Pfaffensprung
The Pfaffensprung is a gorge dug deep into the valley floor by the Reuss at its upper reaches near Wassen in the canton of Uri in Switzerland . The location is an important Swiss geotope and a cultural and historical sight on the river.
geology
The Reuss valley falls between the Urserental near Andermatt and the Urnersee in several stages from the high Alps to the level of the Swiss Plateau. The narrow mountain valley was created because of the Ice Age glaciers and the erosive effects of the melt water. At the Pfaffensprung, the river dug a deep, very narrow gorge into the granite, at times probably already during the cold periods under the ice masses.
There is an extraordinary mineral discovery site near the gorge, the 165-meter-long Pfaffensprung crystal cave . The rock crevice, rich in rock crystal, has been exploited since the Middle Ages.
Surname
The legend has found several explanations for the field name. Two clergymen are said to have jumped over the Reuss Gorge while fleeing there. One managed the brave giant leap while the other fell into the gorge. Another version says that a single persecuted priest was able to use the deep trench to escape from his enemies.
Infrastructure
A bridge of the old Gotthard road leads over the Pfaffensprungschlucht gorge .
At the Gotthard railway line is close to the gorge, on the territory of the municipality Gurtnellen , the 1,476-meter-long loop tunnel ( Spiral Tunnel ) Pfaffensprung . To the west of the dam is the Pfaffensprung stop at 834 m. ü. M.
At the top edge to the right of the Reuss, southeast of the gorge, the motorway is A 2 by several rockfall galleries such as the 370-meter-long Pfaffensprung gallery with which the road is protected from the sediment from the ravine of Schisslauitalbachs.
The great gradient at Gurtnellen is increased by a dam at the upper entrance of the gorge and used in the network system of the SBB power plants Wassen and Amsteg in the so-called Reuss cascade . The arch dam, built in 1921, is 32 meters high and has a crown length of 64 meters. The Pfaffensprung reservoir is owned by SBB , CKW and the Canton of Uri. The power station group enabled the electrification of the mountain route on the Gotthard. The Urseren power plant project envisaged a much larger center at the Pfaffensprung, but was not implemented.
From 1993 to 1998, Kraftwerk Amsteg AG renewed the facilities and built an underground doping power station near the reservoir to use the residual water in the gorge. The system produces 50 Hz electricity and has an output of 720 kW.
Cultural history
The arch dam with the overflow, which is supported on jagged rocks, is one of the popular motifs of modern Uri landscapes on the Gotthard route.
Many artists have captured the spectacular bridge scenery since the 19th century. Three drawings by Joseph Mallord William Turner , The Pfaffensprung and Gorge of the River Reuss , from 1802 are in the possession of the Tate Gallery .
Sports
A hiking trail with a new suspension bridge leads along the Reuss. At Gurtnellen there is a Reuss section with cataracts and boulders that is suitable for demanding white water paddling . The entrance is below the Pfaffensprung dam.
Landscape model
The Pfaffensprung landscape is shown in the layout of the model railway Faszination Gotthardbahn in Reichelshofen.
Individual evidence
- ^ Geo Uri.
- ^ Mineral Atlas of Switzerland.
- ^ Website of the municipality of Wassen.
- ↑ Josef Müller: Legends from Uri . Volume 1, Basel 1926, pp. 223-224.
- ^ Website of the Wassen power plant.
- ^ Reuss cascade of the SBB power plants. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ The dam at Structurae.
- ↑ Statistics on hydropower plants in Switzerland
- ↑ Paddling under the Pfaffensprung.
Coordinates: 46 ° 42 ′ 51 " N , 8 ° 36 ′ 37" E ; CH1903: six hundred eighty-nine thousand five hundred eighty-five / 174325