The Lütschine () is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in the

Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland (; ; ), sometimes also known as the Bernese Highlands, is the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern. It is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context it is referred to as ''Oberland'' witho ...

region of

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. The Lütschine proper runs from Zweilütschinen, where its two tribututaries join, to

Lake Brienz Lake Brienz () 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, by the upper reaches ...

Bönigen Bönigen is a village and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli (administrative district), Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Bern. It lies on the shore of Lake Brienz ...

. The Schwarze Lütschine, or Black Lütschine, flows from

Grindelwald Grindelwald is a village and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli (administrative district), Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Berne. In additio ...

to Zweilütschinen. The Weisse Lütschine, or White Lütschine, flows from the

Lauterbrunnen Lauterbrunnen () is a village and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli (administrative district), Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Bern, Bern in Swi ...

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 The Lower Grindelwald Glacier () is a Glacier in the Switzerland, Swiss Bernese Alps, situated to the south-east of Grindelwald. It starts below the Agassizhorn and the Strahlegghörner and is connected with the Finsteraar Glacier via the Finstera ...

, is confusingly referred to as "Weisse Lütschine". The highest point of the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

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 Mönc ...

.1:25'000

Swisstopo Swisstopo is the official name for the Swiss Federal Office of Topography, Switzerland's national mapping agency. The current name was made official in 2002. It had been used as the domain name for the homepage of the instituteswisstopo.admi ...

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 Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli (administrative district), Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerla ...

and

, 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

See also

References