Limmat

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River in Switzerland

title: "Limmat" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["limmat", "rivers-of-switzerland", "geography-of-zurich", "rivers-of-the-canton-of-zurich", "linth/limmat-basin"] description: "River in Switzerland" topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limmat" 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
nameLimmat
imageLimmat River.jpg
image_captionThe Limmat in Zurich, looking downstream to Rathausbrücke from Quaibrücke at Lake Zurich, Stadthausquai to the left and Limmatquai to right.
subdivision_type1Country
subdivision_name1Switzerland
subdivision_type2Cantons
subdivision_name2Zurich, Aargau
subdivision_type3Settlements
subdivision_name3Zurich (ZH), Schlieren (ZH), Dietikon (ZH), Oetwil a.d.L. (ZH), Wettingen (AG), Baden (AG), Ennetbaden (AG), Nussbaumen (AG), Turgi (AG), Untersiggenthal (AG)
source1_locationLake Zurich, Zurich
source1_coordinates
source1_elevation406 m
mouth_locationAare, Gebenstorf
mouth_coordinates
mouth_elevation328 m
discharge1_locationBaden
discharge1_min69.2 m3/s (MNQ 1951-2013),
24.6 m3/s (NNQ, 2003)
discharge1_avg101.0 m3/s (MQ 1951-2013)
discharge1_max141 m3/s (MHQ 1951-2013),
657 m3/s (HHQ, 1999)
progression
mapKarte Limmat.png
length36.3 km, 140 km (Lake Zurich and Linth included)
basin_size2416 km2 (Lake Zurich and Linth included)
tributaries_leftSihl, Schäflibach, Reppisch, Dorfbach Spreitenbach
tributaries_rightLänggenbach, Furtbach, Lugibach, Gottesgraben
waterbodiesLake Zurich, Stausee Wettingen
::

| name = Limmat | image = Limmat River.jpg | image_caption = The Limmat in Zurich, looking downstream to Rathausbrücke from Quaibrücke at Lake Zurich, Stadthausquai to the left and Limmatquai to right. | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = Switzerland | subdivision_type2 = Cantons | subdivision_name2 = Zurich, Aargau | subdivision_type3 = Settlements | subdivision_name3 = Zurich (ZH), Schlieren (ZH), Dietikon (ZH), Oetwil a.d.L. (ZH), Wettingen (AG), Baden (AG), Ennetbaden (AG), Nussbaumen (AG), Turgi (AG), Untersiggenthal (AG) | source1_location = Lake Zurich, Zurich | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = 406 m | mouth_location = Aare, Gebenstorf | mouth_coordinates = | mouth_elevation = 328 m | discharge1_location= Baden | discharge1_min = 69.2 m3/s (MNQ 1951-2013), 24.6 m3/s (NNQ, 2003) | discharge1_avg = 101.0 m3/s (MQ 1951-2013) | discharge1_max = 141 m3/s (MHQ 1951-2013), 657 m3/s (HHQ, 1999) | progression = | map = Karte Limmat.png | map_caption = | length = 36.3 km, 140 km (Lake Zurich and Linth included) | basin_size = 2416 km2 (Lake Zurich and Linth included) | tributaries_left = Sihl, Schäflibach, Reppisch, Dorfbach Spreitenbach | tributaries_right = Länggenbach, Furtbach, Lugibach, Gottesgraben | waterbodies = Lake Zurich, Stausee Wettingen ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Gmüesbrugg_-Storchen-Weinplatz-Schwert-Rathaus-_Münsterbrücke_2011-08-09_15-40-52.jpg" caption="Rathausbrücke]] and Hotel zum Storchen at [[Weinplatz]] in Zurich"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Platzspitz_Sihl_Limmat.jpg" caption="The confluence of the Limmat and Sihl, just downstream of Zurich city centre"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Kraftwerk_Letten.jpg" caption="Letten Power Station in Zurich"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Kloster_Fahr_-Unterengstringen-_Limmat_2011-09-06_19-13-42.JPG" caption="[[Kloster Fahr]] on the Limmat"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Ennetbaden_Schiefe_Bruecke.jpg" caption="The Limmat in Ennetbaden"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Gebenstorf02.JPG" caption="The confluence of the [[Aare]] (to the left) and Limmat"] ::

The Limmat is a river in Switzerland. The river commences at the outfall of Lake Zurich, in the southern part of the city of Zurich. From Zurich it flows in a northwesterly direction, continuing a further 35 km until it reaches the river Aare. The confluence is located north of the small town of Brugg and shortly after the mouth of the Reuss.

The main towns along the Limmat Valley downstream of Zurich are Dietikon, Wettingen, and Baden. Its main tributaries are the Linth, Wägitaler Aa and Jona, all via Lake Zurich, the Sihl in Zurich, and the Reppisch in Dietikon.

The hydronym is first attested in the 8th century, as Lindimacus. It is of Gaulish origin, from *lindo- "lake" (Welsh llyn) and *magos "plain" (Welsh maes), and was thus presumably in origin the name of the plain formed by the Linth.

Power generation

Like many Swiss rivers, the Limmat is intensively used for production of hydroelectric power: along its course of 35 km, its fall is used by no less than ten hydroelectric power stations. These include:

::data[format=table]

StationCapacity (MW)LocationGeographic coordinates
url=http://www.regionalwerke.ch/index.php?id=57title=Limmat Power Generationpublisher=Regional Werke AG Badenaccess-date=2013-04-25
Dietikon Power Station2.6Dietikon
Höngg Power Station1Zurich
Kappelerhof Power Station6.8Baden
Letten Power Station4Zurich
Schiffmühle Power Station2.6Untersiggenthal
Turgi Power Station1Turgi
Wettingen Power Station26Wettingen
::

Navigation

Historically, the Limmat was an important navigation route. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, voyages from Zurich to Koblenz are recorded. In 1447, the Emperor Frederick III granted the privilege of free navigation on the Limmat and on the Rhine to Zurich. Because of the current, navigation was typically downstream only, with the barges being sold on arrival.

Today, the Limmat is navigable for much of its length by small craft only, with many of the hydroelectric power plants incorporating boat lifts. The traditional boat type used on the river is the weidling, a flat-bottomed vessel that is usually 10 m long.

The uppermost stretch of the river through the centre of Zurich is navigable by rather larger vessels, albeit limited by low bridges. On this stretch of the river ZSG (Lake Zurich Navigation Company) operates its Limmat boat service, from the Landesmuseum to Lake Zurich, using low-profile motor boats.

Towns near the river

Cultural heritage

Located on the swamp land between Limmat and Lake Zurich around Sechseläutenplatz on small islands and peninsulas in Zurich, prehistoric pile dwellings around Lake Zurich were set on piles to protect against occasional flooding by the Linth and Jona. Zürich–Enge Alpenquai is located on Lake Zurich lakeshore in Enge, a locality of the municipality of Zurich. It was neighbored by the settlements at Kleiner Hafner and Grosser Hafner on a then peninsula respectively island in the effluence of the Limmat, within an area of about 0.2 km2 in the city of Zurich. As well as being part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, the settlement is also listed in the Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance as a Class object.

References

References

  1. (1935). "Die vorrömische Schweiz im Lichte geschichtlicher Zeugnisse und sprachlicher Tatsachen". Leemann.
  2. "Limmat Power Generation". Regional Werke AG Baden.
  3. "Flusskraftwerk Dietikon". Elektrizitätswerke des Kantons Zürich.
  4. "Kraftwerk Höngg". City of Zürich.
  5. "Kraftwerk Letten". City of Zürich.
  6. "Kraftwerk Wettingen". City of Zürich.
  7. "Limmat". [[Historical Dictionary of Switzerland]].
  8. "Funicular Boat Lifts of Switzerland". funimag.com.
  9. "Clubportrait Schiffe".
  10. "Limmat river cruises". Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft.
  11. (2009). "A-Objekte KGS-Inventar". Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, Amt für Bevölkerungsschutz.
  12. "Prehistoric Pile Dwellings in Switzerland". Swiss Coordination Group UNESCO Palafittes (palafittes.org).
  13. "World Heritage". palafittes.org.

::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. ::

limmatrivers-of-switzerlandgeography-of-zurichrivers-of-the-canton-of-zurichlinth/limmat-basin