The Niesen is a
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
peak 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=
, l ...
in the
Canton of Bern
The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...
,
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 summit of the mountain is in elevation.
It overlooks
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 ...
, in the
Bernese Oberland
The Bernese Oberland ( en, Bernese Highlands, german: Berner Oberland; gsw, Bärner Oberland; french: Oberland bernois), the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern, is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context ...
region, and forms the northern end of a ridge that stretches north from the
Albristhorn
The Albristhorn (or Albrist) is a mountain in the Bernese Alps, overlooking Lenk and Adelboden in the canton of Bern. It is the highest summit of the chain lying between the Wildstrubel and Lake Thun and which is the watershed between the Simme ...
and
Mannliflue, separating the
Simmental
The Simmental ( en, Simme Valley) is an Swiss Alps, alpine valley in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland. It expands from Lenk to Boltigen, in a more or less south-north direction (Obersimmental (district), Obersimmental), and from there to the v ...
and
Kandertal
The Kander is a river in Switzerland. It is long and has a watershed of . Originally a tributary of the Aare, with a confluence downstream of the city of Thun, since 1714 it flows into Lake Thun upstream of the city.
The drainage water from th ...
valleys.
Geography
Administratively, the summit is shared between the municipalities of
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 mun ...
to the southeast, and
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 ...
to the west and north. Both municipalities are in the
canton of Bern
The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...
.
[
The summit can be reached easily by using the ]Niesenbahn funicular
The Niesen Funicular is a funicular railway in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. It links a lower terminus, in the village of Mülenen and adjacent to Mülenen station on the Lötschberg railway line, with an upper terminus at the summit of th ...
from 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 ...
(near Reichenbach). The construction of the funicular was completed in 1910.
Alongside the funicular is the longest stairway in the world, with 11,674 steps. It is only open to the public once a year for a stair run event.modernist painting
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
s by Paul Klee
Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...
, in which an abstracted pyramidal form is seen.[Rosenthal, Mark. “The Prototypical Triangle of Paul Klee.” The Art Bulletin, vol. 64, no. 2, aylor & Francis, Ltd., College Art Association 1982, pp. 299–310, https://doi.org/10.2307/3050222. “The title ''Niesen'' makes explicit another identity of the triangle besides the Egyptian pyramid. "Niesen" is the name of a pyramidally shaped mountain in the Bernese Alps on Lake Thun, not far from Klee's childhood home near Bern. The area was a favorite of Klee's for hiking and vacationing; in 1915 he spent several days with his friend Louis Millet in the town of Gunten, which faces the Niesen from directly across the lake. Klee's study of the mountain from a dramatic vantage point recalls his affirmation, six years earlier, that Cézanne was "the teacher ''par excellence''." As in Cézanne's ''Mont Ste.-Victoire'' paintings (Fig. 2), Klee, in ''Niesen'', contrasts the strength of the mountain stretching to the skies with a patchy landscape below.”]
See also
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References
External links
Niesen.ch: Niesen News website
Nesen-funicular.ch: Niesen Funicular website
Hikr.org: NiesenMeteocentrale.ch: Current weather data and forecast for Niesen-Kulm
Gallery
{{Authority control
Bernese Alps
Mountains of the Alps
Mountains of the canton of Bern
Two-thousanders of Switzerland