Turtmann Valley
The Turtmanntal ( Valais German Turtmaatelli , French Val de Tourtemagne or Vallée de Tourtemagne ) in Upper Valais is one of the shorter (and therefore steepest) of the long side valleys of the Rhone Valley , which extend southwards towards the main Alpine ridge .
geography
The Turtmanntal lies between the Val d'Anniviers or German "Eifischtal" in the west (with a connection via the Meidpass, among others ) and the Mattertal (with a connection via the Augstbordpass ) and the Ginals or Ginanztal near the community of Unterbäch in the east. It is the westernmost of the German-speaking valleys in the Valais south of the Rhone . However, it has its origin further north than its neighboring valleys and is less deeply buried than these. The valley floor is higher than in the Mattertal and Val d'Anniviers up to its middle part, only to drop off even more steeply to the main Valais valley. For this reason, the Turtmann valley is only inhabited in summer for alpine and holiday purposes. Due to these geographical conditions, access via the valley road does not run through the gorge-shaped valley exit, but only at a certain height above the mountain villages of Unterems , Oberems and Ergisch on the slope of the Rhone Valley .
Politically, the Turtmann Valley belongs to the three municipalities Ergisch, Turtmann-Unterems and Oberems. There was a centuries-old dispute between the communities of Turtmann and Oberems about the exact course of the border. This was only finally determined on December 22, 2004 by a judgment of the Federal Supreme Court .
The Turtmann valley with the Turtmann glacier has a very natural, intact alpine flora and fauna. It also has one of the highest forest borders in Europe, sometimes up to over 2200 m above sea level. M.
The valley drains via the Turtmänna torrent , which rises from the Turtmann glacier. At the confluence of the eponymous Turtmänna in the Rhone is the place Turtmann ( French Tourtemagne ) (analog: Vispertal (-täler) / Visp / ( Matter- and Saaser- ) Vispa ; Baltschiedertal / Baltschieder etc.).
Management
There are smaller groups of houses, also called stafel , distributed throughout the valley . Until the mid-1970s, these were used by farmers to summer their cattle. Most of the tables are divided into a lower, middle and upper table. In spring, the farmers moved their cattle from their hometown to the foothills of the Alps, colloquially also known as pastures , then to the lower stafel , then to the middle stafel and in midsummer to the upper stafel . Then backwards again until you were back in your home town with the cattle in late autumn.
Most of the stables and alpine huts on this table have now been converted into holiday homes, also known as chalets . It should be noted that there is a construction ban in the entire Turtmanntal, so no new houses may be erected, but only existing ones can be converted under strict regulations. From the mountain station of the Turtmann – Oberems cable car there is a bus connection from the Oberems-Gruben bus company to Gruben / Meiden in the rear of the Turtmann valley in the summer season .
The historical number of the stafel in the Turtmann Valley, which existed in the traditional style as so-called divisions, is controversial. The fact is that in 1973 a total of 17 communities were merged into the Turtmanntal Alpine Cooperative, which still exists today, as part of a soil improvement ( melioration ). These are Niggelingu , Grindji , Tschafel , Pletschu , Goli , Rotigu , Simmigu , Jännigu , Gruben , Meiden , Blüematt , Gigi , Brändji , Hungerli , Bitzu , Sänntum and Spycherli . This, too, was not without side effects: the Gigi alpine division defended itself at the Valais cantonal court against the compulsory integration into the Turtmanntal alpine cooperative with the argument that it was a purely private alpine valley, but was unsuccessful with this lawsuit.
Since then, the Turtmanntal Alpine Cooperative has been the sole manager of the grazing areas in the Turtmanntal. For this purpose, a total of four large stables with milking systems were built: In the valley floor in Rotigu Unterstafel and in Blüematt Unterstafel, above the tree line in Jännigu Oberstafel and in Chalten Berg (= Blüematt Oberstafel).
The valley operates a gentle tourism. There are also a few restaurants and hotels throughout the valley. The southernmost and highest is the Turtmannhütte of the Swiss Alpine Club, a popular stopover to the highest mountain peak in Switzerland that non-alpinists can hike, the Aeusseren Barrhorn (3610 m high). The Turtmannsee dam is located below this hut.
Web links
- Turtmann Valley Tourism
- Alois Grichting: Turtmann Valley. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Individual evidence
- ↑ judgment 1P.525 / of 2004. Retrieved March 22, 2020 .
- ↑ Swiss course book: 2246.2 , 2015/16, accessed on October 28, 2015
Coordinates: 46 ° 13 ' N , 7 ° 43' E ; CH1903: six hundred and twenty thousand eight hundred and seventy-five / 118548