Thur (Rhine)

Thur
Thur in Toggenburg
Interactive map of the Thur river
Location
Country	Switzerland
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland
Mouth
• location	Rhine
Length	131 km (81 mi)
Basin size	1,696 km2 (655 sq mi)
Basin features
Progression	Rhine→ North Sea

Thur is a 131-kilometre-long (81 mi) river in north-eastern Switzerland.^[1] Its source is near the mountain Säntis in the south-east of the canton of St. Gallen. In this canton it flows through the Toggenburg region and the town of Wil, SG. After Wil, the Thur^[2] flows through the canton of Thurgau, named after the river, and its capital Frauenfeld. The final 19 kilometres (12 mi) of the Thur are in the canton of Zürich. It then flows into the river Rhine on the border with Germany, south of Schaffhausen.

The Name

The name was first attested in 886 as Dura. In the 13th century, the spelling Turia appears, and in the 14th century Thûr, Tûr. The name has been interpreted as an Old European hydronym, from *durâ or *duriâ “river” from the Indo-European root *dhu “to run, to hurry”.

Turgowe, a village in the Duchy of Alamannia, was named after a body of water. The first mention of the village is slightly older than the earliest mention of the body of water. Around 745, it was cited in the village of Durgaugen. This led to the eventual naming of the canton as Thurgau.

Tributary

• Wildhauser Thur (near Unterwasser)
• Wissthur (near Stein)
• Luteren (near Neu St. Johann)
• Dietfurterbach (near Dietfurt)
• Necker (near Lütisburg)
• Gonzenbach (near Lütisburg)
• Uze (near Niederuzwil)
• Glatt (near Oberbüren)
• Sitter (near Bischofszell)
  • Schwendibach
  • Weissbach
  • Rotbach
  • Wattbach
    • Gstaldenbach
    • Buebenrütibach
  • Urnäsch
    • Wissebach
• Furtbach
• Giessen (near Amlikon-Bissegg)
  • Wisebach
    • Tobelbach
    • Mättlibach
• Kemme (near Pfyn)
  • Tosbach
  • Furtibach
• Seebach(near Weiningen)
• Murg
  • Lützelmurg
  • Lauche
• Tägelbach
• Ellikerbach
• Mederbach
  • Bruggbach
  • Abistbach

Floods

The Thur River,^[3] undisturbed by any lake, from its source to its confluence with the Rhine, is a mountain stream that tends to rise sharply in water level under appropriate weather conditions. The biggest floods were in the years:

• Flood of 1664
• Flood of 1693: Jakob Vogel von Alten reported that a piece of land of incredible size was suddenly torn away from the rest right next to his house and sank into the Thur.
• Flood of July 29 and 30, 1789: This is considered the heaviest flood.
• June 1876: Long-lasting and heavy rainfall caused all rivers to overflow, causing huge damage. Slopes, roads, houses were washed away.
• May 13, 1999:^[4] The Thur River reached a historic flood level. The river flowed 1130 cubic meters of water per second.

Thurweg

Thurweg is a 160-kilometer hiking trail that runs along the banks of the Thur river from Wildhaus to Rüdlingen.The main attractions are:

• Mount Säntis:^[5] The trail leads to the source of the Thur river on Mount Säntis, a scenic route in the Toggenburg district.
• Thur Valley and Zurich wine region: The trail leads through the plains of the Thur Valley and the Zurich wine region, where the Thur flows into the Rhine. In the wine-growing region of the canton of Zurich, the Thur shows its typical meanders up to the renatured Thur wetlands above the Rhine.^[6]
• Thurgau is a region known for its large number of cycling trails.

47°35′34″N 8°35′25″E / 47.59278°N 8.59028°E / 47.59278; 8.59028

References

This page was last edited on 1 March 2024, at 07:45