The Walensee, also known as ''Lake Walen'' or ''Lake Walenstadt'' from

Walenstadt Walenstadt is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Sarganserland in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It is located on Lake Walen (also known as "Lake Walenstadt"). Geography Walenstadt has an area of . Of this area, 3 ...

, is one of the larger

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 ...

s 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 ...

, with about two thirds of its area in the

Canton of St. Gallen The canton of St. Gallen, also canton of St Gall (german: link=no, Kanton St. Gallen ; rm, Chantun Son Gagl; french: Canton de Saint-Gall; it, Canton San Gallo), is a canton of Switzerland. The capital is St. Gallen. Located in northeastern ...

and about one third in the

Canton of Glarus The canton of Glarus (german: Kanton Glarus rm, Chantun Glaruna; french: Canton de Glaris; it, Canton Glarona) is a canton in east central Switzerland. The capital is Glarus. The population speaks a variety of Alemannic German. The majority of ...

. Other towns and villages at the lake include Weesen, Quinten,

Quarten Quarten is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Sarganserland, in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland, above Lake Walensee. Besides Quarten itself, the municipality includes the settlements of Oberterzen, Unterterzen, Quint ...

, and Murg. The three main rivers leading to the lake are the Seez, Murgbach, and

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 ...

. The last continues its course from Walensee to

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 ...

. The

Schnittlauchinsel The Schnittlauchinsel (German, lit. "chives island") is an island in the Walensee, located in the canton of Canton of St. Gallen. It is the only island in the lake and among the largest in the canton of St. Gallen. The island has a length of 80 met ...

, at the eastern end of the lake, is the only island in the Walensee. The

Churfirsten Churfürsten is a mountain range in the Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. They form the natural boundary between the canton's Toggenburg and Sarganserland districts. They are the southernmost range of the Appenzell Alps, separated from the Gla ...

range raises steeply on the north side from the lake's level at 419 m to 2,306 m above sea level. On the south, the lake is overlooked by the

Mürtschenstock The Mürtschenstock is a mountain massif of the Glarus Alps, overlooking the Walensee in the canton of Glarus , neighboring_municipalities= Glarus Nord, Glarus Süd, Muotathal (SZ), Innerthal (SZ) , twintowns= Wiesbaden-Biebrich (Germany) ...

Massif, whose peak is 2,441 m above sea level. The highest point of the lake's drainage basin is the

Tödi The Tödi (), is a mountain massif and with the mountain peak Piz Russein the highest mountain in the Glarus Alps and the highest summit in the canton of Glarus, Switzerland. It is located on the border between the cantons of Graubünden, to the ...

(3,614 m). The lake provided the inspiration for a solo piano piece by Hungarian Romantic composer

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

, Au lac de Wallenstadt. The piece is part of a collection of solo piano works inspired by his travels to

in the 1830s.

Gallery

Aerial image of the Walensee.jpg, Aerial image of the Walensee File:Walensee, Switzerland.JPG, Looking to the west towards Amden

References

External links

*
Waterlevels of Walensee
at Murg * Walen Lakes of the canton of Glarus Lakes of the canton of St. Gallen LWalensee Glarus–St. Gallen border {{Glarus-geo-stub