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The Kander is a river in Switzerland. It is long and has a watershed of . Originally a tributary of the
Aare The Aare () or Aar () is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about , during which distance it descen ...
, with a confluence downstream of the
city of Thun , neighboring_municipalities= Amsoldingen, Heiligenschwendi, Heimberg, Hilterfingen, Homberg, Schwendibach, Spiez, Steffisburg, Thierachern, Uetendorf, Zwieselberg , twintown = , website = www.thun.ch Thun (french: Thoune) ...
, since 1714 it flows into
Lake Thun Lake Thun (german: Thunersee) is an Alpine lake in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland named after the city of Thun, on its northern shore. At in surface area, it is the largest Swiss lake entirely within a single canton. The lake was created af ...
upstream of the city. The drainage water from the Kander Neve (glacier) in the middle of the
Bernese Alps , topo_map= Swiss Federal Office of Topography swisstopo , photo=BerneseAlps.jpg , photo_caption=The Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau , country= Switzerland , subdivision1_type= Cantons , subdivision1= , parent= Western Alps , borders_on= , ...
at an altitude of flows through the Gasteretal westward. south of
Kandersteg Kandersteg is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located along the valley of the River Kander, west of the Jungfrau massif. It is noted for its spectacular mountai ...
it turns to north into the larger Kandertal. After it converges in
Frutigen Frutigen is a municipality in the Bernese Oberland in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is the capital of the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district. History The area around Frutigen may have been settled since possibly the Bro ...
with the Engstlige from the left, its second major tributary. The
Engstligental , neighboring_municipalities= Diemtigen, Frutigen, Kandersteg, Lenk im Simmental, Leukerbad (VS), Sankt Stephan , twintowns= } Adelboden is a mountain village and a municipality in Switzerland, located in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental adminis ...
with
Adelboden , neighboring_municipalities= Diemtigen, Frutigen, Kandersteg, Lenk im Simmental, Leukerbad (VS), Sankt Stephan , twintowns= } Adelboden is a mountain village and a municipality in Switzerland, located in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental admin ...
at its south end, runs more or less parallel to the Kandertal before they converge into the Frutigtal. Continuing northwards, the Frutigtal makes a long bend to the west in order to get around the
Niesen The Niesen is a mountain peak of the Bernese Alps in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland. The summit of the mountain is in elevation. It overlooks Lake Thun, in the Bernese Oberland region, and forms the northern end of a ridge that stretches north ...
. Between
Spiez Spiez is a town and municipality on the shore of Lake Thun in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss canton of Bern. It is part of the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district. Besides the town of Spiez, the municipality also includes ...
and
Reutigen Reutigen is a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Reutigen is first mentioned about 1300 as ''Rötingen''. Around 1308 the Burgistein family acquired the entire Strättligen '' Herrsc ...
it converges with the
Simme The river Simme is a tributary of the river Kander in the Bernese Oberland in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is approximately long and has a catchment area of . The river Simme begins at the Alpine lake of ''Flueseeli'' (lit.: "Little L ...
from the left, its major tributary, and turns to the north again and flows into the Lake of Thun after a break through a hill, which used to prevent it flowing into the lake until 1714. Here the river crosses the A6 motorway.


Course

The source of the Kander is fed from the
Kanderfirn The Kander Neve (german: Kanderfirn) is a long glacier (2005) of the Bernese Alps, situated south of Kandersteg in the canton of Berne. The glacier lies at the upper end of the Gasterental, at the foot of the Blüemlisalp and the Tschingelhorn. I ...
glacier in the
Blüemlisalp The Blüemlisalp is a massif of the Bernese Alps, in the territory of the municipalities of Kandersteg and Reichenbach im Kandertal. Its main peaks are: *Blüemlisalphorn (3,661 m) *Wyssi Frau (3,648 m) *Morgenhorn (3,623 m) The entire massif ...
massif. Initially the river in an easterly direction, until it turns sharply north just south of the village of
Kandersteg Kandersteg is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located along the valley of the River Kander, west of the Jungfrau massif. It is noted for its spectacular mountai ...
. This section of the valley is known as the Gastertal. In Kandersteg, the Öschibach, a tributary stream that drains the
Oeschinensee Oeschinen Lake (German: ''Oeschinensee'') is a lake in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland, east of Kandersteg in the Oeschinen valley. At an elevation of , it has a surface area of . Its maximum depth is . The lake was created by a giant landsli ...
, joins the Kander. The river then runs north through
Kandergrund Kandergrund is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History The area may have been lightly inhabited during the Bronze Age, however the earliest documented settlement was ar ...
as far as
Frutigen Frutigen is a municipality in the Bernese Oberland in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is the capital of the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district. History The area around Frutigen may have been settled since possibly the Bro ...
, where it is joined by another tributary, the Engstlige. Below Frutigen the river flows through
Reichenbach im Kandertal Reichenbach im Kandertal is a village and municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Until 1957 it was known as Reichenbach bei Frutigen. Besides the village of Reichenbach, the muni ...
, where it meets the Chiene, and
Mülenen Mülenen is a village in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district of the Swiss canton of Bern. The village is divided between the municipalities of Reichenbach im Kandertal and Aeschi bei Spiez. Mülenen station, on the Lötschberg ...
, where it meets the Suld. Finally, near the village of
Wimmis Wimmis is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Wimmis is first mentioned in 994 as ''Windemis''. The oldest traces of a settlement in Wimmis include the Mesol ...
, it meets the
Simme The river Simme is a tributary of the river Kander in the Bernese Oberland in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is approximately long and has a catchment area of . The river Simme begins at the Alpine lake of ''Flueseeli'' (lit.: "Little L ...
. The valley downstream of Frutigen is known as the Frutigtal. The last short section of today's river, the ''Kanderschlucht'' or Kander canyon, is artificial, having been created as a result of the Kander Correction (see below). At the end of the canyon, the river flows into
Lake Thun Lake Thun (german: Thunersee) is an Alpine lake in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland named after the city of Thun, on its northern shore. At in surface area, it is the largest Swiss lake entirely within a single canton. The lake was created af ...
. Between Mülenen and Kandersteg, the river is followed by the
Lötschberg railway line The Lötschberg is an Alpine mountain massif and usually associated with a major, historically important transit axis of the Alps in Switzerland with, at its core, the Lötschen Pass (german: Lötschenpass, Swiss German: ''Lötschepass''). The mou ...
on its climb to the northern portal of the
Lötschberg tunnel , line = Lötschberg Line , location = Circumventing the Lötschen Pass in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland(Canton of Bern, canton of Valais) , coordinates = – , system = BLS, SBB CFF FFS , status = , st ...
, which passes under the Gastertal on its way to Brig and the Rhone Valley. A road also follows the valley to Kandersteg and beyond into the Gastertal, but unlike the railway this is a dead-end, with no through road route across the mountains.


Kander Correction

The Kander originally flowed through the low lying ''Thun Allmend'' area and entered the
Aare The Aare () or Aar () is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about , during which distance it descen ...
between the
city of Thun , neighboring_municipalities= Amsoldingen, Heiligenschwendi, Heimberg, Hilterfingen, Homberg, Schwendibach, Spiez, Steffisburg, Thierachern, Uetendorf, Zwieselberg , twintown = , website = www.thun.ch Thun (french: Thoune) ...
and
Uttigen Uttigen is a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014 the former municipality of Kienersrüti merged into the municipality of Uttigen.Lake Thun Lake Thun (german: Thunersee) is an Alpine lake in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland named after the city of Thun, on its northern shore. At in surface area, it is the largest Swiss lake entirely within a single canton. The lake was created af ...
, there were early proposals to divert the river into the lake, thus avoiding the ''Allmend'' and stopping the flooding. At the beginning of the 18th Century, the engineer Samuel Bodmer created plans involving a cutting through the ''Strättlighügel'' ridge that separated the river and lake. The plans were approved in 1711, and work began but was delayed by the second Battle of Villmergen. In the spring of 1713 work restarted under the direction of Bern's city architect Samuel Jenner, but with a tunnel instead of the unfinished cutting. Work was finished by the end of the year, but in 1714, the river started to enlarge the channel, causing the tunnel to collapse and creating today's ''Kanderschlucht'' or Kander canyon. The Kander correction was the first piece of major water course re-engineering in Switzerland and lack of experience subsequently led to problems. The amount of water flowing into Lake Thun was increased by 60%, with a commensurate increase in outflow through the city of Thun. This caused flooding and bank correction, which has been addressed over the years in different ways, including channeling of the Aare in 1716, a more major correction of the Aare in the 1870s, and a flood relief tunnel in the early 21st century.


Navigation

With respect to
rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...
, the Kander is classified as unrunnable (level VI on the International Scale of River Difficulty) due to the river's numerous rapids and barriers. In 2008, a Swiss Army rafting party's inflatable boats capsized during an attempt to navigate the river; five soldiers were killed.


See also

*
Oeschinensee and Kandertal landslides The area of Oeschinen Lake and Kander river valley in Switzerland have been subject of multiple large landslides during the Holocene. Both the number and timing of landslides is controversial, with the most recent estimates stating that the large ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Rivers of Switzerland Bernese Oberland Rivers of the canton of Bern