Lützelau (
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
: ''little island'') is an island located, with the neighbouring island of
Ufenau
Ufenau is an island located, with the neighbouring island of Lützelau, in Lake Zürich in Switzerland between Freienbach ( away) and Rapperswil ( away). Highlights on Ufenau include ''St. Peter & Paul'' church, ''St. Martin's'' chapel, and U ...
, in
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 ...
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 ...
between
Rapperswil
Rapperswil ( Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dia ...
( away) and
Freienbach
Freienbach is a municipality in Höfe District in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.
History
Freienbach is first mentioned in 972 as ''Friginbach''.
Geography
Freienbach has an area, , of . Of this area, 40.7% is used for agricultural purpos ...
( away).
Geography
Lützelau lies in
Höfe district
Höfe District is a district of the canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. The coat of arms of the Höfe is ''per pale: gules, two lions rampant contourny or; and or, three lions passant gules''. It has a population of (as of ).
The district contains th ...
in the
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 ...
. Since the 13th/14th centuries, it has belonged to the community of
Rapperswil
Rapperswil ( Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dia ...
(now called ''Ortsbürgergemeinde''). The island measures in all, from east to west and from north to south. The highest point of the island is above sea level or above lake level at .
On occasion of the formation of the Alps, the fossilized sediments material of the body of water between the Ricken and Etzel chains unfolded. There arose the typical rock bands that form the
Lindenhof hill
The Lindenhof (lit.: ''courtyard of the lime'') is a moraine hill and a public square in the historic center of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the site of the Roman and Carolingian era Kaiserpfalz around which the city has historically grown. The ...
in Rapperswil, or the islands of
Ufnau
Ufenau is an island located, with the neighbouring island of Lützelau, in Lake Zürich in Switzerland between Freienbach ( away) and Rapperswil ( away). Highlights on Ufenau include ''St. Peter & Paul'' church, ''St. Martin's'' chapel, and Ufen ...
, Lützelau and
Heilighüsli. During the last Ice Age the island was under a thick layer of ice, and the hard layers of conglomerate rock and the sandstone ridge survived the sanding by the glacier.
History
First mentioned in the year 741, there was formerly a nunnery here, given by the
Alamanni
The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes
*
*
*
on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...
c noblewoman Beata, daughter of Rachinbert and wife of Landolt. In the year 744, the nunnery, or abbey, was sold to
Einsiedeln Abbey
Einsiedeln Abbey (german: Kloster Einsiedeln) is a Benedictine Catholic monastery in the village of Einsiedeln in the canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. The abbey is dedicated to Our Lady of the Hermits, in recognition of Meinrad of Einsiedeln, a he ...
. Historians mention a 10th-century ferry station assumably at the so-called ''
Einsiedlerhaus
Einsiedlerhaus is a historic building with an adjoint garden which is part of the former town wall of the medieval Switzerland, Swiss town of Rapperswil in the Canton of St. Gallen.
Location
Situated on the shore of Zürichsee lake, Einsiedle ...
'' in
Rapperswil
Rapperswil ( Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dia ...
– in 981 AD as well as the vineyard on the
Lindenhof hill
The Lindenhof (lit.: ''courtyard of the lime'') is a moraine hill and a public square in the historic center of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the site of the Roman and Carolingian era Kaiserpfalz around which the city has historically grown. The ...
– between
Kempraten
Kempraten-Lenggis is a village (''Kirchdorf'') within the municipality of Rapperswil-Jona, ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The remains of the Gallo-Roman settlement ''Centum Prata'' are one ...
on lake shore, Lützelau and
Ufenau
Ufenau is an island located, with the neighbouring island of Lützelau, in Lake Zürich in Switzerland between Freienbach ( away) and Rapperswil ( away). Highlights on Ufenau include ''St. Peter & Paul'' church, ''St. Martin's'' chapel, and U ...
island and assumably present
Hurden
Hurden is a village in the municipality of Freienbach in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. First mentioned in 1217, the name "de Hurden" was used for the peninsula and for the fish traps made of woven work, called "Hürden" or "Hurden", which ...
, which allowed the pilgrims towards Einsiedeln to cross the lake before the prehistoric bridge at 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 ...
isthmus was
re-built in 1358.
In the late Middle Ages, Einsiedeln sold the island to the
Counts of Rapperswil
The House of Rapperswil respectively Counts of Rapperswil (''Grafen von Rapperwil'' since 1233, before ''Lords'') ruled the upper ''Zürichsee'' and ''Seedamm'' region around Rapperswil and parts of, as of today, Swiss cantons of St. Gallen, Gl ...
who used its sandstone besides the
Bollingen quarries to build the town of Rapperswil. On 12 May 1433 ''Heini Murer von Grueningen'' and his wife ''Anna Keller'' confirmed the transfer of their lands on ''Lutzelnoew'' for ''100 Pfund Pfennig Zürcher Währung'' to the Abbot ''Johans'' and the convent of the
Rüti Abbey Rüti, which comes from the Old High German word , meaning " clearing", is a popular name for towns in the German speaking part of Switzerland. It can refer to the following:
*Rüti, Glarus in Glarus
*Rüti, Zürich
Rüti (sometimes written as ' ...
, including buildings and lands in the
Herrschaft Grüningen, and to be enrolled in the abbey's ''libri anniversariorum'' (German: ''Jahrzeitbuch'').
From the 16th century the
Hospital of the Holy Ghost
The order of the Holy Ghost (also known as Hospitallers of the Holy Spirit) is a Roman Catholic religious order. It was founded in 1180 in Montpellier by Gui of Montpellier, the son of William VII of Montpellier, for the care of the sick by group ...
(''Heiliggeistspital'') of the city of
Rapperswil
Rapperswil ( Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dia ...
was located here, which from 1810 was a quarantine hospital, in
Swiss German
Swiss German (Standard German: , gsw, Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch Mundart,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no defined orthography for any of them, many different spelling ...
''Siechenhaus'' which in ancient times was situation in
Kempraten
Kempraten-Lenggis is a village (''Kirchdorf'') within the municipality of Rapperswil-Jona, ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The remains of the Gallo-Roman settlement ''Centum Prata'' are one ...
. Remains of the former abbey church (8th century) were found in 1964.
Transport
The island has a small restaurant and a campsite. Tourist boat trips – run by 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 ...
– sail from
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
and Rapperswil to the island of Ufenau only; to Lützelau there is a commercial "island taxi" service from Rapperswil between May and September.
File:Lützelau-Ufenau - Rapperswil Lindenhof 2011-01-17 16-17-36.jpg, Lützelau as seen from ''Lindenhof'' in Rapperswil
Rapperswil ( Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dia ...
File:Rapperswil - Lützelau - Ufenau - ZSG Helvetia 2015-09-09 16-46-48.JPG, Rapperswil
Rapperswil ( Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dia ...
, Lützelau and Ufenau
Ufenau is an island located, with the neighbouring island of Lützelau, in Lake Zürich in Switzerland between Freienbach ( away) and Rapperswil ( away). Highlights on Ufenau include ''St. Peter & Paul'' church, ''St. Martin's'' chapel, and U ...
islands as seen from ZSG ship MS ''Helvetia''
File:Frauenwinkel - Lützelau IMG 2539.JPG, Lützelau as seen from ''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 ...
'' protected area
File:Rapperswil - Lützelau IMG 1935.JPG, Lützelau as seen from the west
Protection
In 1927 the
Ufenau
Ufenau is an island located, with the neighbouring island of Lützelau, in Lake Zürich in Switzerland between Freienbach ( away) and Rapperswil ( away). Highlights on Ufenau include ''St. Peter & Paul'' church, ''St. Martin's'' chapel, and U ...
[correctly spelled "Ufnau", but "Ufenau" is commonly used] and the Lützelau islands, as well as the so-called ''
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 ...
'' area at 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 ...
area towards
Hurden
Hurden is a village in the municipality of Freienbach in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. First mentioned in 1217, the name "de Hurden" was used for the peninsula and for the fish traps made of woven work, called "Hürden" or "Hurden", which ...
were placed under conservation, being since 1993 a «Moorlandschaft von besonderer Schönheit und nationaler Bedeutung», i.e. a
bog environment of extraordinary beauty and national importance.
Swimming, camping and other leisure activities are permitted on Lützelau campsite, but forbidden on Ufnau, as well within the ''Frauenwinkel'' lake area.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lutzelau
Landforms of the canton of Schwyz
Landforms of the canton of St. Gallen
Lake islands of Switzerland
Tourist attractions in Rapperswil-Jona
Rapperswil-Jona
Islands of Lake Zurich
Freienbach