Buechberg (also Buchberg) is an elongated

molasse __NOTOC__ In geology, "molasse" () are sandstones, shales and conglomerates that form as terrestrial or shallow marine deposits in front of rising mountain chains. The molasse deposits accumulate in a foreland basin, especially on top of flys ...

hill in the

Swiss cantons The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the . Two important periods in the development of ...

Schwyz Schwyz (; ; ) is a town and the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ''Bundesbriefmuseum''. The of ...

and St. Gallen on Obersee lakeshore.

Geography

The

Molasse __NOTOC__ In geology, "molasse" () are sandstones, shales and conglomerates that form as terrestrial or shallow marine deposits in front of rising mountain chains. The molasse deposits accumulate in a foreland basin, especially on top of flys ...

hill is a remain of the last glacial period in Switzerland. Situated on the southeastern Obersee lakeshore, the hill is situated on the area of the municipalities of

Tuggen Tuggen is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in March District in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. History According to Walafrid Strabo the Irish missionaries Columbanus, Columban and Saint Gall, Gall arrived at Tuggen around the y ...

and Wangen− Nuolen in the

canton of Schwyz The canton of Schwyz ( ; ; ; ) is a Cantons of Switzerland, canton in central Switzerland between the Swiss Alps, Alps in the south, Lake Lucerne to the west and Lake Zürich in the north, centred on and named after the town of Schwyz. It is one ...

, bordered by the lakeshore area in the

canton of St. Gallen The canton of St. Gallen or St Gall ( ; ; ; ) is a canton of Switzerland. Its capital is St. Gallen. Located in northeastern Switzerland, the canton has an area of (5% of Switzerland) and a resident population close to half a million as of ...

and by the

Linth The Linth (pronounced "lint") is a Switzerland, Swiss river that rises near the Linthal, Glarus, village of Linthal in the mountains of the cantons of Switzerland, canton of canton of Glarus, Glarus, and eventually flows into the Obersee (Züri ...

river towards

Schmerikon Schmerikon is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of See-Gaster (Wahlkreis), See-Gaster in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of St. Gallen (canton), St. Gallen in Switzerland. In the local Swiss Germa ...

. The highest elevation is about at the southwestern end of the hill, overlooking the Linth and Obersee area at around sea level. The commonly called '' Bollingen Sandstone'' since centuries is used for the construction of buildings, among them the

Einsiedeln Abbey Einsiedeln Abbey () is a Catholic monastery administered by the Benedictine Order in the village of Einsiedeln, Switzerland. The Abbey of Einsiedeln is one of the most important baroque monastic sites and the largest place of pilgrimage in Swit ...

and the

St. Gallen Abbey The Abbey of Saint Gall () is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot where Saint Gall had er ...

, as well as for the construction of ''

Fraumünster The Fraumünster (; lit. in ) is a church in Zürich which was built on the remains of a former abbey for aristocratic women which was founded in 853 by Louis the German for his daughter Hildegard. He endowed the Benedictine convent with the l ...

'' and ''

Grossmünster The Grossmünster (; "great minster") is a Romanesque-style Protestant church in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the four major churches in the city (the others being the Fraumünster, Predigerkirche, and St. Peterskirche). Its congregation ...

'' in Zürich; the quarries are still in use.

Name

The official name is the Swiss-German language term ''Buechberg'' (not written with "ü"), although ''Buchberg'' is often used.

Güntliweid–Bätzimatt protected area

Among the area around the

Holzbrücke Rapperswil-Hurden Holzbrücke Rapperswil-Hurden is a wooden pedestrian bridge between the city of Rapperswil and the village of Hurden crossing the Obersee (the upper part of Lake Zurich) in Switzerland. On 6 April 2001, the footbridge was opened. With a leng ...

lake crossing and 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 dial ...

and

Busskirch Busskirch is a village (''Kirchdorf'') within the municipality of Rapperswil-Jona in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Geography The village is located along the northern shore of the Obersee (Zürichsee), ''Obersee'' lakeshore betwee ...

around Obersee, ''Güntliweid'' up to ''Bätzimatt'' at Buechberg are listed ast bird reserves of national importance. The reserve is located on the south shore, at the foothills of Buechberg and extends from the south of ''Bätzimatt'' at Schmerikon to ''Güntliweid'' east of ''Lachen''. It is considered as a particularly valuable resting place for

wader 245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...

s, and may be obtained as resting place for birds on passage.

History

About two thousand years ago, Buechberg formed an island in the former flat Tuggenersee lake area, and there was probably at least one

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

watching tower on the hill established. In the early 13th century AD the

House 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, ...

built the

Grynau Castle The Grynau Castle (Swiss German: ''Grynau'', ''Grinau'' and ''Schloss Grynau'') is the name of a castle tower in the municipality of Tuggen in the canton of Schwyz, built by the House of Rapperswil in the early 13th century AD. Geography The ...

at the most important and strategically river crossing over the Linth river nearby the then nearly landed lake. From Tuggen there's also a historical road heading from the former granary at the

over the Buechberg hill towards

Siebnen Siebnen is a village in district of March in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. Political affiliation The village is politically Siebnen to the three communities Galgenen, Schübelbach Schübelbach is a municipalities of Switzerland, munic ...

.Inventar Historischer Verkehrswege der Schweiz (IHV), Kanton Schwyz, Strecke SZ 39 (Uznach -) Grinau - Siebnen (- Einsiedeln), Stand Mai 1999. The taming of the Linth river (''Linthkorrektur'') from 1807 to 1823 once more changed the landscape, which is also very popular for hiking.

Literature

* Friedrich Müller: ''Internationale Natursteinkartei (INSK''). Ebner Verlag, Ulm 1993.

References

External links

* {{Lake Zurich Tuggen Landforms of the canton of Schwyz Landforms of the canton of St. Gallen Landforms of Switzerland Hills of Europe Limestone Lake Zurich Mountains of the canton of Schwyz Mountains of Switzerland under 1000 metres