A walk from Wollerau crosses cantons and centuries

A leisurely walk from Wollerau in canton Schwyz towards Hütten in canton Zurich passes a sports and leisure park, protected wetlands and a historic mill, with a cantonal boundary running through the landscape, SRF reports.

The route begins at Wollerau railway station. After about half an hour, it reaches Erlenmoos, a large recreation and sports facility popular with people of all ages. Its Gripspfad is a circular trail with stations where adults and children can practise coordination, concentration and dexterity.

Beyond Erlenmoos, the walk becomes quieter. The route leads to Freyenweijer, also known locally as Itlimoosweiher. The pond was built in 1887 by Gebrüder Frey AG as a water reservoir. Its water supplied power via the Krebsbach to the Frey dye works in Wollerau. After the original agreement for the pond expired in 1995, it was preserved as a local recreation area at the municipality’s request and placed under nature protection. It is part of a protected wetland of national importance.

From the pond, the path continues towards Neumüli. A mill stood on the edge of the municipality towards Hütten from the late 15th century. It burned down completely in 1656 and again in 1851, then reopened as Neumühle in 1854. A waterwheel more than eight metres across and weighing about 30 tonnes, described as one of Europe’s largest, has been put back into operation with help from the local Scheiweiler family and Wollerau’s Alte Garde association.

A prominent boulder at Neumüli marks both the Schwyz-Zurich cantonal boundary and the municipal border between Wollerau and Richterswil. From there, the route continues through meadows, marshland and woodland, a landscape shaped by farming, water and transport routes.

The Hüttnersee lies in a nature reserve between Hütten and Samstagern in canton Zurich. It is fed by the Sägelbach and Krebsbach, which also flows out of the lake. Part of the lake is open for swimming in summer and it can freeze over in winter. Agricultural over-fertilisation has heavily affected the lake, which has been artificially aerated for decades. A pump draws oxygen-poor water from the lakebed, mixes it with air and sends it to the surface.