Gübsensee

Gübsensee
	The Gübsensee shortly after sunset towards the east
Tributaries:	Urnäsch , Sitter (through 2 tunnels and the Sitter siphon )
Drain:	Sitter (through studs)
Major cities nearby:	St. Gallen
	Canton of St. Gallen , Switzerland
Coordinates	741500 / 251500 coordinates: 47 ° 23 '57 " N , 9 ° 18' 48" O ; CH1903: 741500 / 251500
	Data on the structure
Lock type:	Gravity dam
Construction time:	1898-1900
Height of the barrier structure :	23.5 m
Crown length:	105 m
Crown width:	3 m
Base width:	15 m
	Data on the reservoir
Altitude (at congestion destination )	682 m above sea level M.
Reservoir length	1.1 km
Reservoir width	200 m

The Gübsensee is a reservoir in the Winkeln district in the west of the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It is located west of the Sitter in a former swamp area near the border with the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden . The lake is bounded in the east by the oldest gravity dam in Switzerland. Its water has been used in the Kubel power station to generate electrical energy since October 19, 1900.

history

There must have been a lake or at least a pond at this point more than 500 years ago, according to ancient writings. The lake probably got its name from the farm on the north side that is still today. “Gubesi” and “Gübsi”, from Old High German cubisi for “peasant hut”, became “Gübsen” on the Eschmann map from 1846. The dam and ramparts that border today's lake were built between 1898 and 1900.

geography

The lake is located in a high valley above the Sitter at the foot of the Pre-Alps. The slightly more than 1100 meters long and 200 meters wide body of water is kept within its limits in the west and partly in the north by artificial earth walls, in the east by the wall. Because of its elevated position above the valley, the lake has no major natural tributaries. The water that is collected further south from the Urnäsch and the Sitter is led into the lake through two tunnels. The St. Gallen – Herisau (–Wattwil) railway line with the “Gübsensee” stop runs along the southern flank of the lake . Since the timetable change on December 9, 2018, this is no longer served.

Thanks to its location close to the city, the lake is a popular recreational area. A well-traveled path runs around the lake, which is also used by many joggers because it has no inclines. Bathing is also tolerated in the rear part of the lake.

Wall

To the east is the 105 m long and 23.5 m high weight dam , which is 15 m wide at the foot. The little used driveway on the wall is just 3 m wide. Since the road that leads from the southern end over the Sturzenegg up to Herisau is hardly passable for normal vehicles due to its steepness, only bicycles and pedestrians drive here.

Nature reserve

Numerous water birds cavort on the lake.

The Gübsensee and the surrounding shore area are now under nature protection. Different species of ducks populate the water, including tufted ducks , mallards , pochard , and coots , as well as gulls of course . Wild geese and even swan geese can also be seen seasonally . The lake never completely freezes over because of the strong currents in the eastern part, which is why many birds cavort in the water here even in winter.

Winkeln, Gübsensee, approx. 1910: view to the east; Dam wall and restaurant Neu-Gübsen; on the far right the newly constructed Sitter Viaduct of the Bodensee-Toggenburg Railway

Maritime survey

In 2011 the Gübsensee was measured with an echo sounder on the occasion of a diploma thesis at the NTB Buchs and a terrain model was created from the data.

Web links

Commons : Gübsensee - Collection of images, videos and audio files

About the Kubel power plant (PDF file; 822 kB)
Swisstopo, time travel through maps from 1854 to today with the location of the lake
Louis Kürsteiner (lead engineer in the construction of the reservoir and its supply lines)

swell

↑ David Gadze, David Gadze: Too little time to spare, too little to get on and off: out of the Gübsensee S-Bahn station. Retrieved October 24, 2019 .
↑ a diploma thesis at the NTB Buchs

National map 1: 25000 sheet 1094 "Degersheim"
Bruno Broder, Heinz Eggmann, René Wagner, Silvia Widmer-Trachsel: City of St. Gallen; a geographic-historical local lore; School administration of the city of St. Gallen; Cantonal teaching material publisher St. Gallen
Straubenzell: landscape - community - home; Local citizen community Straubenzell (ed.); St. Gallen 2006; ISBN 3-907928-58-X

[1] David Gadze, David Gadze: Too little time to spare, too little to get on and off: out of the Gübsensee S-Bahn station. Retrieved October 24, 2019 .

[2] thesis at the NTB Buchs