Aare — Mediated Wiki

{{Short description|River in Switzerland}} {{About|a river in Switzerland|other uses|Aare (given name)|and|Aare (surname)|and| Aar (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox river | 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 = {{coord|46|34|12|N|8|11|24|E|region:CH-BE}} | mouth_location = Rhine below Koblenz, Switzerland | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|47|36|18|N|8|13|24|E|region:CH_type:river|display=it}} | map = Aare basin simple.png | map_caption = Drainage basin of the Aare | length = {{convert|291.5|km}} {{GeoQuelle|CH|GS}} | source1_elevation = {{cvt|1940|m}} | mouth_elevation = {{cvt|311|m}} | discharge1_location = Untersiggenthal | discharge1_min = {{cvt|351|m3/s}} (MNQ 1935-2013),<br />{{cvt|138|m3/s}} (NNQ, 1963) | discharge1_avg = {{cvt|559|m3/s}} (MQ 1935-2013) | discharge1_max = {{cvt|735|m3/s}} (MHQ 1935-2013),<br />{{cvt|2656|m3/s}} (HHQ, 2007) | progression = {{RRhine}} | 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 = {{cvt|17779|km2}} }}

The '''Aare''' ({{IPA|de-CH|ˈaːrɛ|lang|De-Aare2.ogg}}) or '''Aar''' ({{IPA|de-CH|aːr|lang|De-Aar2.ogg}}) is the main tributary of the High Rhine (its discharge even exceeds that of the latter at their confluence)<ref>{{cite web |title=High Rhine |publisher=ICPR – International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine |url=https://www.iksr.org/en/topics/rhine/sub-basins/high-rhine |access-date=15 June 2024}}</ref> and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland.<ref name=CVDE>{{harvnb|Bridgwater|Aldrich|1968|p=11}}</ref><ref name=GH/>

Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about {{convert|295|km}},<ref name=CVDE /><ref name="eb"/> during which distance it descends {{cvt|1565|m}}, draining an area of {{cvt|17779|km2}}, almost entirely within Switzerland, and accounting for close to half the area of the country, including all of Central Switzerland.<ref name="eb">{{harvnb|Hoiberg|2010|p=4}}</ref>

There are more than 40 hydroelectric plants along the course of the Aare.<ref name=cohen/>

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''.<ref>{{harvnb|Kristol|Cattin|Meroni|Schmid|2005|p=73}}</ref>{{refn| group = nb |The river ''Obringa'', mentioned by Ptolemy (2.7.9) as a tributary of the Rhine, has been identified with either the Mosel or the Aare.<ref>{{harvnb|Forbiger|1848|p=126f}}</ref>}}

==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.<ref name="CVDE"/> 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).<ref name=GH>{{harvnb|Gresswell|Huxley|1965|p=27}}</ref><ref name=cohen>{{harvnb|Cohen|1998|p=1}}</ref> The Oberaargletscher (Upper Aar Glacier) feeds the Oberaarsee, which also flows into the Grimselsee.<ref name=GH/> 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, {{cvt|46|m|ft}}, past Guttannen.

Right after Innertkirchen it is joined by its first major tributary, the Gamderwasser. Less than {{convert|1|km}} later the river carves through a limestone ridge in the Aare Gorge ({{langx|de|Aareschlucht}}).<ref name=CVDE /> 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.<ref name=GH/> 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.<ref name=CVDE />

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.<ref name=cohen/> 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 {{ill|Mattenschwelle|de}}, 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,<ref name=GH/> 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<ref name=CVDE /> (below which the Grosse Emme flows in on the right), Aarburg (where it is joined by the Wigger), Olten, Aarau,<ref name=CVDE /> 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. <gallery> 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 </gallery>

== Tributaries == thumb|At the "Wasserschloss", where the rivers Aare, Reuss and Limmat flow together thumb|The convergence of the Aare and the Rhine at Koblenz

*Limmat (after and northeast of Brugg, and northwest of Baden) **Reppisch **Sihl ***Alp ***Minster **Lake Zurich ***Jona ***Wägitaler Aa ***Linthkanal ****Lake Walen *****Linth ******Löntsch ******Sernf ******Flätschbach *****Seez *****Seerenbach *Reuss (after and northeast of Brugg, and northwest of Baden) **Lorze **Kleine Emme **Lake Lucerne ***Sarner Aa ***Engelberger Aa ***Muota **Schächen **Chärstelenbach **Göschener Reuss *Aabach (coming from Seetal, in Wildegg) **Bünz *Suhre (after and north of Aarau) **Wyna *Aabach (from the left in Aarau) *Stegbach *Dünnern (in Olten) *Wigger (right before Aarburg) *Murg (before, west of Murgenthal) **Rot (Roggwil) **Langete (Langenthal) ***Ursenbach (Kleindietwil) ***Rotbach (Huttwil) *(Grosse) Emme (after, east of Solothurn) *Lake of Bienne **La Suze (in Biel/Bienne, right next to the outflow) **Zihlkanal ***Lake of Neuchatel ****La Broye (flows through Lake Morat) ****Zihl/La Thielle *****L'Orbe *****Le Talent *Saane/La Sarine (after, west of Wohlensee) **Sense *Gürbe (in Muri bei Bern) *Zulg (west of Steffisburg) *Lake Thun **Kander (west of Spiez) ***Simme ***Entschlige *Lake Brienz **Lütschine (at the end of Lake Brienz, right next to the outflow) *Gadmerwasser (right after, northwest of Innertkirchen)

==Reservoirs== * Lake Grimsel,<ref name=a1>{{harvnb|Anon|1973|p=74}}</ref> {{cvt|1908|m|ft}} * Lake Brienz,<ref name=a1/> {{cvt|564|m|ft}}<ref name=GH1>{{harvnb|Gresswell|Huxley|1965|p=272}}</ref> * Lake Thun,<ref name=a1/> {{cvt|558|m|ft}}<ref name=GH1/> * Lake Wohlen,<ref name=a2>{{harvnb|Anon|1973|p=70}}</ref> {{cvt|481|m|ft}} * Niederriedsee,<ref name=a2/> {{cvt|461|m|ft}} * Lake Biel,<ref name=a2/> {{cvt|429|m|ft}} * Klingnauer Stausee, {{cvt|318|m|ft}}

== Incidents == On 26 May 2022, Indonesia West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil's eldest child, Emmeril Kahn Mumtadz,<ref name=":kompas">{{Cite web |title=Family Declares Indonesian Governor’s Son Who Drowned in Swiss River Dead |url=https://go.kompas.com/read/2022/06/03/152705874/family-declares-indonesian-governors-son-who-drowned-in-swiss-river-dead}}</ref> was declared missing after being swept away by the river current. Eril, aged 22, was swimming in the river with his sister and friends.<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 June 2022 |title=Indonesians mourn governor's son found dead in Swiss river |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/indonesians-mourn-governors-son-found-dead-in-swiss-river |access-date=30 August 2024 |work=The Straits Times |language=en |issn=0585-3923 |archive-date=30 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240830090507/https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/indonesians-mourn-governors-son-found-dead-in-swiss-river |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ridwan Kamil's Eldest Son Is Missing in Switzerland |url=https://jakartaglobe.id/news/ridwan-kamils-eldest-son-is-missing-in-switzerland |access-date=30 August 2024 |archive-date=30 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240830090508/https://jakartaglobe.id/news/ridwan-kamils-eldest-son-is-missing-in-switzerland |url-status=live }}</ref> The search efforts involving the police search and rescue team, maritime police, fire department, and authority of the city of Bern.<ref name=":kompas" /> One week after he was declared missing, Emmeril Kahn Mumtadz was declared dead ''in absentia''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=antaranews.com |date=9 June 2022 |title=Progress in search for governor's son, presumed drowned in Aare River |url=https://en.antaranews.com/news/233377/progress-in-search-for-governors-son-presumed-drowned-in-aare-river |access-date=30 August 2024 |website=Antara News |language=en |archive-date=30 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240830090507/https://en.antaranews.com/news/233377/progress-in-search-for-governors-son-presumed-drowned-in-aare-river |url-status=live }}</ref> On 9 June 2022, Eril's body was located.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Arkyasa |first=Mahinda |date=9 June 2022 |title=Ridwan Kamil's Son Found Dead in Aare River |url=https://en.tempo.co/read/1600228/ridwan-kamils-son-found-dead-in-aare-river |access-date=30 August 2024 |website=Tempo |language=en |archive-date=30 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240830090515/https://en.tempo.co/read/1600228/ridwan-kamils-son-found-dead-in-aare-river |url-status=live }}</ref> The funeral procession of Emmeril “Eril” Kahn Mumtadz took place in the family's burial ground located in Cimaung, Bandung regency, West Java.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ridwan Kamil’s drowned son laid to rest as Bandung mourns - Tue, June 14, 2022 |url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/paper/2022/06/13/ridwan-kamils-drowned-son-laid-to-rest-as-bandung-mourns.html |access-date=30 August 2024 |website=The Jakarta Post |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indonesians review bomb Swiss river where governor’s son went missing |url=https://coconuts.co/jakarta/news/indonesians-review-bomb-swiss-river-where-governors-son-went-missing/ |access-date=30 August 2024 |website= |language=en-US |archive-date=30 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240830090509/https://coconuts.co/jakarta/news/indonesians-review-bomb-swiss-river-where-governors-son-went-missing/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also== * Rivers of Switzerland

==Notes== {{reflist|group=nb}}

==Footnotes== {{Reflist}}

==References== * {{cite book |author=Anon |year=1973 |title=Atlas Routier et Touristique |language=French |publisher=Bordas-Tirade |location=Paris, France}} * {{cite encyclopedia |editor1-last=Bridgwater |editor1-first=W. |editor2-last=Aldrich |editor2-first=Beatrice |encyclopedia=The Columbia-Viking Desk Encyclopedia |title=Aare |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York, NY |year=1968 |isbn=978-0670230709 |edition=3rd}} * {{cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Cohen |editor-first=Saul B. |encyclopedia=The Columbia Gazetteer of the World |title=Aare |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=0-231-11040-5 |year=1998}} * {{cite book |last=Forbiger |first=Albert |title=Handbuch Der Alten Geographie |volume=3 |publisher=Veriag von Gustav Mayer |location=Leipzig, Germany |year=1848 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AvwoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA127}} * {{cite book |editor1-last=Gresswell |editor1-first=R. Kay |editor2-last=Huxley |editor2-first=Anthony |publisher=G. P. Putnam's Sons |location=New York, NY |year=1965 |title=Standard Encyclopedia of the World's Rivers and Lakes}} * {{cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Hoiberg |editor-first=Dale H. |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |title=Aare River |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |location=Chicago, IL |edition=15th |isbn=978-0-85229-961-6 |year=2010}} * {{cite encyclopedia |editor1-last=Kristol |editor1-first=Andres |editor2-last=Cattin |editor2-first=Florence |editor3-last=Meroni |editor3-first=Barbara |editor4-last=Schmid |editor4-first=Gabrielle |title=Aarau AG (Aarau) |encyclopedia=Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen LSG: Dictionnaire toponymique de scommunes suisses DTS /Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri DTS |location=Stuttgart, Germany |publisher=Huber Frauenfeld |year=2005 |isbn=3-7193-1308-5 |edition=1st |language=German |trans-title=Encyclopedia of the Swiss municipality of LSG: Dictionnaire de toponymique scommunes Suisses DTS / Dizionario dei comuni toponomastico svizzeri DTS}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} * [http://www.aareschlucht.ch The Aare Gorge (Aareschlucht)] *{{Wikisource-inline|list= **{{cite EB9 |wstitle = Aar |volume= I | pages=2-3 |short=1}} **{{Cite Nuttall |title=Aar |short=x |noicon=x}} **{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Aar |volume= I | pages=2-3|short=x |noicon=x}} **{{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Aar |short=x |noicon=x}} }}

Category:Aare Category:Rivers of Switzerland Category:Aare basin Category:Rivers of the canton of Bern Category:Rivers of Aargau Category:Water transport in Switzerland Category:Rivers of the Alps