Werdinsel, also known as Limmatauen Werdhölzli, is an

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

and a protected area in the

Limmat The Limmat is a river in Switzerland. The river commences at the outfall of Lake Zurich, in the southern part of the city of Zurich. From Zurich it flows in a northwesterly direction, continuing a further 35 km until it reaches the river A ...

in Switzerland.

Geography

Located in the former independent

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Höngg Höngg is a quarter in district 10 in Zürich. It was formerly a municipality of its own, having been incorporated into Zürich in 1934. The quarter has a population of 21,186, distributed across an area of 6.98 km2. Höngg is renowned f ...

, today the

river island River Island (stylised as RiverIsland and abbreviated as RI) is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis (entrepreneur), Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores ...

is a popular recreation area,

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

and bath in the Limmat, situated in the northernly suburban area of the

Limmat Valley The Limmat Valley (German: ''Limmattal'') is a river valley and a region in the Canton (Switzerland), cantons of Canton of Zürich, Zürich and Canton of Aargau, Aargau in Switzerland. Geography The Limmat () is a long river located in ...

in Zürich. The island has a maximum length of about and a maximum width of about . Its highest point is about above sea level, a few metres above the river level at Zürich-Höngg. The minimum distance from the river bank is about , and the island is also separated by the artificial ''Giessen'' channel.

Recreation

The so-called ''Flussbad Au-Höngg'' is one of the four public river baths situated in the Limmat within the city of Zürich. The entrance is free, but there is just a limited infrastructure. The

Zürich tram Trams make an important contribution to public transport in the city of Zurich in Switzerland. The tram network serves most city neighbourhoods, and is the backbone of public transport within the city, albeit supplemented by the inner sections of ...

line 17 (stop ''Tüffenwies'') and the local

Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ) is a public transport operator in the Swiss city of Zurich, and is wholly owned by the city. Previously known as the Städtische Strassenbahn Zürich (StStZ), the organisation was founded in 1896 and adopted its c ...

VBZ bus lines 80 and 89 (stop ''Winzerhalde'') provide public transportation. The island also houses a restaurant and grill stations, family gardens, sand beaches and a forested area, the adjoint ''Limmat-Auen Werdhölzli'' protected area. For decades, the river island has been called a 'conflict zone' related to its public use; it claims those with dogs, naturists and LGBT enthusiasts, as well as textiles (non-nudists) and families in the area. Another problem is the intensive use, so on peak days, up to 4,500 visitors search for recreation, almost half a million a year, among them also people from neighboring cantons, and therefore causing additional road transport traffic. The city police, however, legally allows any people to roam freely naked in public, and ''even outdoor sex is not illegal as long as no one raises indictment''. The city police forces regularly patrols on the ground, and the municipal authorities started to assign ''beware of the naked'' signs in August 2015.

Limmatauen

Limmatauen Werdhölzli is a protected forest and river area, partially situated in the municipality of Oberengstringen, between the weir at the Höngg power plant, resulting in a more than 130 years old flood protection plan between two neighbored municipalities. Set under protection in 1945, the long section of the Limmat was renatured, what enhanced the

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

, and thus the quality of the river landscape. In cooperation with the

Canton of Zurich The canton of Zurich is an administrative unit (Swiss canton, canton) of Switzerland, situated in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton of Switzerland. Zurich is the ''de facto'' Capi ...

, the municipalities of Oberengstringen and Zürich, that section of the river was renewed to September 2013. In addition to improved access to the Limmat and the hiking path towards the

Fahr Abbey Fahr Convent () is a Benedictine convent located in an exclave of the canton of Aargau, surrounded by the municipality of Unterengstringen (canton of Zürich). It is located 8 km to the north of Zürich's city centre. Located in different ca ...

, the area was widened for pedestrians and cyclists. Orientation boards inform on the endemic flora and fauna, so the

riparian zone A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripari ...

may be crossed over a long wooden bridge those material consists of the urban forests, and allows to ''discover with open eyes and senses what lives and grows here''. Along the ridge, there are installed bat boxes in the trees. After nearly a year of construction, the project was officially presented to the public on 20 September 2013. The costs of 9.4 million Swiss Francs, are provided by the city and cantonal government, and some companies in collaboration with the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the ...

Switzerland, which claims the ''place as very important to our rivers and streams, so that they can create their very structure''.

Cultural heritage

A watermill of the

Wettingen Abbey Wettingen Abbey (Kloster Wettingen) was a Cistercian monastery in Wettingen in the Switzerland, Swiss Canton (administrative division), canton of Aargau. It was founded in 1227 and dissolved during the secularisation of 1841, but re-founded a ...

was first mentioned in 1365. The island is a historical site of water industrialization in Zürich, and also houses the former spinning mill ''Strickler'', as well as the ''Kraftwerk Werd'', one of the oldest power plants in Zürich. ''Werd'' is an old term used in German language for a ''river island'', and ''Au'' is meaning a small forest at a body of water. The sites are 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 ...

Trivia

As in Switzerland, both burials and cremations are permitted by the law, the island (or, rather, the river) is also used for flow burials.

References

External links

''Limmat-Auenpark Werdhölzli'' on the website of the city of Zürich
{{Parks in Zürich River islands of Switzerland Geography of Zurich Buildings and structures in Zurich Limmat Parks in Zurich Protected areas of Switzerland 1945 establishments in Switzerland 2013 establishments in Switzerland