fish traps made of woven work, called "Hürden" or "Hurden", which were used by the locals.
on the most narrow part of the Lake Zürich
to the south of the so-called Seedamm
causeway. As of today, the village is an artificial island, connected by the dam bridges with Pfäffikon
to the south and with Rapperswil
in the canton of St. Gallen to the north.
The peninsula has its origin in a landfill after the withdrawal of the Linth
glacier at the end of the last glacial period when Lake Zürich was formed. This retreat left a moraine
which separates Lake Zürich in the upper lake (Obersee) to the east and its northwestern part, commonly called Zürichsee. To the east of the artificial Seedamm
, there is a wooden bridge for pedestrians (Holzbrücke Rapperswil-Hurden
) situated, built in 2001 as a reconstruction of the first bridge between eastern and western lakesides. The southern Sternenbrücke bridge towards Hurden was built in 1942 and will be renewed between March 15 and November 2010 to allow 40 ton trucks to cross the Seedamm.
built 6 metres (19.7 ft) wide wooden bridge under Empire Marcus Aurelius (161-180). In 981, a ferry from Kempraten
to the Ufenau
island is mentioned, probably there was also a ferry to the other lakeside used by pilgrims on the old pilgrimage
routes, the so-called Jakobsweg to the Einsiedeln Abbey
. By 1358, ferry services between Rapperswil and Hurden are mentioned. Between 1358 and 1360, Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria
, built a wooden bridge across the lake that has been used to 1878 – measuring approximately 1450 metres (4,757.2 ft) in length and 4 metres (13.1 ft) wide. A small wooden bridge from Ufenau island to Hurden is mentioned around 1430, so-called «Kilchweg in die Uffnow». During Old Zürich War
, in 1443 the bridge was set in fire, and as a result of the Second Battle of Villmergen in 1712, Hurden was reigned by the Protestant cantons of Zürich, Bern and Glarus.
During Helvetic Republic
, in 1798, Hurden became part of the new established Distrikt Rapperswil in the Canton of Linth
, and in 1803 it was part of the new established Pfäffikon
. In 1873, the Swiss federal parliament approved the construction of the today's stone dam and bridge.
Southern Hurden was in 1943 divided by a puncture channel dredged from the upper to the lower Lake Zürich. Now the ships of the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft
(ZSG) were able to pass from Lake Zürich to the upper Lake Zürich, and the peninsula actually was a real island which was cut off from the mainland. Beginning in 1990, luxurious villas were widely built in Hurden, which in part on newly reclaimed area created for and with a private harbour.
In 2001, a new wooden footbridge was opened alongside the dam for the first 840 metres (2,755.9 ft) meters of the crossing. It was built in quite the same place as the original bridge linking Rapperswil with the nearby bridge chapel (Heilig Hüsli
). The Seedamm area including the remains of the prehistoric wooden bridges respectively stilt house
settlements in Freienbach and Rapperswil is listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance
.
on the lines S5
and S40
(provided by Südostbahn
) situated.
Municipalities of Switzerland
Communes , also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,596 . While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities...
in the municipality of Freienbach
Freienbach
Freienbach is a municipality in Höfe District in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.-Geography:Freienbach has an area, , of . Of this area, 40.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 23.8% is forested...
in the canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of Schwyz in Switzerland
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....
. First mentioned in 1217, the name "de Hurden" was used for the peninsula and for the fish traps made of woven work, called "Hürden" or "Hurden", which were used by the locals.
Geography
The village of Hurden is located on an peninsulaPeninsula
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"....
on the most narrow part of the 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 ....
to the south of the so-called Seedamm
Seedamm
Seedamm is the partially artificial dam and bridge at the most narrow area of Lake Zurich, between Hurden and Rapperswil .- Geography and location :...
causeway. As of today, the village is an artificial island, connected by the dam bridges with Pfäffikon
Pfäffikon, Schwyz
Pfäffikon is the principal town of the Municipality of Freienbach in canton Schwyz in Switzerland. Together with Wollerau, Pfäffikon is considered the principal town of the borough Höfe and the center of the region of Ausserschwyz. The former farm town is known today as cultural, economic and...
to the south and with 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...
in the canton of St. Gallen to the north.
The peninsula has its origin in a landfill after the withdrawal of the Linth
Linth
The Linth is a Swiss river starting above Linthal the mountains of Glarus near the Klausen Pass and flowing from there north through the Glarus valley passing Schwanden, where it is joined by its main tributary Sernft, Ennenda, the town of Glarus, Netstal, and Näfels, from where it is channeled to...
glacier at the end of the last glacial period when Lake Zürich was formed. This retreat left a moraine
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
which separates Lake Zürich in the upper lake (Obersee) to the east and its northwestern part, commonly called Zürichsee. To the east of the artificial Seedamm
Seedamm
Seedamm is the partially artificial dam and bridge at the most narrow area of Lake Zurich, between Hurden and Rapperswil .- Geography and location :...
, there is a wooden bridge for pedestrians (Holzbrücke Rapperswil-Hurden
Holzbrücke Rapperswil-Hurden
Holzbrücke Rapperswil-Hurden is a wooden pedestrian bridge between the city of Rapperswil and the village of Hurden crossing the upper Lake Zürich in Switzerland. The prehistoric timber piles discovered to the west of the Seedamm date back to 1523 BC...
) situated, built in 2001 as a reconstruction of the first bridge between eastern and western lakesides. The southern Sternenbrücke bridge towards Hurden was built in 1942 and will be renewed between March 15 and November 2010 to allow 40 ton trucks to cross the Seedamm.
History
Around 1523 B.C., a first wooden footbridge led across Lake Zurich between Rapperswil and Hurden, followed by several reconstructions at least until late 2nd century AD when the Roman EmpireRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
built 6 metres (19.7 ft) wide wooden bridge under Empire Marcus Aurelius (161-180). In 981, a ferry from Kempraten
Kempraten
Kempraten-Lenggis is a village within the municipality of Rapperswil-Jona, Wahlkreis of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It is one of the most important archeological sites in the canton of St...
to the Ufenau
Ufenau
Ufenau is an island located, with the neighbouring island of Lützelau, in Lake Zürich in Switzerland between Freienbach and Rapperswil .- Geography :...
island is mentioned, probably there was also a ferry to the other lakeside used by pilgrims on the old pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
routes, the so-called Jakobsweg to the Einsiedeln Abbey
Einsiedeln Abbey
Einsiedeln Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in the town of Einsiedeln in the Canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. The abbey is dedicated to Our Lady of the Hermits, the title being derived from the circumstances of its foundation, from which the name Einsiedeln is also said to have originated...
. By 1358, ferry services between Rapperswil and Hurden are mentioned. Between 1358 and 1360, Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria
Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria
Rudolf IV der Stifter was a scion of the House of Habsburg and Duke of Austria and Duke of Styria and Carinthia from 1358, as well as Count of Tyrol from 1363 and first Duke of Carniola from 1364 until his death...
, built a wooden bridge across the lake that has been used to 1878 – measuring approximately 1450 metres (4,757.2 ft) in length and 4 metres (13.1 ft) wide. A small wooden bridge from Ufenau island to Hurden is mentioned around 1430, so-called «Kilchweg in die Uffnow». During Old Zürich War
Old Zürich War
The Old Zürich War , 1440–46, was a conflict between the canton of Zürich and the other seven cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy over the succession to the Count of Toggenburg....
, in 1443 the bridge was set in fire, and as a result of the Second Battle of Villmergen in 1712, Hurden was reigned by the Protestant cantons of Zürich, Bern and Glarus.
During Helvetic Republic
Helvetic Republic
In Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic represented an early attempt to impose a central authority over Switzerland, which until then consisted mainly of self-governing cantons united by a loose military alliance, and conquered territories such as Vaud...
, in 1798, Hurden became part of the new established Distrikt Rapperswil in the Canton of Linth
Canton of Linth
Linth was a canton of the Helvetic Republic from 1798 to 1803, consisting of Glarus and its subject County of Werdenberg, the Höfe and March districts of Schwyz and the Züricher subject Lordship of Sax, along with a handful of shared territories....
, and in 1803 it was part of the new established Pfäffikon
Pfäffikon
Pfäffikon may refer to:*Pfäffikon District, Canton of Zurich, Switzerland**Pfäffikon, Zurich , a municipality and capital of the district...
. In 1873, the Swiss federal parliament approved the construction of the today's stone dam and bridge.
Southern Hurden was in 1943 divided by a puncture channel dredged from the upper to the lower Lake Zürich. Now the ships of 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) were able to pass from Lake Zürich to the upper Lake Zürich, and the peninsula actually was a real island which was cut off from the mainland. Beginning in 1990, luxurious villas were widely built in Hurden, which in part on newly reclaimed area created for and with a private harbour.
In 2001, a new wooden footbridge was opened alongside the dam for the first 840 metres (2,755.9 ft) meters of the crossing. It was built in quite the same place as the original bridge linking Rapperswil with the nearby bridge chapel (Heilig Hüsli
Heilig Hüsli
Heilig Hüsli is a chapel in the city of Rapperswil, canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland.- Geography :The chapel is located next to the so-called Seedamm, as of the today, situated on a small island on upper Lake Zürich on the Holzbrücke Rapperswil-Hurden, a historical wooden bridge reconstructed in...
). The Seedamm area including the remains of the prehistoric wooden bridges respectively stilt house
Stilt house
Stilt houses or pile dwellings or palafitte are houses raised on piles over the surface of the soil or a body of water. Stilt houses are built primarily as a protection against flooding, but also serve to keep out vermin...
settlements in Freienbach and Rapperswil is listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance
Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
The Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance is a register of some 8,300 items of cultural property in Switzerland...
.
Transportation
Besides the road and railway transport lines crossing Seedamm, there is in Hurden a stop of the Zürich S-BahnZürich S-Bahn
The Zurich S-Bahn system is a network of rapid transit rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zurich and portions of neighboring cantons The Zurich S-Bahn system is a network of rapid transit rail lines that has been...
on the lines S5
S5 (ZVV)
The S5 is a regional railway line of the S-Bahn Zürich on the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund , Zürich transportation network, and is one of the network's lines connecting the cantons of Zürich, St...
and S40
S40 (ZVV)
The S40 is a regional railway line of the S-Bahn Zürich on the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund , Zürich transportation network, in the cantons of Schwyz, St...
(provided by Südostbahn
Südostbahn
The Südostbahn – commonly abbreviated to SOB – is a railway company and network in Switzerland.- Structure :...
) situated.