Smooth (Thur)

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Smooth
Historical aerial photo of the Buchholz dam in Glatt-Tobel by Walter Mittelholzer from 1932

Historical aerial photo of the Buchholz dam in Glatt-Tobel by Walter Mittelholzer from 1932

Data
Water code CH : 386
location Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden , Canton of St. Gallen ; Switzerland
River system Rhine
Drain over Thur  → Rhine  → North Sea
source overturned at Schwellbrunn
47 ° 21 ′ 2 ″  N , 9 ° 15 ′ 1 ″  E
Source height approx.  935  m above sea level M.
muzzle on the municipal border between Uzwil and Oberbüren in the Thur Coordinates: 47 ° 27 ′ 17 ″  N , 9 ° 9 ′ 4 ″  E ; CH1903:  729 125  /  257417 47 ° 27 '17 "  N , 9 ° 9' 4"  O
Mouth height 488  m above sea level M.
Height difference approx. 447 m
Bottom slope approx. 19 ‰
length 24 km
Catchment area 90.7 km²
Discharge at the mouth
A Eo : 90.7 km² 		MQ
Mq
 		2.26 m³ / s
24.9 l / (s km²)
Communities Schwellbrunn , Herisau , Gossau SG , Flawil , Oberbüren , Oberuzwil , Uzwil

The Glatt is a 25-kilometer long river in the Swiss cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden and St. Gallen . Among other things, it flows through Herisau and the Flawil forests . It flows into the Thur near Oberbüren .

The Glatt rises overturned near Halden in the municipality of Schwellbrunn . Below Herisau it takes up the Wissbach , then flows through the deep Glatttobel, past the saltpeter cave and under the SBB bridge Flawil- Gossau towards Oberglatt in the municipality of Flawil . Below Niederglatt (municipality of Oberuzwil ), the Glatt, with its numerous windings, forms a meadow landscape of national importance. It flows into the Thur at the municipal boundary between Uzwil and Oberbüren. A number of small power plants from the early days of electricity generation are characteristic of the Glatt.

Smooth is a substantiated adjective meaning "calm, flowing" or "bright, clear" (in the sense of "it runs smoothly"). The Glatt is likely to be the namesake of the abandoned Glattburg above Niederglatt, which is the namesake of the Giel von Glattburg ministerial family .

course

In brackets the kilometers of the Glatt (Km 0 = confluence with the Thur).

Source to confluence with Wissbach

The Glatt rises overturned near Halden in the municipality of Schwellbrunn (km 25.45).

The Herisau textile finisher Cilander owns factories in Herisau and further down near Isenhammer along the Glatt factory. The water from the Glatt was used for refinement, with the result that the Glatt was appropriately soiled.

In the 19th century, the Marstal powder factory was located between Herisau and the Wissbach confluence above the Glatt . After the operation was stopped due to several explosions with fatal consequences and the site was sold, the Zeller family produced cardboard there. A dam on the Glatt was considered, but not implemented.

Confluence between Wissbach and Isenhammer

In the Glatttobel between the confluence of the Wissbach ⊙ and the confluence of the Dorfbach Gossau near Isenhammer ⊙ there are only nameless tributaries.

Saltpeter cave / St. Columbans cave

After the confluence of the Wissbach (km 14.85) is the saltpeter cave (km 14.05 ⊙ ) on the left side of the river . The name comes from the fact that saltpeter was probably burned here . It is located near the ruins Helfenberg (approximately at km 13.6 ⊙ ). According to legend, the Irish wandering monk Columban and his group, including Gallus , stayed in a cave along the Glatt on the way from Tuggen to Bregenz . This is why this cave is also called St. Columbans Cave or Columbans Cave - although it is uncertain whether the Columbans Cave does not mean another cave further downstream not far from the SBB bridge ⊙ . Previously a popular excursion destination, since May 1998 entering the saltpeter cave has been forbidden due to the risk of collapse. There is a barbecue area near the saltpeter cave ⊙ .

Buchholz dam

Shortly after the cave there is a dam (km 13.48 ⊙ ). The brothers Eberle of the below mill Kress fountain ⊙ encircled it in the Glatt bed, a dam of concrete about 1892; the “Eberleweiher” (approx. km 14.0–13.48 ⊙ ) was built at the level of the Helfenberg ruins. The dam wall had a crown length of 48 meters. Eberle's facility is the second oldest in the Swiss list of dams. A 700 meter long pressurized water pipe led from the Eberleweiher to the turbine house below, which could always be used at full power with 110 kW. A fire in the mill in 1909 heralded the end of the dam. The pond, which at times had a storage volume of 250,000 m³, began to silt up and a floodplain developed.

Falling water at the Buchholz small hydropower plant

The dam as such remained unused for decades until it was recognized that it was in need of renovation in the 1980s. Initially, a termination was discussed. Instead, it was decided to build a flow power plant there, which went into operation in 2006. In the course of the renovation, a fish lock was built. The “Eberleweiher” will continue to silt up since the old dam wall will be preserved. Glattstrom Buchholz AG, which operates this small hydropower plant, uses two propeller turbines with five-bladed impellers. With a nominal flow of 1.35 m³ per second and a gross head of 14.5 meters, the power plant achieves an output of 140 kW. The average annual production since the start of operations is 530,000 kWh.

Smooth bridges near Burgau

Smooth bridge (back) and military footbridge (front). View straight up. Between Espel and Burgau , 2019.

The St. Gallen – Winterthur railway crosses the Glatt near Burgau (km 12.9 ⊙ ). The first Glattbrücke, a steel truss bridge, was inaugurated in 1856, the second, a stone arch bridge, was built in 1924 as part of the double-lane expansion of the line. Today's Glattbrücke was completed in 1997.

The so-called military footbridge immediately after the railway bridge (Km 12.83 ⊙ ) was built in 1988 by Field Division 7 . It is intended for hikers who want to cross the Glatt. Built from iron girders on concrete pillars and lined with planks across, this bridge is 36.8 meters long and three meters wide and designed for a load of 0.5 tons. It is secured with railings and must not be driven on.

Turbine house of the Kressbrunnenmühle power plant

Immediately after the Glattbrücke and the military footbridge , above Isenhammer , the turbine house belonging to the Buchholz dam was demolished in 1988 (at km 12.78 ⊙ ) with a five-room apartment on the upper floor. It was on the left of the path up to the former gravel pit and today's Espel biotope . In the basement there was a large room with a recess for the turbine of the old dam on the Buchholz. The water came from the Eberleweiher through a large pressure pipe and then flowed back into the Glatt, where it used to flow into the Isenhammerweiher. The turbine was in operation until around 1950, the apartment was still inhabited by families until around 1965.

Isenhammer Pond

Immediately after the turbine house, on the other side of the river before the confluence of the Dorfbach Gossau (km 12.44), the Isenhammerweiher was created in the second half of the 19th century (at km 12.7–12.55 ⊙ ). This served as a compensation basin to regulate the water requirements of the Eisenhammer factory of the Cilander. In the course of the renaturation in 2012, weir and pond were removed. The Glatt received a channel with several islands, the hiking trail was relocated to the right side of the Glatt and the bridge over the Gossau Dorfbach was renovated. A habitat for amphibians etc. should be created in the newly created floodplain landscape ; In addition, it created a network with the amphibious spawning areas Espel and Burgauerfeld gravel pits. The 3.4 hectare protected area was sold to Pro Natura in 2014 .

Isenhammer to the mouth of the Thurm

Isenhammer

The company Tribelhorn and Meyer, since 1888 Cilander, took in 1871 some smooth downhill from Isenhammer a bleaching with Sengerei in operation (at the level of Km 12.0 ⊙ ) after the use has been the smooth-water approved there for an indefinite period, although the Bad Buchenthal operators objected to this because they feared a deterioration in water quality. The water was transported to the company premises through a canal (inflow km 12.4 ⊙ , outflow km 11.8 ⊙ ). Until 1980 the water was used by Cilander.

Alpiq (formerly Atel ) has been using the hydropower plant built there in 1993 since August 2008 . The small hydropower plant produces around 700 MWh of electrical energy annually, which is sold to the Technischen Betriebe Flawil. The concession runs until 2041.

Niederglatt power plant

The Klingler family, the owners of the Haslenmühle in Gossau , had a hydroelectric power plant (6.25 km ⊙ km ) built in Glattmüli below Niederglatt to supply the village of Gossau with electricity. The concession took place in 1892. In 1893, the beginning of electric public lighting was celebrated in Gossau. The system consisted of a 35 meter long wooden weir, a machine house and an underwater canal. In 1909, the Gossau village cooperation took over the facility. The dam was continuously rebuilt or renovated, for example in 1910 (new turbine construction), 1945, 1964 or after the floods in 1994.

The electrical energy obtained there is fed in today (2012) by Stadtwerke Gossau and offered to its customers; the annual electricity production in the 2000s was 677 MWh. Midwife toads are in the area.

Löchli

A coal deposit has been documented in the Löchli not far from Wilen-Watt since the 1830s. Extractions from the 1860s are known. During the Second World War, coal was mined in a cave (at km 2.1 ⊙ ) for unsecured customers . The quality of the molasses coal was not of high quality. The Bühler brothers under Otto Bühler, on whose land the coal deposit is located at the time, nevertheless had an appraisal drawn up. The realization was that in view of the coal shortage at the time, extraction for boiler heating, for example, would still be worthwhile. However, there was no actual dismantling. At the Löchli there is a rentable group house (at km 2.65 ⊙ ).

Bad Buchental

Bad Buchenthal with the Glatt (left) around 1900.

The cold water hospital Bad Buchenthal at Oberbüren (Km 1.2 to 1.1 ⊙ ) which existed 1842-1907, referred (1.8 Km for the benefit book ⊙ the water necessary for it) from the Glatt.

In 2008 the Uze relief tunnel was opened. This should be able to ward off a hundred-year flood over Uzwil and Niederuzwil. During floods the Glatt near Buchental (Km 1.15 ⊙ ) absorbs the excess Uze water.

Estuary

After Buchental, the Glatt and the associated footpath, the Glattweg, crosses under the river, the motorway access (km 0.97 ⊙ ) and the motorway 1 (km 0.58 ⊙ ). Immediately before the confluence at Oberbürer Thurhof is the last Glattbrücke, the Haslensteg, a covered footpath and bicycle bridge built in wood in 1990/1991 (km 0.11 ⊙ ). The Haslensteg replaced the previous footbridge from the time the Thurdammweg was built around 1970 and, after a flood in 1980 washed it away, its temporary structure.

Tributaries

The tributaries of the Glatt are:

  • Kellersbergbach and Vollhofstattbach near Ädelswil (right, km 23.75)
  • Himmelisbergbach near Glattmüli (right, Km 22.95)
  • Eggelibach near Glattmüli (left, km 22.9)
  • Wisenbach near Glattmüli (left, km 22.5)
  • Wannebach near Herisau , Kunzenmoos (left, Km 22.25)
  • Dietelswilbach near Herisau (right, km 21.6)
  • Schlossbach near Herisau, castle (right, km 21.2)
  • Sägebach near Herisau, Industriestr./Degersheimerstr. (left, km 20.0)
  • Hubbach near Herisau, Cilander (left, km 19.6)
  • Burghaldenbach near Herisau (right, km 19.05)
  • Sonnenböhlbach near Herisau (right, km 19.0)
  • Stelzbach near Herisau, Bachwis (right, km 18.6)
  • Tüfenaubach near Herisau, Bachwis (left, km 18.3)
  • Huebbach near Herisau, Hueb (right, km 17.5)
  • Ramsenbach near Herisau, Zellersmüli (left, km 17.1)
  • Schwänbergbach near Schwänberg (left, km 15.85)
  • Wissbach bei Egg, Tobelmüli (left, km 14.85, canton border SG / AR)
  • Dorfbach Gossau Isenhammer (right, Km 12.45)
  • Fischbächli near Isenhammer (right, Km 12.25)
  • Burgauerbach near Flawil , Sonnenhalden (left, km 11.0)
  • Sonnenhaldenbach near Flawil, Sonnenhalden (right, Km 10.45)
  • Goldbach near Flawil, Glatttal (left, Km 9.85)
  • Winterhaldenbach near Flawil, Gebhartschwil (right, km 9.2)
  • Gebhartschwilerbach near Flawil, Gebhartschwil (right, km 9.1)
  • Glattburgbach near Oberuzwil -Niederglatt, Glattburg (right, Km 6.85)
  • Weiher electricity works near Niederglatt, Glattmüli (left, km 6.25)
  • Sträzerbach near Niederglatt, Glattmüli (left, km 6.1)
  • Tobelbach near Niederglatt (right, km 5.85)
  • Schollrütibach near Niederglatt (left 5.65 km)
  • Weingartenbach near Niederglatt, Grossweid (right 4.35 km)
  • Heiterbach near Oberuzwil, Löchli (left 2.1 km)
  • Uze relief tunnel near Oberbüren , Buchental (left, km 1.15)
  • Wuerholzbach near Oberbüren, Buchental (right, km 1.1)

bridges

On its way the Glatt is spanned by over 50 bridges, the most important of which are the Glatttal Viaduct in Herisau and the SBB Viaduct between Flawil and Gossau SG. Two thirds of the bridges are in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden (mainly in Herisau) and one third in the canton of St. Gallen.

Flora and fauna

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

There used to be many different types of fish. Today there are only small fish stocks due to the heavy pollution.

Web links

Commons : Glatt  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Geoserver of the Swiss Federal Administration ( information )
  2. ↑ a b c Modeled mean annual discharge. In: Topographical catchment areas of Swiss waters: sub-catchment areas 2 km². Retrieved September 7, 2017 .
  3. ^ Stefan Sonderegger: The place and field names of the state of Appenzell. Quoted in: Ortsnames.ch.
  4. ^ Martin Leonhard: Giel von Glattburg. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland , accessed on December 10, 2019 .
  5. ↑ a b Corresponding information comes from the map GN10 (water network of the cantons of St.Gallen and both Appenzell), available in geoportal.ch (canton “SG” → layer “GN10” → filter “kilometrage”)
  6. ↑ Why the AG Cilander is in Herisau - and not on the Thur . In: Glatt-Kommission (Ed.): Glatt-Blatt . 2014, p. 14-15 ( ueseriglatt.ch [PDF]).
  7. ↑ Adi Kälin: It was the Glatt and not the Vorderrhein . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . February 18, 2016 ( nzz.ch [accessed December 9, 2019]).
  8. ↑ So the alternative name in the national map of Switzerland
  9. ^ Josef Osterwalder: Gallus . Ed .: Diocese of St. Gallen. S. 9 ( bistum-stgallen.ch [PDF]).
  10. ↑ Saltpeter Cave (Columbans Cave ) on m.stadtgossau.ch
  11. ↑ a b c d The used Glatt . In: Glatt-Kommission (Ed.): Glatt-Blatt . 2010, p. 4–7 ( ueseriglatt.ch [PDF]).
  12. ↑ Buchholz small hydropower plant at www.entegra.ch
  13. ^ Military footbridge at www.swiss-timber-bridges.ch
  14. ↑ a b Johannes Rutz: Open questions about fish migration. In: St. Galler Tagblatt. September 11, 2018, accessed December 17, 2019 .
  15. ↑ Five years of renaturation Isenhammer - a project that was worthwhile , in: Glatt-Express 2017, p. 10 f. ( Digitized version )
  16. ↑ Isenhammer, Flawil, Gossau. Pro Natura, accessed on March 2, 2020 .
  17. ^ Die used Glatt , in: Glattblatt 2010, p. 4 ff. ( Digitized version )
  18. ↑ Johannes Rutz: Open questions about fish migration. In: St. Galler Tagblatt. September 11, 2018, accessed December 17, 2019 .
  19. ↑ a b Niederglatt small hydropower plant - City of Gossau . In: Glatt-Kommission (Ed.): Glatt-Blatt . 2004, p. 3 .
  20. ↑ Energy messenger. In: Stadtwerke Gossau. City of Gossau, February 2012, accessed on December 10, 2019 (sales prospectus).
  21. ↑ Armin Benz: The coal cave on the Glatt . In: Glatt Commission (Ed.): Glatt-Blatt . 2011, p. 13–15 ( ueseriglatt.ch [PDF]).
  22. ↑ Philipp Stutz: Löchli is full of adventure. St. Galler Tagblatt, May 24, 2013, accessed on December 9, 2019 .
  23. ↑ Source: Siegfried Map
  24. ↑ Uze relief tunnel: Not only in use every 100 years. (PDF) Municipality of Uzwil, May 12, 2005, accessed on March 2, 2020 .
  25. ↑ Flood relief tunnel at www.uzwil.ch (PDF; 164 kB)
  26. ↑ Renovation of the Glattbrücke . In: Municipality of Oberbüren (ed.): Annual accounts 2017, budget 2018 . Oberbüren 2018, p. 47 ( oberbueren.ch [PDF]).
  27. ↑ New pedestrian connection across the Glatt. Municipality of Uzwil, accessed on December 15, 2019 .
  28. ↑ Thurdammweg built between 1966 and 1972 (see Swisstopo aerial photos: 1966 , 1972 )
  29. ↑ Haslensteg, Uzwil (SG). In: Swiss Timber Bridges. Retrieved December 15, 2019 .