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40-576: Werd Island is the main island of the small island group Werd Islands in the westernmost part of the Lower Lake of Lake Constance just before the High Rhine leaves the part of the lake known as the Rhine Lake ( Rheinsee ). It is located on Swiss territory between Stein am Rhein and Eschenz . The Werd was already inhabited in 5000 BC, using stilt houses . Stone tools used by hunter-gatherers in

80-574: A hydrological point of view, therefore, the Rhine is a tributary of the Aare, not vice versa. The Rhine is, however, generally considered the main stream, because it is slightly longer than the Aare. The Rhine Falls ( Rheinfall ), which are the largest plain waterfalls of Europe , are in the municipalities of Neuhausen am Rheinfall and Laufen-Uhwiesen , near the town of Schaffhausen . They are 150 metres (490 ft) wide and 23 metres (75 ft) high. In

120-403: Is connected to the south bank of the river by a 125 meter long wooden bridge. The two smaller islands in the group belong to the municipality of Stein am Rhein of Canton of Schaffhausen . They are uninhabited and form the nature reserve and bird sanctuary Middle and lower Werdli . Middle Werdli island has an area of 0.4 hectares; Lower Werdli measures 0.6 hectares. The boundary between

160-804: Is situated about 30 cm (12 in) lower than the Obersee . The Romans called it Lacus Acronius . In the Middle Ages, the Upper Lake was called Bodamicus Lacus , or Bodensee in German. At some point in time, this term began to include the Lower Lake, and a new term "Upper Lake" (in German: Obersee ), was introduced for the larger lake. The main tributaries are the Seerhein and Radolfzeller Aach . The source of

200-698: Is the part between the Mettnau peninsula in the north, the Höri peninsula in the south and the Island of Reichenau in the east. To the west lies the estuary of the Radolfzeller Aach and the Hegau . In the east, there is a small island called Liebesinsel ( lit.   ' Love Island ' ) close to the Mettnau peninsula. The Gnadensee extends from Allensbach in the north and

240-461: Is unlikely to be true. A more probable theory is that the lake is named after Maria, "Our Lady of Mercy", as the church of the abbey on the island was dedicated to St. Mary and St. Mark. The town name Frauenfeld in neighbouring canton of Thurgau can be similarly explained. The Markelfingen Winkel is the western end of the Gnadensee, between Markelfingen in the north, Radolfzell in the west and

280-793: The Basel Connecting Line (between Basel SBB and Basel Bad Bf), the Turgi–Koblenz–Waldshut railway line between Koblenz and Waldshut, the Eglisau–Neuhausen railway line (between Eglisau and Hüntwangen-Wil ), the Rheinfall Railway line (between Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall and Neuhausen), the Lake Line between Feuerthalen and Schaffhausen, and the Etzwilen–Singen railway line (between Etzwilen and Hemishofen , used as

320-606: The Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey . It is, however, leased by the Franciscans ; they live in a house attached to the chapel. Werd is the main island of a small island group. It has an area of 1.59 hectare belongs to the ward Untereschenz of the municipality of Eschenz , in the Swiss Canton Thurgau . The highest point of the island is 398 metres above sea level or 2 metres above lake level (396 m). It

360-665: The Hegau lowlands with the peninsula Mettnau ; in the west, the peninsula Höri , with a mountain called Schiener Berg , and in the south, the Seerücken , which reaches more than 90 m (300 ft) feet above the Untersee near Berlingen . Bordering the Lower Lake Constance are the Swiss cantons of Thurgau and Schaffhausen and the German state of Baden-Württemberg . In contrast to

400-673: The Middle Bridge in Basel . The old wooden bridge between Gailingen and Diessenhofen is low so that during times when the water level of the river is high, large ships can no longer pass underneath it. Numerous areas along the High Rhine are currently, or were historically considered important. From west to east, they are Dinkelberg , Augstgau , Fricktal , Table Jura , Albgau , Aargau , Hotzenwald , Klettgau , Zurzibiet , Zürichgau , Hegau and Thurgau . There are passenger boat lines on

440-679: The Middle Stone Age have been found. In the Neolithic , Werd provided an ideal place to settle. Between 1931 and 1935, the island was excavated under the direction of Karl Keller-Tarnuzzer. Numerous items such as stone axes, arrowheads, a flint sickle, pottery shards, bone fishhooks from the Neolithic and the Bronze Age came to light. Tools, weapons and jewelry from the Bronze Age were found. Water levels of Lake Constance fell to an extreme low in

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480-454: The Rheinsee there is the island of Triboldingerbohl . There used to be another island called Entlibühl . The nature reserve Wollmatinger Ried is also located in this area. The border between Germany and Switzerland follows Rheinsee in east-west direction. High Rhine High Rhine ( German : Hochrhein , pronounced [ˈhoːxˌʁaɪn] ; kilometres 0 to 167 of

520-572: The Rhine ) is the name of the part of the Rhine between Lake Constance ( Bodensee ) and the city of Basel , flowing in a general east-to-west direction and forming mostly the Germany–Switzerland border . It is the first of four named sections of the Rhine (High Rhine, Upper Rhine , Middle Rhine , Lower Rhine ) between Lake Constance and the river delta at the North Sea . The term High Rhine

560-505: The Upper Lake , the border between Germany and Switzerland across the Lower Lake is well defined. Municipalities on the Swiss side are Gottlieben , Ermatingen , Salenstein , Berlingen , Steckborn , Mammern , Eschenz and Stein am Rhein . Municipalities on the German side are Öhningen , Gaienhofen , Moos am Bodensee , Radolfzell , Reichenau , Allensbach and Constance . Three parts in

600-715: The Winterthur–Bülach–Koblenz railway line (between Koblenz and Eglisau ), the Eglisau–Neuhausen railway line between Neuhausen Rheinfall and Neuhausen (briefly venturing through German territory through the Jestetter Zipfel ), the Rheinfall Railway line (between Dachsen and Schaffhausen ), and the Lake Line between Schaffhausen and Stein am Rhein . The High Rhine is crossed by (from west to east)

640-481: The High Rhine are, in the order of their confluences , the Biber , Durach , Thur , Töss , Glatt , Wutach , Aare , Alb , Murg , Sissle , Wehra , Ergolz and Birs . The High Rhine's drainage basin measures 24,900 km (9,600 sq mi). With 557 cubic metres per second (19,700 cu ft/s), the Aare has a larger discharge than the Rhine (439 cubic metres per second (15,500 cu ft/s)). From

680-683: The High Rhine flows mostly from east to west. Between Schaffhausen and the confluence with the Töss , it flows from north to south for about 20 km (12 mi), with a distinct meander at Rheinau . In its eastern portion, the river passes through the Molasse basin (passing south of the Hegau region), while in its western part it traverses the Table Jura before entering the Upper Rhine Plain at Basel, where it turns northwards. In its western section,

720-478: The High Rhine has eleven dams and twelve hydropower plants (there are two plants at the Augst/Wyhlen Dam . Some parts of the High Rhine valley are fairly wide, while others are more gorge-like. The population density varies accordingly. Prominent towns on the High Rhine include Stein am Rhein, Schaffhausen, Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Waldshut , Laufenburg , Bad Säckingen , Rheinfelden and Basel . Some towns on

760-469: The High Rhine mostly marks the border between Germany and Switzerland except in the Swiss canton of Basel-Stadt . In the eastern part, there are several disconnected areas of Switzerland to the north of the river ( canton of Schaffhausen and Rafzerfeld of the canton of Zurich). The German enclave of Büsingen am Hochrhein is located on the northern bank of the High Rhine, surrounded by Swiss territory. Apart from many creeks, larger tributaries of

800-511: The Island of Reichenau in the south, from the tip of Mettnau in the west to the Reichenau causeway with its well-visible poplar avenue in the east. According to legend, the name Gnade (English: Mercy or Grace ) of the lake comes from the time when the court house was located on the Island of Reichenau. If a defendant was sentenced to death, the execution of the sentence could not be carried out on

840-662: The Mettnau peninsula in the south. Its eastern boundary is at the level of the summit Mettnauspitze . With its maximum water depth of 16 m, the Markelfingen Winkel is the shallowest part of the lake. It has a tributary: the Mühlbach, which drains the Mindelsee . The mainly Swiss section of the lake south of the Island of Reichenau and its southwestern arm is known as Rheinsee ( lit.   ' Lake Rhine ' ), not to be confused with Seerhein ( lit.   ' Rhine of

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880-678: The Rhine is located in Schaffhausen; it has a damming effect to slightly above Diessenhofen. The next power plant ( Kraftwerk Reckingen ) is located at Rekingen and Küssaberg . After Rekingen, the High Rhine flows freely through the Koblenz Rapids to the confluence with the Aare . The next hydropower plant (the Kraftwerk Albbruck-Dogern ), is at Leibstadt and Dogern . There are seven more power plants between here and Basel. Altogether,

920-507: The cantons of Thurgau and Schaffhausen, follows the center line of the Rhine here. The bridge at Stein am Rhein is generally considered to be the boundary between the Lower Lake of Lake Constance and the High Rhine . The Werd islands lie just above the bridge and are therefore inland islands , not river islands . The Western tip of Lower Werli is about 320 meters upstream from the bridge. Untersee (Lake Constance) The Lower Lake Constance measures 63 km (24 sq mi) and

960-430: The island, but only on the mainland because the island was "holy ground". Therefore, the condemned man was brought by boat to the mainland in the direction of Allensbach, where the sentence could be Gnade . Now, if the abbot wanted to pardon the condemned, he would ring a bell before the offender arrived on the other shore. This signaled to the executioner on the mainland, that prisoner had been pardoned. However, this story

1000-627: The island. The two bridge sections had a length of 220 and 217 meters and a width of six meters. This Roman road , known in the literature as the Rheatian Boundary Street led from the Vicus Tasgetium (Eschenz) via Rielasingen , Singen , Friedingen , Steißlingen , Orsingen , Vilsingen and Inzigkofen to a ford across the Danube at Laiz. In Orsingen there was a junction to Pfullendorf and Burgweiler . Near Dürren Ast , there

1040-572: The lake(s) ' ), which is the Upper and Lower Lakes connecting segment of the river Rhine). It is called the Seerhein because the current of the river follows exactly this path through the lake to the effluent of Lower Lake Constance in the Swiss town of Stein am Rhein , where the High Rhine starts. At the end of the lake, there are three small islands, called the Werd Islands . Where the Seerhein flows into

1080-518: The latter is the Aachtopf , a karst spring whose waters mainly derive from the Danube Sinkhole , making the Danube indirectly a tributary of Untersee and the Rhine, respectively. The landscape surrounding the Untersee is very diverse. The Untersee contains two islands: Reichenau and Werd (near the transition to the High Rhine ). In the northeast is the peninsula Bodanrück ; in the northwest,

1120-578: The lower High Rhine ( Rheinfelden – Basel ), between Eglisau and Ellikon am Rhein (municipality of Marthalen ) and on the upper High Rhine and Untersee ( Schaffhausen – Konstanz ). There are also boat tours between Eglisau and the Rhine Falls ( Rheinfall ), including the Rhine Falls Rock, and between the Rhine Falls and Rekingen . The High Rhine Railway line follows the lower section of

1160-467: The lower section of the river, which here corresponds to the Germany–Switzerland border , are located on both banks, such as Laufenburg (Aargau) and Laufenburg (Baden) and Rheinfelden (Aargau) and Rheinfelden (Baden) . The most important organizations for cross-border cooperation on the High Rhine are High Rhine Commission and High Rhine Agency. Authorities on the Baden-Württemberg side of

1200-402: The north of Lower Lake, surrounded by German territory, have names of their own: Zeller See ( lit.   ' Lake of Radolfzell ' ), Gnadensee ( lit.   ' Lake Mercy ' ) and Markelfinger Winkel ( lit.   ' nook of Markelfingen ' ). The part in the south, which borders Switzerland, is called Rheinsee ( lit.   ' Rhine Lake ' ). The Zeller See

1240-802: The north of it. The High Rhine begins at the outflow of the Rhine from the Untersee (Lower Lake Constance) in Stein am Rhein and turns into the Upper Rhine at the Rhine knee ( Rheinknie ) in Basel (more precisely at the Middle Bridge ). It is marked by Rhine-kilometers 0 to 167, with the measurements beginning at the outflow from the Obersee (Upper Lake Constance) at the Old Rhine Bridge in Konstanz (Constance), although

Werd (Lake Constance) - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-521: The part between the Upper and Lower Lake Constance is distinguished as the Seerhein (English: Lake Rhine ) and the part of Lower Lake Constance through which the Rhine flows is known as the Rheinsee . Therefore, the High Rhine begins at Rhine-kilometer 25.45. In contrast to the Alpine Rhine (the main tributary of Lake Constance) and Upper Rhine, which both flow mainly in a south-to-north direction,

1320-580: The river (between Basel Bad Bf and Waldshut ) along its northern banks, but then runs further north to it in its upper section (except in Schaffhausen). On the Swiss side, the river is followed by (from west to east) the Bözberg railway line (between Pratteln and Stein-Säckingen ) the Koblenz–Stein-Säckingen railway line (section between Laufenburg and Koblenz is closed to passenger trains),

1360-478: The river are organized in a framework called Regionalverband Hochrhein-Bodensee ("Regional cooperation High Rhine — Lake Constance"). Several bridges cross the High Rhine, including a few historic ones. Examples are (in direction of waterflow): Eglisau railway bridge in Eglisau , Waldshut–Koblenz Rhine Bridge between Koblenz and Waldshut-Tiengen , the wooden bridge between Stein and Bad Säckingen or

1400-668: The river's course during the Würm ice age . In Neuhausen am Rheinfall, the river falls into a previously buried stream channel, forming the Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen. The next rapids are the Kadelburg Rapids at Koblenz . Near Laufenburg , the post-glacial Rhine failed to find the old silted-up channel and hit a spur of Black Forest crystal. The river cut itself a gorge, containing the Laufenburg Rapids. The Laufenburg and Schwörstadt Rapids have been artificially eliminated by blowing up

1440-421: The rocks and raising the water level with dams. The character of the river has been changed over long distances by the construction of hydropower stations . The Laufenburg and Schwörstadt rapids were removed by blowing up rocks, originally to improve navigation, and later flooded due to the hydropower dams. Between Stein am Rhein and Diessenhofen , the High Rhine is not dammed . The first power plant along

1480-404: The winter months, the average water flow is 250 cubic metres per second (8,800 cu ft/s), while in the summer, the average water flow is 600 cubic metres per second (21,000 cu ft/s). The rapids in the High Rhine should be viewed in the context of the relatively high slope—from 395 to 252 metres (1,296 to 827 ft) a.s.l. in just 165 kilometres (103 mi)—and the change of

1520-632: The winter of 2005–2006. This uncovered a large waterfront areas and some prehistoric artifacts. A selection of prehistoric, Roman Era and medieval artifacts is on display at the entrance of the refectory on the island. Other important finds are now housed in the Museum of Archaeology in Frauenfeld and in the local museum in Eschenz. In 50 BCE, the Romans built a pile bridge between Rhaetia and Magna Germania via

1560-558: Was a further junction through the Ablach Valley to Meßkirch , Krauchenwies and Mengen - Ennetach . Saint Othmar , the first abbot of the Abbey of St. Gall was sent into exile to Werd in 759. He died on Werd on 16 November of that year. The St. Othmar chapel on the island was erected in his memory in the 15th Century. It belongs to the Catholic parish of Eschenz. The island is owned by

1600-400: Was introduced by scientists in the 19th century. Above all geologists tried to differentiate the High Rhine ( German : Hochrhein ) linguistically from the Upper Rhine ( French : Rhin Supérieur , German : Oberrhein ). Until the 19th century, it was also known as the 'Badisch-Swiss Rhine'. It lends its name to the High Rhine Railway line, which to a great extend follows the river to

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