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Weg der Schweiz

This attractive route runs around the southern part of Vierwaldstaettersee, the "Urnersee". As a present to the 700 anniversary of the founding of Switzerland all the Cantons participated in the preparation of the route. Each Canton was assigned a part of the whole route (a certain length per habitant) and the order was according to the time when that Canton joined the federation. Start of the route is on Ruetli, End is at Brunnen. Total length is about 35 km. There are a couple of brochure's available containing  more or less detailed maps. Along the route are many resting places, access to public transport and interesting explanations.

Fluelen is quite an interesting place, as a tourist region, as the most southern ship station of the Vierwaldstaetterseee, as the gate to the Gotthard, as base for the Windsurfers, as railway station. The trip by ship to Luzern takes about 3 hours.

Brunnen to Fluelen: I find this part of the "Weg der Schweiz" very attractive - and by train it's only about half an hour from Zug to Brunnen which is a very popular tourist small town. 

Seelisberg to Fluelen: A ferry boat brings you from Brunnen to Treib. Here by a funicular you reach the lovely village Seelisberg. The track down to Bauen will have hundreds of stairs, so be warned. Seelisberg has a lot to offer: many walking tracks and of course its well known alpine lake.

Sign for "Weg der Schweiz"

Seelisberg Urnersee, Seelisberg

 

Brunnen to Fluelen

Brunnen-Sisikon-Tellsplatte.  km Hrs
Zug - Brunnen (train)    
Brunnen-Kloster Ingenbohl- (Chaenzeli)- Gruobi-Axenfels-Morschach-
Sisikon-Tellsplatte/Tellskapelle
12 3.5
Tellsplatte-Fluelen 5 1.5
Fluelen-Zug (train)    

Arriving from Zug we can see the first part of the walk, the big monastery on the left side on the hill, the "Kloster Ingenbohl". Further general direction is "Morschach, Axenfels". The route is ascending, first on Bitumen road, later on gravel road. For the most part we can walk in the forest. If you want to shoot a pretty picture then the detour to "Chaenzeli" is worth the additional 20 Minutes return. The path is ascending to shelter Gruobi.  After a while we reach  tourist resort "Axenfels" with the well known Sport hotel (www.swissholidaypark.ch). On the way to Morschach and on to Sisikon we have fantastic views into the nearby mountains. Gitschen and Urirotstock on the other side of the lake and Ober - and Niederbauen are dominant. Fronalpstock on our left is quite impressive. The last part to Sisikon is a bit steep, but here again there are great views.

Bauenstoecke On the road Morschach-Sisikon. 
Bauenstoecke
Gitschen Morschach-Sisikon,
Gitschen

From Sisikon to Tellsplatte/Tellskapelle we are always near the lake and there are some idyllic resting places with the possibility to cool off our feet. At Tellsplatte there is a small Restaurant (self service) right at the jetty. If you want a larger selection of food and drink you have to walk up to the main road for the larger Restaurant on noisy Axenstrasse. You shouldn't miss the walk to Tellskapelle (15 Minutes return). 

From Tellsplatte you may get aboard a ship and return to Brunnen or other places. If you are still fit, we could go on to Fluelen. It's another 1.5 hour's walk with some ups and downs (some staircases). The road is partly on the old main road (Axenstrasse), partly right along the railway track, partly directly along the lake. You get a good idea about road engineering as well.
Old Axenstrasse, Gitschen On the old Axenstrasse,
Gitschen
Old Axenstrasse, Seefeld On the old Axenstrasse,
Seedorf

 

Seelisberg to Fluelen

Brunnen-Seelisberg-Flueelen km hrs
Zug-Flueelen (SBB)    
Flueelen-Treib (Faehrschiff)    
Treib-Seelisberg (Standseilbahn)    
Seelisberg-Beroldingen-Wissig-Bauen-
Isleten-Seedorf-(Schloss A Pro)-Flueelen
17 4.5
Flueelen-Zug (SBB)    

The "official" starting point for the "Weg der Schweiz" is Ruetli. The track from there would lead up to Seelisberg. The trip from Brunnen across the lake to "Treib" and from there by funicular up to the holiday village is nevertheless something special.

If you rather skip the part Seelisberg - Bauen because of the many stairs, here are two alternatives:
- by ship directly to Bauen
- from Seelisberg down to Ruetli and from there by ship to Bauen (the course of the ship will be by the other lake side).
Seelisberg should not be missed.

Our hike at first will guide us through the holiday village with its Hotels and Restaurants. More interesting though are the undisturbed lookouts across the lake and into the mountains. At the former Grand Hotel Sonnenberg a visit of the pilgrims chapel "Maria Sonnenberg is recommended.

The real trail begins at the post office. It leads into the forest and here too, we meet every now and then fascinating lookouts. Spectacular is the view down to Ruetli.

Ruetli, Mythen Below Ruetli,
in the distance Mythen

After the forest path we reach a Bitumen road. It runs close to the alpine lake. 

seelibsee.JPG (30840 Byte) Pretty Seelisberg lake,
Oberbauenstock

Now the road gets a bit steep but in a short while, after the little castle Beroldingen the road is descending. 

beroldingen.JPG (37165 Byte) Little Beroldingen castle

Hikers appreciate the fact that wherever possible, a stretch of gravel road was separated of the Bitumen road. The Bitumen/gravel road ends at Wissig where Toilettes and a shelter with tables and seats are provided.

From here the steep descent by lots of stairs down to Bauen begins. Here too we're offered beautiful views. The good constructed path passes forest and runs along bushes trees.

bauen_fron.JPG (48099 Byte) Bauen,
Fronalpstock,Rophaien

Bauen and its Restaurants are receiving us with open arms. The picturesque scenery reminds to the Mediterranean. The casual atmosphere on the beaches reminds to the school time vacations.

The part Bauen - Isleten is virtually flat, but the track is unique. It consists of rock paths, caverns, galleries. In many places windows were blown out of the rock walls, partly to let the light in, partly to have fantastic views over the lake. In hot summer the hikers enjoy the nice cool temperature.

fenster.jpg (90564 Byte) Tunnels and windows along the trail

At Isleten we hit again a small beach and the track is flat and runs directly along the lakeshore to Seedorf, again with a popular beach.

The leg Seedorf - Fluelen for the most part runs through a protected area. Here too, there are only minor ascents and descents. Fluelen we reach after crossing the bridge over the river Reuss and a detour around sports fields, passing a lapidary enterprise.

 

 

 
Tellkapelle: Already in the 14th century a chapel was here. Today's chapel is about 120 years old and was renovated for the 700 year celebration . The place is very romantic and the chapel is a national monument. 
Legally interesting: owner of the chapel and also the meadow on Ruetli (where the actual founding of the original Swiss federation took place), on the other side of the lake, is the Swiss youth. The money was collected and then the places were bought. 
The paintings show the most important scenes of 700 plus years back with Tell (our national hero, as praised in Friedrich Schillers drama) and the founding of the Swiss Federation. Actually, modern Switzerland was defined in 1848, with important constitutional parts adapted from the USA.

 

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