The Hurden ship canal (german: Schiffahrtskanal von Hurden) is a long

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

in the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

canton of Schwyz The canton of Schwyz (german: Kanton Schwyz rm, Chantun Sviz; french: Canton de Schwytz; it, Canton Svitto) is a canton in central Switzerland between the Alps in the south, Lake Lucerne to the west and Lake Zürich in the north, centred on ...

. It connects the lower section of

Lake Zürich __NOTOC__ Lake Zurich ( Swiss German/Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used to ...

with the upper section, sometimes called the ''Obersee'', permitting shipping services on the lake to pass between the two halves of the lake without passing through the shallows, and under the low bridges, of the

Seedamm The Rapperswil Seedamm is the partially artificial causeway and bridge at the most narrow area of Lake Zurich, between Hurden (SZ) and Rapperswil (SG). The Seedamm carries a road and a railway across the lake, with the railway being used by the ...

. The canal was opened in 1943, and cuts through the base of the peninsular containing the village of Hurden, thus placing the centre of the village on an artificial island. The canal is spanned by the ''Sternenbrücke'', which carries both road and railway, with the railway being used by the S5 and S40 lines of the

S-Bahn Zürich The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban- suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble co ...

and by the

Südostbahn The Südostbahn (German, literally meaning "South-Eastern Railway") – commonly abbreviated to SOB – is a Swiss adhesion railway company, and a network in Central and Eastern Switzerland. It resulted from the merger of the original SOB wit ...

Voralpen Express The ''Voralpen-Express'' (''VAE'') is a named train connecting small to medium-sized cities and villages in Central and Eastern Switzerland, carrying this name since 1992. It is operated by Südostbahn (SOB) and runs every hour between St. Gal ...

. This bridge was renewed between March and November 2010 to allow 40 ton trucks to cross the Seedamm. The canal's navigation channel is only wide enough to pass a single ship at a time, and vessels proceeding up the lake must give way to vessels proceeding downstream. Amongst other vessels, it is used by the

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...

s and

motor ship A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The names of motor ships are often prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V. Engines for motorships were developed during the 1890s, and by t ...

s of the

Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft The ''Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft'' or Lake Zürich Navigation Company (commonly abbreviated to ZSG) is a public Swiss company operating passenger ships and boats on Lake Zürich. The company operates services connecting lake-side towns ...

on their services from the

city of Zürich A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

to the ''Obersee''. To the west of the ''Sternenbrücke'', the canal passes through the

Frauenwinkel Frauenwinkel is a Mire landscapes in Switzerland, mire landscape in Switzerland, situated at the ''Seedamm'' area on ''Zürichsee'' lakeshore in the municipality of Freienbach in the Canton of Schwyz. Geography Frauenwinkel is situated on ...

nature reserve, with its important bog landscape.

Gallery

File:Rapperswil-Jona - Rapperswil - Jona - Frauenwinkel - Seedamm - Holzbrücke - Hurden - Rüti - Feusisberg - Etzel 2010-10-21 15-55-26.JPG, The Hurden peninsular with canal crossing it; Seedamm in background. File:Hurden - Kanalweg IMG 3773.JPG, The canal and ''Sternenbrücke'' in winter. File:Frauenwinkel - Zürichsee - Hurden Kanalweg 2010-06-12 16-39-58.JPG, The ''LS Stäfa'', a local restaurant barge, transiting the canal.

References

External links

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{{coord, 47.207505, 8.793831, type:landmark_region:CH, display=title Canals in Switzerland Canals opened in 1943 Ship canals Transport in the canton of Schwyz