Aare

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River in Switzerland

title: "Aare" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["aare", "rivers-of-switzerland", "aare-basin", "rivers-of-the-canton-of-bern", "rivers-of-aargau", "water-transport-in-switzerland", "rivers-of-the-alps"] description: "River in Switzerland" topic_path: "geography/switzerland" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aare" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary River in Switzerland ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]

FieldValue
nameAare
other_nameAar
imageBern Untertorbrücke 05.jpg
image_captionThe Aare at Bern
pushpin_mapSwitzerland
pushpin_map_captionMouth
mapframeyes
mapframe-zoom7
subdivision_type1Country
subdivision_name1Switzerland
subdivision_type2Cantons
subdivision_name2Bern, Solothurn, Aargau
subdivision_type3Settlements
subdivision_name3Meiringen (BE), Interlaken (BE), Thun (BE), Münsingen, Muri bei Bern, Bern, Bremgarten bei Bern, Aarberg (BE), Büren a.A. (BE), Solothurn (SO), Aarwangen (BE), Aarburg (BE), Olten (SO), Niedergösgen (SO), Schönenwerd (SO), Aarau (AG), Wildegg (AG), Brugg (AG), Windisch (AG), Döttingen (AG), Klingnau (AG)
source1_locationUnteraar Glacier, Bernese Oberland
source1_coordinates
mouth_locationRhine below Koblenz, Switzerland
mouth_coordinates
mapAare basin simple.png
map_captionDrainage basin of the Aare
length291.5 km
source1_elevation1940 m
mouth_elevation311 m
discharge1_locationUntersiggenthal
discharge1_min351 m3/s (MNQ 1935-2013),
138 m3/s (NNQ, 1963)
discharge1_avg559 m3/s (MQ 1935-2013)
discharge1_max735 m3/s (MHQ 1935-2013),
2656 m3/s (HHQ, 2007)
progression
tributaries_leftLütschine (Lake Brienz), Kander (Lake Thun), Gürbe, Saane/La Sarine, Zihl/La Thielle (Lakes of Neuchatel and Bienne), La Suze (Lake of Bienne), Dünnern
tributaries_rightGadmerwasser, Zulg, Emme, Murg, Wigger, Suhre, Aabach, Reuss, Limmat, Surb
waterbodiesOberaarsee, Grimselsee, Räterichsbodensee, Lake Brienz, Lake Thun, Wohlensee, Lake Biel, Stausee Niederried, Klingnauer Stausee
basin_size17779 km2
::

::callout[type=note] a river in Switzerland ::

| name = Aare | other_name = Aar | image = Bern Untertorbrücke 05.jpg | image_caption = The Aare at Bern | pushpin_map = Switzerland | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption = Mouth | pushpin_map_alt = | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 7 | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = Switzerland | subdivision_type2 = Cantons | subdivision_name2 = Bern, Solothurn, Aargau | subdivision_type3 = Settlements | subdivision_name3 = Meiringen (BE), Interlaken (BE), Thun (BE), Münsingen, Muri bei Bern, Bern, Bremgarten bei Bern, Aarberg (BE), Büren a.A. (BE), Solothurn (SO), Aarwangen (BE), Aarburg (BE), Olten (SO), Niedergösgen (SO), Schönenwerd (SO), Aarau (AG), Wildegg (AG), Brugg (AG), Windisch (AG), Döttingen (AG), Klingnau (AG) | source1_location = Unteraar Glacier, Bernese Oberland | source1_coordinates = | mouth_location = Rhine below Koblenz, Switzerland | mouth_coordinates = | map = Aare basin simple.png | map_caption = Drainage basin of the Aare | length = 291.5 km | source1_elevation = 1940 m | mouth_elevation = 311 m | discharge1_location = Untersiggenthal | discharge1_min = 351 m3/s (MNQ 1935-2013), 138 m3/s (NNQ, 1963) | discharge1_avg = 559 m3/s (MQ 1935-2013) | discharge1_max = 735 m3/s (MHQ 1935-2013), 2656 m3/s (HHQ, 2007) | progression = | tributaries_left = Lütschine (Lake Brienz), Kander (Lake Thun), Gürbe, Saane/La Sarine, Zihl/La Thielle (Lakes of Neuchatel and Bienne), La Suze (Lake of Bienne), Dünnern | tributaries_right = Gadmerwasser, Zulg, Emme, Murg, Wigger, Suhre, Aabach, Reuss, Limmat, Surb | waterbodies = Oberaarsee, Grimselsee, Räterichsbodensee, Lake Brienz, Lake Thun, Wohlensee, Lake Biel, Stausee Niederried, Klingnauer Stausee | basin_size = 17779 km2 | extra =

The Aare () or Aar () is the main tributary of the High Rhine (its discharge even exceeds that of the latter at their confluence) and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland.

Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about 295 km,

There are more than 40 hydroelectric plants along the course of the Aare.

The river's name dates to at least the La Tène period, and it is attested as Nantaror "Aare valley" in the Berne zinc tablet.

The name was Latinized as Arula/Arola/Araris.

Course

The Aare rises in the great Aargletschers (Aare Glaciers) of the Bernese Alps, in the canton of Bern and west of the Grimsel Pass. The Finsteraargletscher and Lauteraargletscher come together to form the Unteraargletscher (Lower Aar Glacier), which is the main source of water for the Grimselsee (Lake of Grimsel). The Oberaargletscher (Upper Aar Glacier) feeds the Oberaarsee, which also flows into the Grimselsee. The Aare leaves the Grimselsee just to the east to the Grimsel Hospiz, below the Grimsel Pass, and then flows northwest through the Haslital, forming on the way the magnificent Handegg Waterfall, 46 m, past Guttannen.

Right after Innertkirchen it is joined by its first major tributary, the Gamderwasser. Less than 1 km later the river carves through a limestone ridge in the Aare Gorge (). It is here that the Aare proves itself to be more than just a river, as it attracts thousands of tourists annually to the causeways through the gorge. A little past Meiringen, near Brienz, the river expands into Lake Brienz. Near the west end of the lake it indirectly receives its first important tributary, the Lütschine, by the Lake of Brienz. It then runs across the swampy plain of the Bödeli (Swiss German diminutive for ground) between Interlaken and Unterseen before flowing into Lake Thun.

Near the west end of Lake Thun, the river indirectly receives the waters of the Kander, which has just been joined by the Simme, by the Lake of Thun. Lake Thun marks the head of navigation. On flowing out of the lake it passes through Thun, and then flows through the city of Bern, passing beneath eighteen bridges and around the steeply-flanked peninsula on which the Old City is located. To the south of the Old City peninsula is the , a weir which provides water for the small Matte hydroelectric power plant. River swimming in the Aare is popular in Bern, and the river is sometimes full of bathers on summer days. The river soon changes its northwesterly flow for a due westerly direction, but after receiving the Saane or La Sarine it turns north until it nears Aarberg. There, in one of the major Swiss engineering feats of the 19th century, the Jura water correction, the river, which had previously rendered the countryside north of Bern a swampland through frequent flooding, was diverted by the Aare-Hagneck Canal into the Lac de Bienne. From the upper end of the lake, at Nidau, the river issues through the Nidau-Büren Canal, also called the Aare Canal, and then runs east to Büren. The lake absorbs huge amounts of eroded gravel and snowmelt that the river brings from the Alps, and the former swamps have become fruitful plains: they are known as the "vegetable garden of Switzerland".

From here the Aare flows northeast for a long distance, past the ambassador town Solothurn (below which the Grosse Emme flows in on the right), Aarburg (where it is joined by the Wigger), Olten, Aarau, near which is the junction with the Suhre, and Wildegg, where the Seetal Aabach falls in on the right. A short distance further, below Brugg, it receives first the Reuss, its major tributary, and shortly afterwards the Limmat, its second strongest tributary. It now turns due north, and soon becomes itself a tributary of the Rhine, which it even surpasses in volume when the two rivers unite downstream from Koblenz (Switzerland), opposite Waldshut in Germany. The Rhine, in turn, empties into the North Sea after crossing into the Netherlands. Aletschgebiet aus dem Flugzeug.jpg|The Unteraargletscher Ausgang Aareschlucht.jpg|The Aare at Innertkirchen Aareschlucht 166 7.jpg|Inside the Aare Gorge Aare by Interlaken-Ost.jpg|The Aare in Interlaken Bern 2.jpg|Aare in Bern Gedeckte Holzbrücke in Wangen a. d. Aare.jpg|Old bridge at Wangen an der Aare

Tributaries

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Aare_-Limmat(Limmatspitz)_IMG_6765.jpg" caption="At the "Wasserschloss", where the rivers Aare, Reuss and Limmat flow together"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/London2007zurich_img_5743.jpg" caption="The convergence of the Aare and the Rhine at Koblenz"] ::

Reservoirs

Incidents

On May 26, 2022, Indonesia West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil's eldest child, Emmeril Kahn Mumtadz, was declared missing after being swept away by the river current. Chronologically, Eril was swimming in the river with his sister and friends. When he wanted to rise to the surface, Eril was dragged by a fairly swift current of the river which had previously received help from his friend. The search efforts involving the police search and rescue team, maritime police, fire department, and authority of the city of Bern. One week after declared missing, Emmeril Kahn Mumtadz was declared dead in absentia at the age of 22. Although on June 9, 2022, Eril's body was located. The funeral procession of Emmeril “Eril” Kahn Mumtadz took place in the family's burial ground located in Cimaung, Bandung regency, West Java. Soon after news about Eril's body brought back to his home, Indonesian netizens review bombed Aare River's Google listing, leaving negative comments and one-star ratings as if the waterway was fully to blame for the tragedy.

Notes

Footnotes

References

References

  1. "High Rhine". ICPR – International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine.
  2. {{harvnb. Bridgwater. Aldrich. 1968
    1. m. 17779. km2. Hoiberg. 2010
  4. {{harvnb. Kristol. Cattin. Meroni. Schmid. 2005
  5. {{harvnb. Forbiger. 1848
  6. {{harvnb. Gresswell. Huxley. 1965
  7. {{harvnb. Cohen. 1998
  8. {{harvnb. Anon. 1973
  9. {{convert. 564. m. Gresswell. Huxley. 1965
  10. {{harvnb. Anon. 1973
  11. "Family Declares Indonesian Governor’s Son Who Drowned in Swiss River Dead".
  12. (2022-06-13). "Indonesians mourn governor's son found dead in Swiss river". The Straits Times.
  13. "Ridwan Kamil's Eldest Son Is Missing in Switzerland".
  14. antaranews.com. (2022-06-09). "Progress in search for governor's son, presumed drowned in Aare River".
  15. Arkyasa, Mahinda. (2022-06-09). "Ridwan Kamil's Son Found Dead in Aare River".
  16. "Ridwan Kamil’s drowned son laid to rest as Bandung mourns - Tue, June 14, 2022".
  17. "Indonesians review bomb Swiss river where governor’s son went missing".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

aarerivers-of-switzerlandaare-basinrivers-of-the-canton-of-bernrivers-of-aargauwater-transport-in-switzerlandrivers-of-the-alps