The Töss Valley is a valley

Valley

In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...

 and a region

Region

Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity...

 of the canton of Zürich

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...

 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....

.

Geography

The valley compromises parts of the Zürcher Oberland

Zürcher Oberland

The Zürcher Oberland 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 district of Winterthur. The territory gradually fell under the control of the city...

 including the districts

Districts of Switzerland

In contrast to centrally organised states, in the federally constituted Switzerland each canton iscompletely free to decide its own internal organisation. Therefore there exists a variety of structures and terminology for the subnational entities between canton and municipality, loosely termed...

 of Hinwil

Hinwil (district)

Hinwil District is one of the twelve districts of the German-speaking canton of Zurich, Switzerland. It lies to the southeast of the canton, bordering the adjacent St. Gallen. Hinwil has a population of ; its capital is the town of Hinwil, located at the centre of the district.- Municipalities...

, Pfäffikon

Pfäffikon (district)

Pfäffikon District is one of the twelve districts of the German-speaking canton of Zürich, Switzerland. Its capital is the town of Pfäffikon.- Municipalities :Pfäffikon contains a total of twelve municipalities:...

 and Winterthur

Winterthur (district)

Winterthur District is one of the twelve districts of the German-speaking canton of Zürich, Switzerland. It has a population of . Its capital is the city of Winterthur.- Municipalities :Winterthur District contains a total of 21 municipalities:...

, in addition to parts of the Zürcher Unterland

Zürcher Unterland

The Zürcher Unterland comprises the northwestern part of the canton of Zurich, including the districts of Bülach and Dielsdorf....

 (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 Winterthur

Winterthur

Winterthur is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. It has the country's sixth largest population with an estimate of more than 100,000 people. In the local dialect and by its inhabitants, it is usually abbreviated to Winti...

. The Töss River 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

Fischenthal

Fischenthal is a municipality in the district of Hinwil in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.-Geography:Fischenthal has an area of . Of this area, 31.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 63.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 4% is settled and the remainder is non-productive...

), Bauma

Bauma

Bauma is a municipality in the district of Pfäffikon in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland.-Geography:Bauma has an area of . Of this area, 35.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 54.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 8.6% is settled and the remainder is non-productive...

, Juckern, Blitterswil, Saland, Tablat, Wila

Wila, Switzerland

Wila is a municipality in the district of Pfäffikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.-Geography:Wila has an area of . Of this area, 38.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 51.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 9.1% is settled and the remainder is non-productive...

, Turbenthal

Turbenthal

Turbenthal is a municipality in the district of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.-Geography:Turbenthal has an area of . Of this area, 34.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 57.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 7.1% is settled and the remainder is non-productive...

, Zell

Zell, Zurich

Zell is a municipality in the district of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.-Geography:Zell has an area of . Of this area, 43.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 42.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 12.5% is settled and the remainder is non-productive...

, Rikon

Rikon im Tösstal

Rikon im Tösstal is a village within the municipality of Zell in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland.- Geography :Rikon is located in the district of Winterhur within the Töss Valley. Zell-Rikon belongs to the urban area of the northwestern city of Winterthur. In Rikon is a tibetan monastery, the...

, Kollbrunn

Kollbrunn

Kollbrunn is a village within the municipality of Zell in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland.- Geography :Kollbrunn is located in the district of Winterthur within the Töss Valley. Zell-Kollbrunn belongs to the urban area of the northwestern city of Winterthur...

, and Sennhof

Sennhof (Winterthur)

Sennhof is a quarter in the district 3 of Winterthur.It was formerly a part of Seen municipality, which was incorporated into Winterthur in 1922.- Transportation :Sennhof is a stop of the S-Bahn Zürich on the line S26....

 near Winterthur. The Tösstal is a popular recreation area and well known for hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

 tours in the surrounding mountains as Schnebelhorn

Schnebelhorn

The Schnebelhorn is a mountain located near Fischenthal in the Töss Valley, between the cantons of Zürich and St. Gallen . It is the highest summit of the canton of Zürich....

 and Hulftegg pass, and for skating and biking along Töss river.

The lower Töss valley includes the widely flattened parts in the west of Winterthur; it compromises the quarters of Winterthur called Töss

Töss

The Töss is a river of the Canton of Zürich. It rises in the Zürcher Oberland, flows along the Töss Valley past Winterthur, and joins the Rhine at Tössegg near Teufen....

 and Wülflingen

Wülflingen

Wülflingen is a district in the Swiss city of Winterthur. It is district number six.The district comprises the quarters Weinberg, Oberfeld, Lindenplatz, Niederfeld, Neuburg, Hardau, Härti and Taggenberg....

, the municipalities Neftenbach

Neftenbach

Neftenbach is a municipality in the district of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.-History:Neftenbach is first mentioned in 1209 as Neftinbach....

, Pfungen

Pfungen

Pfungen is a municipality in the district of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.-Geography:Pfungen has an area of . Of this area, 32.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 41.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 24% is settled and the remainder is non-productive...

, Dättlikon

Dättlikon

Dättlikon is a municipality in the district of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.-Geography:Dättlikon has an area of . Of this area, 43% is used for agricultural purposes, while 45.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 9.6% is settled and the remainder is non-productive...

, Embrach

Embrach

Embrach is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.- Coat of arms :BlazonTwo crossed silver St. Peter's keys in red....

, Rorbas

Rorbas

Rorbas is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.-Geography:Rorbas has an area of . Of this area, 35.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 46.6% is forested...

, Freienstein

Freienstein-Teufen

Freienstein-Teufen is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.-History:Freienstein-Teufen is first mentioned in 890 as Tiuffen. In 1254 it was mentioned as Frigenstein.-Geography:...

 and Teufen where the Töss river joins the Rhine river at Tössegg.

Transportation

The Tösstalstrasse (motorway) was built in 1837, the Tösstalbahn (S26

S26 (ZVV)

The S26 is a regional railway line of the Zürich S-Bahn on the ZVV and is one of the network's less-heavily traveled lines...

) 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. ISBN 9783905172492

External links

• Website Sonntags-Zeitung: Verträumtes Tösstal