Greifensee is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

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 ...

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 ...

Geography

Greifensee is located to the east of the city of Zurich, separated by the Pfannenstiel from

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 ...

. As the second largest lake in the canton of Zurich (

Lake Zurich __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 ...

being the largest), it is about long and at the widest point, with a maximum depth of . The

Aabach (Greifensee) The Aabach (also ''Aa'', or ''Ustermer Aa'' for disambiguation with the Mönchaltorfer Aa) is a minor river in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland. At a length of , it flows from Pfäffikersee to the Greifensee. Its valley is known as ''Aatal'' ...

(or just Aa) is the main supplying river, while its outlet is the Glatt. On its southeastern end the

Mönchaltorfer Aa Greifensee is a lake in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Geography Greifensee is located to the east of the city of Zurich, separated by the Pfannenstiel from Lake Zürich. As the second largest lake in the canton of Zurich (Lake Zu ...

(or just Aa) enters the Greifensee.

Points of interest

A boat connects small towns along the edge of the lake, Maur, Niederuster,

Fällanden Fällanden is a municipality in the district of Uster in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (German: ''Glattal''). History Fällanden is first mentioned around 820 as ''Fenichlanda''. Geography Fällande ...

Mönchaltorf Mönchaltorf is a municipality in the district of Uster in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History Mönchaltorf is first mentioned in 741 as ''Villa Altorf''. In 872 it was mentioned as ''Altorf monachorum''. It also holds the record for ...

and the town Greifensee with its charming

Altstadt ''Altstadt'' is the German language word for "old town", and generally refers to the historical town or city centre within the old town or city wall, in contrast to younger suburbs outside. '' Neustadt'' (new town), the logical opposite of ''Alt ...

and

Greifensee castle Greifensee Castle (german: Schloss Greifensee) is a castle in the municipality of Greifensee and the canton of Zurich in Switzerland. It was probably built by the House of Rapperswil and is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. See al ...

. Greifensee is the scene of th
Greifensee-Lauf
a semi-

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

around the lake held every year. Greifensee is a popular recreation area for

biking Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

and

inline skating Inline skating is a multi-disciplinary sport and can refer to a number of activities practiced using inline skates. Inline skates typically have two to five polyurethane wheels depending on the style of practice, arranged in a single line by a ...

on the paved recreation path around the lake. Easy

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

trails follow the water and pass Greifensee castle before entering a nature preserve. There are well maintained bicycle roads all around the lake as well as on the banks of Aabach.

Nature

The lakeside is under UNESCO

protection Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

, and buildings are not allowed, resulting in

reed bed A reedbed or reed bed is a natural habitat found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions and estuaries. Reedbeds are part of a succession from young reeds colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As ...

and a rich

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

and

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

: Around 400 plant species in the lake and 19 species in its tributaries. The nature reserves are important for the birds breeding there including more than 120 migratory species.

Cultural Heritage

The lake was known as ''Glattsee'' (after the Glatt) in the medieval period Greifensee (''Grifense'') was at first the name of the fort built by 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 ...

in the 12th century, recorded as the name of the

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on th ...

in 1260. This was adopted as the name of the lake by the 16th century.''von Murr ab dem Gryffensee'', GHR 55, 67, 83, 84, 85 (1504); Conradi Türst,
De situ Confoederatorum descriptio
' (1544) "Et iterum dominatum circa paludem Griffense cum vico eiusdem vocabuli ac servitute, qui interseccatur v mille passibus a Turego, de quo ad bis mil. pass, contermina eacdem paludi arx Ustri" Located on the lakeshore, the Prehistoric pile dwelling settlement Greifensee–Storen–Wildsberg is part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', and 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''. Because the lake has grown in size over time, the original piles are now around to under the water level of .

References

External links