Lock point Weiach

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Infantry bunker “Fisibach-Bleiche” A 5401

The Weiach barrier was a border fortification of Border Brigade 6 of the Swiss Army . It extends on the left bank of the Rhine from Kaiserstuhl via Weiach , Zweidlen to Rheinsfelden / Glattfelden . Their works secured the banks of the Rhine and the road axes towards the Zurich Unterland . It is considered a military historical monument of regional importance.

Previous fortifications

In prehistoric times, the inhabitants of this border area sought protection on the heights, as the archaeological sites of the refuge and ramparts on the Ebnet / Fasnachtflue and the Wörndel / «Leuenkopf» near Weiach testify. There was probably a medieval round tower on the «Leuechopf».

Around 370 AD, Germanic advances triggered the construction of a number of Roman fortifications on the Rhine. In the area of the blocking point, there were Roman watchtowers and Rhine fortifications at Leebern / Heidenbuck, in Hardwald and at Zweidlen-Schlossbuck with wall foundations up to 2.5 m thick.

The fortress builder Hans Caspar Werdmüller built the reformed church in Weiach as a fortified church in 1706 . Together with the parish barn, the rectory and the cemetery wall, it should serve as a military base against the Catholic county. In the Second Villmerger War , the Zurich artillery moved into the fortified churchyard without any acts of war. Weiach, on the border of the city of Zurich , served as a corp assembly point for some of the Zurich Unterländer troops.

Roman watchtower Hardwald
Roman watchtower Zweidlen-Schlossbuck
Fortified church in Weiach around 1716
Fortified church Weiach: parish barn

history

During the Second World War , the Rhine became a fortified border. Glattfelden-Aarüti and Weiach-Raat were among the key areas of Border Brigade 6 in the left section south of the Rhine. In the section between Weiach and Rheinsfelden (municipality of Glattfelden), two lines of defense with numerous installations were built, with the second line of defense only partially preserved.

Behind the Rhine as the first line of defense, the tank wall and bunkers of the second line of defense, from Fisibach (AG) via Weiach to Letten (municipality of Glattfelden), from which all the larger MG bunkers have been preserved. The tank wall (T 2708), which extended over the entire defense line, was largely dismantled.

The Rheinsfelden power plant was considered a bridge for which special defensive measures were taken. Weir and the weir bridge were prepared for blasting (explosive objects SprO M0682 and M1907). Against a hand stroke, the weir bridge was secured in the middle with barbed wire and a gate. In the roof of the power station building (above the former customs house) a machine gun stand (A 5412) with an Mg stand at both corners and with smaller loopholes for carbines was built. A second weapon position was set up in the gallery of the weir. On November 9, 1944, three civilians were killed in two bomb attacks by American planes on the power station.

During Army 61 , the defense lines were reinforced. The second line of defense was given VOBAG shelters, spherical bunkers and anti-tank garages in the 1960s. Four anti-tank garages for mobile anti-tank systems have been preserved. At Weiach and Glattfelden these systems form a third line of defense behind the Rhine.

With the introduction of Army 95 , Border Brigade 6 was disbanded together with all other border brigades and the three Reduit Brigades. In 2012, the last barriers and permanent fortifications were abandoned and declassified.

Lock point Weiach

Several bunkers at the Weiach barrier (Army designation no. 672) on the banks of the Rhine and at Zweidlen-Lätten are located directly on hiking trails.

Infantry bunker "Weiach West" A 5371: MG ⊙47.55906 8.43199
Infantry bunker "Weiach Ost" A 5372 ⊙47.55886 8.4412
Infantry bunker «Fisibach» A 5400: Mg ⊙47.56643 8.40609
Infantry bunker “Fisibach-Bleiche” A 5401: 2 Mg ⊙47.57466 8.40606
“Fisibach-Blöhliboden” shelter A 5402 ⊙47.57122 8.41187
Infantry bunker "Kaiserstuhl-Pumpenhaus" A 5403: 2 Mg ⊙47.56994 8.41678
"Weiach-Griesgraben" shelter A 5404: ⊙47.56617 8.42925
Infantry bunker «Weiach-Griesgraben» A 5405: Mg ⊙47.56617 8.42925
Infantry bunker "Weiach-Sädelbach A 5406": 2 Mg ⊙47.56597 8.43409
"Weiach-Sädelbach A 5407" shelter
"Weiach-Griesgraben" shelter F 6010: ⊙47.56542 8.42904
Shelter F 6022 ⊙47.54904 8.4463
Shelter, command post company F 6024 ⊙47.55152 8.44718
Shelter F 6025 ⊙47.55101 8.4484
Shelter, command post F 6027 ⊙47.55022 8.45571
Pak garage F 6028 ⊙47.55016 8.45786
T 2708 terrain barrier ⊙47.55933 8.44083
Street barricade, permanent mine barrier PMS T 2719/21 ⊙47.55145 8.44566

Infantry bunker "Weiach West" A 5371
Infantry bunker "Weiach Ost" A 5372
Infantry bunker "Ofen Ost" A 5374
Pak garage type 22 "oven" F 6101

Blocking point Zweidlen-Latten

The blocking point Zweidlen-Lätten ZH (army designation no. 665) comprised the border fortifications on the Rhine east of Kaiserstuhl to east of Rheinsfelden and the second line of defense from Zweidlen to Laubberg-Dachsberg. On the Rhine and on the Laubberg, four Mg bunkers and 17 shelters were built during active duty from 1939 to 1941. In the mid-1960s, 40 modern systems and seven explosive objects were built.

Infantry bunker "Ofen West" A 5373 ⊙47.56238 8.46156
Infantry bunker "Ofen Ost" A 5374 ⊙47.56332 8.46491
Infantry bunker “Zweidlen Hörnli” A 5375 ⊙47.56454 8.46913
Infantry bunker "Letten" A 5376 ⊙47.56975 8.48164
"Häuligraben" shelter A 5379 ⊙47.570162 8.489574
"Flüenen-Fisiloch" infantry bunker A 5386 ⊙47.5751 8.49999
"Weiach-Rütern Gnepf A 5408" shelter
"Hardwald" infantry bunker A 5410 ⊙47.57202 8.45651
Infantry bunker “Zweidlen Station” A 5411 ⊙47.57196 8.46522
Infantry bunker “EW Rheinsfelden” A 5412 (dismantled, no longer visible from the outside) ⊙47.57514 8.47294
Shelter U12 «Weissengraben» A 5413 ⊙47.57545 8.48111
Infantry bunker “Lohwag West” A 5414 ⊙47.57651 8.48574
Infantry bunker “Lohwag Ost” A 5415 ⊙47.57679 8.48732

Infantry bunker "Zweidlen Hörnli" A 5375
dismantled infantry bunker "EW Rheinsfelden" A 5412 under the roof corner (above the former customs house)
Kubu Rheinsfelden
Infantry bunker “Eglisau Bahnbrücke” A 5418

Pak garage F 6082 ⊙47.55613 8.47296
Shelter F 6083 ⊙47.55692 8.47334
Shelter F 6085 ⊙47.55483 8.48716
Pak garage F 6086 ⊙47.55521 8.48712
Pak garage type 22 "oven" F 6101 ⊙47.56239 8.46323
Shelter F 6103 ⊙47.55935 8.46467
Shelter F 6104 ⊙47.55952 8.4657
Permanent mine barrier PMS T 2674 ⊙47.55845 8.47403
Permanent mine barrier PMS T 2734/35 ⊙47.5579 8.48437

Off-road tank obstacle Weiach T 2708
GPH furnace T 2708
GPH Latvians T 2708
Barricade furnace

Lock point Eglisau-Seglingen and Tössriedern-Wagenbrechi

The Eglisau barrier (Army designation no. 659) with the Rhine crossings (Eglisau bridgehead) was an important part of the defense system because of the strategic importance of the railway bridge. Between 1935 and 1937, anti-tank barriers and an infantry work (A 5420) were built above the road bridge, and before the World War two Mg stands were built as a continuation of the chain of bunkers on the left bank of the Rhine from Basel to Stein am Rhein. During the 1960s, shelters and a pak garage were added to the lock. It is considered a military historical monument of national importance.

The Seglingen barrier (Army designation No. 660) is the second line of defense behind the Rhine. It was fortified in 1941 near the Seglinger Senke between Hiltenberg and Rhinsberg (approx. 1 km south of Eglisau) with three infantry bunkers, a tank wall and a hump obstacle with eight culverts in order to be able to block the rail and road connection Eglisau-Bülach. Over a dozen modern shelters were added during the Cold War. The Wagenbrechi-Tössriedern barrier (Army designation no. 656) includes the first line of defense on the Rhine and the second at the so-called "Wagenbrechi".