Wynetal
River
The Wyna is started by several headwaters south-west of Neudorf (LU) in the Lindewald (forest), 17 km north-east from Lucerne. 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, through Oberkulm and Unterkulm, through Teufenthal (AG), and through Gränichen before joining the Suhre at 385m in Suhr, which joins the Aare 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 with the Hallwilersee and the Baldeggersee. The mountain range in the west (about 870m to 570m a.s.l.) separate the Wyne Valley from the Suhretal with the Sempachersee, 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 and Reinach (AG), Leimbach (AG), Gontenschwil, Zetzwil, Oberkulm and then Unterkulm, 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.
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 to Menziken.
Points & Events of Interest
- Naturschutzgebiet Vogelmoos (Bird Moss Nature Preserve), one source of the Wyna
- Auffahrtsumritt 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)
- "Streckenplan Wyna-Trail" [Route map Wyna Trail] (PDF) (in German). Gemeinde Beromünster. Hiking trails along and near the Wyna, connecting Beromünster, Menziken, and Gunzwil.
References
- ^ Wüst, Aline (10 Nov 2012). "Für Buch über Stumpenland kehrte er in ungeliebte Heimat zurück" [For a book on Stumpenland, he returned to an unloved homeland]. Aargauer Zeitung (in German). Aarau AG. Retrieved 30 Jun 2017.
- ^ "Wynental-Route, Luzern–Aarau". Cycling in Switzerland. Bern: SwitzerlandMobility Foundation. Retrieved 23 Mar 2012.
In Römerswil, 90 farmers still work the lush green land on the flat rise of the Erlosen, the source of the small streams that feed the Wyna. After crossing the rise (794 m) the 215 metre-high transmitter of Radio Beromünster appears to the west. This fell silent in 2008 after 77 years of medium-wave broadcasts. Because of the name of the transmitter, in 1934, Münster was renamed Beromünster, where the ornately decorated collegiate church encircled by canons' houses is enthroned above the historic market town. The railway ran to «Möischter» until 1992: today the tracks run in leisurely fashion down to the agglomeration of Menziken/Reinach, where the first flexible aluminium foil was pressed in 1905 and where aluminium is still processed. In the region, also known as «Stumpenland» (cigar country), only the major cigar names of Burger and Villiger have survived: the famous Rössli cigars have been smoked since 1933. In the Menziken Tobacco Museum, cigar boxes with the aroma of tobacco recall the heyday of cigars. Often unspoilt and bordered by bushes, the Wyna winds through the wide glaciated valley, under the eye of thatched granaries dating from 1540 at Oberkulm and the tiny castles of Trostburg and Liebegg above Teufenthal. On the way to Suhr, the plastic industry and large JOWA bakery supply a rich contrast of aromas. The route then runs alongside the Stadtbach, through suburbs to Aarau.
External links
- Historische Vereinigung Wynental (Wynental Historical Society)
- Google Earth map
- "Wynematte" (in German). Pro Natura Aargau. Removal of dams and renaturalization of Wyna at Menziken
- Tschannen, Martin (November 2011). "Hochwasserschutz und Renaturierung der Wyna" [Flood protection and restoration of Wyna] (PDF). Umwelt Aargau (in German) (34). Aargau: Abteilung Landschaft und Gewässer: 53–55. Retrieved 21 June 2013. Good discussion of renaturalization efforts
Photographs
- Roger. "Wynatal & surrounding".
