The Ilfis (in the local dialect: []) is a Switzerland, Swiss river in the Canton of Bern, cantons of Bern and Canton of Lucerne, Lucerne. It runs through the Entlebuch District, Entlebuch and upper Emmental regions before joining the

Emme Emme may refer to: People: * Ivan Fyodorovich Emme (1763–1839), Russian lieutenant general in the Napoleonic Wars * Otto J. Emme, American politician and World War I veteran * Emme Gerhard (1872–1946), American photographer * Emme Rylan, Am ...

Name

The earliest evidence of the name Ilfis comes from the year 1337 where it might refer to either the village of Ilfis, now part of

Langnau im Emmental Langnau im Emmental is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is situated in the upper Emmental between Bern and Lucerne. It has about 9,000 inhabitants and is the most important mar ...

, or the farms at Enedilfis, in the municipality of

Escholzmatt Escholzmatt is a former municipality in the district of Entlebuch in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. Escholzmatt was the Canton's second largest municipality in terms of area. It is part of the UNESCO Entlebuch Biosphere Reserve since 200 ...

. It first appears as a river in a document from 1371, though only a copy from 1531 still exists.Erika Waser, ''Luzerner Namenbuch 1,1: Entlebuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Amtes Entlebuch (A–L),'' Comenius, Hitzkirch 1996, , p. 484f. The origin of the name is not fully clear. It could be a derivation of ''*Elvis(i)ā'' which comes from the Gallic color root word ''* elvo-'', meaning brown or yellow and refer to the yellowish tint of the water. It may also come from or be the origin of the name ''Hilfern'' which is often associated with the river.Erika Waser, ''Luzerner Namenbuch 1,1: Entlebuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Amtes Entlebuch (A–L),'' Comenius, Hitzkirch 1996, , p. 430f.

References

External links

Hydrological data for the Ilfis from the BAFU website
Rivers of Switzerland Rivers of the canton of Bern Rivers of the canton of Lucerne Tributaries of the Emme {{Switzerland-river-stub