The Lütschine is a
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...
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 of
Switzerland. The Lütschine proper runs from
Zweilütschinen, where its two tribututaries join, to
Lake Brienz
Lake Brienz (german: Brienzersee) is a lake just north of the Alps, in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It has a length of about , a width of and a maximum depth of . Its area is ; the surface is above the sea-level. It is fed, among others, b ...
at
Bönigen
Bönigen is a village and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Swiss canton of Bern. It lies on the shore of Lake Brienz, near to the mouth of the river Lütschine, and adjacent to the resort town of Interlaken. ...
. The Schwarze Lütschine, or Black Lütschine, flows from
Grindelwald
Grindelwald is a village and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Berne. In addition to the village of Grindelwald, the municipality also includes the settlements of Alpiglen, Burglauenen, Grund, Itram ...
to Zweilütschinen. The Weisse Lütschine, or White Lütschine, flows from the
Lauterbrunnen
, neighboring_municipalities= Aeschi bei Spiez, Blatten (Lötschen) (VS), Fieschertal (VS), Grindelwald, Gündlischwand, Kandersteg, Lütschental, Reichenbach im Kandertal, Saxeten, Wilderswil
, twintowns =
}
Lauterbrunnen is a village an ...
Valley to Zweilütschinen. The common stretch of the river has a length of , whilst the Schwarze Lütschine is long and the Weisse Lütschine is long.
Both branches of the Lütschine include a large number of mountain streams as tributaries. A notable tributary of the Schwarze Lütschine, emerging from the gorge of the
Lower Grindelwald Glacier
, photo = UntererGrindelwaldgletscher 01.jpg
, photo_caption = Above the glacier lake the scrawny leftovers of the former much larger Lower Grindelwald Glacier (dark, polluted part) directly below of the blue-white ''Ischmeer'' (lit.: Ice Sea) and ...
, is confusingly referred to as "Weisse Lütschine". The highest point of the drainage basin is the
Jungfrau
The Jungfrau ( "maiden, virgin"), at is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. Together with the Eiger and Mönch, the ...
.
[1:25'000 ]Swisstopo
Swisstopo is the official name for the Swiss Federal Office of Topography (in German: ''Bundesamt für Landestopografie''; French: ''Office fédéral de topographie''; Italian: ''Ufficio federale di topografia''; Romansh: ''Uffizi federal ...
topographic map
A story passed on by word of mouth showing friendly banter between villagers that lived on the two rivers is that the people on the Weisse Lütschine said the others "were so dirty it turned the river black" and the villagers on the Schwarze Lütschine claimed the others "never even washed so the other tributary remained perfectly white".
A modern observer standing at Zweilütschinen in winter might note that during the day the Schwarze Lütschine valley to the east is dark, shaded and cold, whereas the south facing Weisse Lütschine valley to the south (the Lauterbrunnen Valley) is sunny and light.
From
Wilderswil
Wilderswil is a village and a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
Wilderswil belongs to the Small Agglomeration ''Interlaken'' with 23,300 inhabitants (2014).
Geography
The v ...
to
Lauterbrunnen
, neighboring_municipalities= Aeschi bei Spiez, Blatten (Lötschen) (VS), Fieschertal (VS), Grindelwald, Gündlischwand, Kandersteg, Lütschental, Reichenbach im Kandertal, Saxeten, Wilderswil
, twintowns =
}
Lauterbrunnen is a village an ...
and
Grindelwald
Grindelwald is a village and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Berne. In addition to the village of Grindelwald, the municipality also includes the settlements of Alpiglen, Burglauenen, Grund, Itram ...
, the banks of the Lütschine are closely followed by the tracks of the
Berner Oberland Railway.
References
Rivers of Switzerland
Rivers of the canton of Bern
Rivers of the Alps
{{Switzerland-river-stub