Limmat (locomotive)
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The Limmat is a river in
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. The river commences at the outfall of Lake Zurich, in the southern part of the city of Zürich. From Zürich it flows in a northwesterly direction, continuing a further 35 km it reaches the river Aare. The confluence is located north of the small town of Brugg and shortly after the mouth of the
Reuss Reuss may refer to: *Reuss (surname) *Reuss (river) in Switzerland *Reuss (state) or Reuß, several former states or countries in present-day Germany, and the Republic of Reuss *Reuss Elder Line and Reuss Younger Line (House of Reuss), members incl ...
. The main towns along the Limmat Valley downstream of Zürich are Dietikon, Wettingen, and Baden. Its main tributaries are the
Linth The Linth (pronounced "lint") is a Swiss river that rises near the village of Linthal in the mountains of the canton of Glarus, and eventually flows into the Obersee section of Lake Zurich. It is about in length. The water power of the Linth ...
, via Lake Zurich, the Sihl, in Zürich, and the Reppisch, in Dietikon. The hydronym is first attested in the 8th century, as ''Lindimacus''. It is of Gaulish origin, from ''*lindo-'' "lake" (
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
''llyn'') and ''*magos'' "plain" (Welsh ''maes''), and was thus presumably in origin the name of the plain formed by the
Linth The Linth (pronounced "lint") is a Swiss river that rises near the village of Linthal in the mountains of the canton of Glarus, and eventually flows into the Obersee section of Lake Zurich. It is about in length. The water power of the Linth ...
.


Power generation

Like many Swiss rivers, the Limmat is intensively used for production of hydroelectric power: along its course of , its fall is used by no less than ten hydroelectric power stations. These include:


Navigation

Historically, the Limmat was an important navigation route. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, voyages from Zürich to
Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...
are recorded. In 1447, the Emperor Frederick III granted the privilege of free navigation on the Limmat and on the Rhine to Zürich. Because of the current, navigation was typically downstream only, with the barges being sold on arrival. Today, the Limmat is navigable for much of its length by small craft only, with many of the hydroelectric power plants incorporating boat lifts. The traditional boat type used on the river is the weidling, a flat-bottomed vessel that is usually long. The uppermost stretch of the river through the centre of Zürich is navigable by rather larger vessels, albeit limited by low bridges. On this stretch of the river the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (Lake Zurich Navigation Company) operates its Limmat boat service, from the
Landesmuseum Landesmuseum (‘state museum’) may refer to a museum of a state of Germany or a state of Austria: *Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt, Germany *Landesmuseum Mainz, Germany *Landesmuseum Württemberg, Germany *Landesmuseum Hannover, Germany *Pom ...
to Lake Zurich, using low-profile motor boats.


Towns near the river

*In the
canton of Zürich The canton of Zürich (german: Kanton Zürich ; rm, Chantun Turitg; french: Canton de Zurich; it, Canton Zurigo) is a Swiss canton in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton in the ...
: *# Zürich *#
Oberengstringen Oberengstringen is a municipality in the district of Dietikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, located in the Limmat Valley (German: ''Limmattal''). History Oberengstringen is first mentioned in 870 as ''Enstelingon''. In 1306 it was me ...
*#
Unterengstringen Unterengstringen is a municipality in the district of Dietikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, located in the Limmat Valley (German: ''Limmattal''). Geography Unterengstringen has an area of . Of this area, 36.5% is used for agricultu ...
*# Schlieren *# Dietikon *#
Geroldswil Geroldswil is a municipality in the district of Dietikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, located in the Limmat Valley. History Geroldswil is first mentioned in 1255 as ''Geroltzwiler''. Geography Geroldswil has an area of . Of this a ...
*# Oetwil an der Limmat *In the canton of Aargau *# Spreitenbach *# Würenlos *# Neuenhof *# Wettingen *# Baden *#
Ennetbaden Ennetbaden is a municipality in the district of Baden in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland, located in the Limmat Valley (German: ''Limmattal''). History Ennetbaden is first mentioned about 1261-64 as ''Alio Badin''. Geography Ennetbaden ha ...
*# Nussbaumen AG *# Untersiggenthal *# Turgi


Cultural heritage

Located on the swamp land between Limmat and Lake Zurich around Sechseläutenplatz on small islands and
peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
s in Zürich,
Prehistoric pile dwellings around Lake Zurich Prehistoric pile dwellings around Lake Zurich comprises 11 – or 10% of all European pile dwelling sites – of a total of 56 prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps in Switzerland, that are located around Lake Zurich in the cantons ...
were set on piles to protect against occasional flooding by the
Linth The Linth (pronounced "lint") is a Swiss river that rises near the village of Linthal in the mountains of the canton of Glarus, and eventually flows into the Obersee section of Lake Zurich. It is about in length. The water power of the Linth ...
and
Jona Jona may refer to: * Jona, Switzerland, a village of the municipality Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland * Jona (river), in the cantons of Zürich and St. Gallen in Switzerland * Jona (album), ''Jona'' (album), an album by Jona Viray People with the giv ...
. Zürich–Enge Alpenquai is located on Lake Zurich lakeshore in Enge, a locality of the municipality of Zürich. It was neighbored by the settlements at
Kleiner Hafner Kleiner Hafner is one of the 111 serial sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', of which are 56 located in Switzerland. Geography Kleiner Hafner was located on the then swamp land between the ri ...
and
Grosser Hafner Grossner Hafner is one of the 111 serial sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', of which are 56 located in Switzerland. Geography Grosser Hafner was located on the then swamp area between the L ...
on a then peninsula respectively island in the effluence of the Limmat, within an area of about in the city of Zürich. As well as being part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', the settlement is also listed in the
Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance #REDIRECT Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance {{R from other capitalisation ...
as a ''Class object''.


References


External links

* * * {{Authority control Rivers of Switzerland Geography of Zürich Rivers of the canton of Zürich