Wyna (river)

Wyna
River
256px The Wyna in Menziken
Country	Switzerland
Region	Wynetal
Part of	Suhre watershed
Tributaries
- left	Lochbach, Moosbach, Rickenbach, Dorfbach
- right	Schwarzenbach
Source confluence	Lochbach Neudorf
- location	Lindwald, Neudorf, Lucerne, Switzerland
- elevation	782 m (2,566 ft)
- coordinates
Mouth	Suhre
- location	Suhr, Aargau, Switzerland
- elevation	385 m (1,263 ft)
- coordinates
Length	32 km (20 mi)
Discharge
- average	0.9 m3/s (32 cu ft/s)

The Wyna (or Wyne) is a river located mostly in Canton of Aargau, but also in Canton of Lucerne, Switzerland and runs through the Wynetal (the Wyne Valley). It is a tributary of the Suhre. The Wyna is 32 km long (main outflow in Reinach (AG): 0.9 m³/s). Larger towns in Wynetal are Beromünster, Menziken, Reinach (AG) and Gränichen.

River

File:Wyna en Suhr 036.jpg

The Wyna in Suhr

The Wyna is started by several headwaters south-west of Neudorf (LU) in the Lindewald (forest), 17 km north-east from Lucerne. Near Underdorf, the Lochbach, or Hole Creek, which starts in the Chegelwald, west of Neudorf, joins the Wyna. Then, it runs north through Beromünster (still canton of Lucerne), through Menziken and Reinach (now in canton of Aargau), west of Zetzwil, through Oberkulm and Unterkulm, through Teufenthal (AG), and through Gränichen before joining the Suhre at 385m in Suhr, which joins the Aare further north, just three kilometres later.

Tributaries that feed the Wyna include the Lochbach (left, in Underdorf), Moosbach (left, north of Beromünster), Schwarzenbach (right, south of Menziken), Rickenbach (left, south of Menziken), Vorderdorfbach Zetzwil/Totenbächli (right, in Zetzwil), and Dorfbach Gontenschwil/Sagenbach (left, after Zetzwil]), Dorfbach Teufenthal (right, in Teufenthal (AG)), Pfendelbach (left, west of the hamlet Bleien), Refentalbach (right, just after Bleien), Lochbach (left, in Gränichen).

Valley

The valley, the Wynetal (or Germanized also known as Wynental), is fairly narrow, with an average width of about 500 meters, and drops very smoothly from 670m a.s.l. in Neudorf to 406m a.s.l. in Gränichen. Quite steep hills rise on both sides, carved by tributary valleys. In the east, a mountain range (about 810m to 600m a.s.l.) separate the Wynetal from the Seetal with the Hallwilersee and the Baldeggersee. The mountain range in the west (about 870m to 570m a.s.l.) separate the Wyne Valley from the Suhretal with the Sempachersee, from which the Suhre rises.

Municipalities found in the Wynental from beginning to end of the Wyna are: Neudorf, Beromünster, Burg (AG) and Menziken, Pfeffikon and Reinach (AG), Leimbach (AG), Gontenschwil, Zetzwil, Oberkulm and then Unterkulm, Teufenthal (AG), Gränichen, and finally Suhr. The general region is also known as the Stumpenland due to the cigar industry that once centered in Menziken.

Glacial genesis

The upper portions of the valley was carved by the Reuss Glacier. Large moraine deposits remain at Zetzwil and Gontenschwil. The surrounding hills are largely molasse.

Transportation

Connecting road 23 runs along the Wyna for the majority of the valley's length from Beromünster to Suhr. This road is referred to variously as Aargauerstrasse, Hauptstrasse, Aarauerstrasse, Wynentalstrasse, and numerous names north of Teufenthal and is a popular cycling route. The WSB (Wynental und Suhrental Bahn), a narrow gauge railroad, serves the Wynental. The Wynental branch of the WSB runs from Aarau to Menziken.

File:Liebegg.jpg

Castle Liebegg

Points & Events of Interest

• Naturschutzgebiet Vogelmoos (Bird Moss Nature Preserve), one source of the Wyna
• Auffahrtsumritt in Beromünster (Ascension Day procession)
• Stiftskirche (collegiate church) St. Michael, Beromünster – dating to 1034
• Schloss Liebegg (castle), north of Teufenthal
• Schloss Trostburg (castle), east of Teufenthal (private estate)
• Hiking trails along and near the Wyna, connecting Beromünster, Menziken, and Gunzwil.

External links

• Historische Vereinigung Wynental (Wynental Historical Society)
• Google Earth map
• Removal of dams and renaturalization of Wyna at Menziken
• Good discussion of renaturalization efforts