Uetliberg

Uetliberg
View from Lake Zurich (east side)
Highest point
Elevation870[1] m (2,850 ft)
Prominence143 m (469 ft)[2][1]
Parent peakBürglen
Isolation6.9 km (4.3 mi)[3][1]
Coordinates47°20′58″N 8°29′29″E / 47.34944°N 8.49139°E / 47.34944; 8.49139
Naming
Native nameUetliberg (German)
Pronunciationˈyɛtlibɛrɡ
Geography
Uetliberg is located in Switzerland
Uetliberg
Location in Switzerland
LocationZurich, Switzerland
Parent rangeAlbis
Topo mapswisstopo
Climbing
Easiest routeMountain train
Aerial view by Walter Mittelholzer (1919)

The Uetliberg (also known as Üetliberg[4]) is a mountain in the Swiss plateau, part of the Albis chain, rising to 870 m (2,850 ft). The mountain offers a panoramic view of the entire city of Zürich (to the northeast of its summit) and the Lake of Zurich (to the east), and lies on the boundary between the city of Zürich and the municipalities of Stallikon and Uitikon. The summit, known as Uto Kulm, is in Stallikon.[5][1]

At the summit, there is the Hotel Uto Kulm, together with two towers. One of these is a look-out tower (access costs CHF 2,[6] rebuilt 1990), whilst the other is the Uetliberg TV-tower (186 m, rebuilt 1990).

The summit is easily accessible by train from Zürich. Uetliberg railway station lies some 812 m (2,664 ft) from, and 68 m (223 ft) below, the summit of the Uetliberg. It is the terminus of the Uetliberg line, and is linked to Zürich Hauptbahnhof by S-Bahn Zürich service S10. Trains usually run every half-hour, taking 20 minutes.

There are numerous walking paths leading up to the top from Albisgüetli, Triemli or Albisrieden with frequent water fountains and camping spots. Uetliberg also has a downhill mountain bike track which starts in the camping area at the top of the mountain and finishes next to Triemli railway station, also served by the S10. A panoramic footpath leads along the crest of the Albis ridge to Felsenegg, from where the Adliswil-Felsenegg cable car connects to Adliswil and the S4 S-Bahn service in the valley below.

The Uetliberg gives its name to the Zürich-based Uto section of the Swiss Alpine Club, and hence to the Uto Peak in the Selkirk Mountains of Canada, which was first climbed by members of the Uto section.[7][8]

  1. ^ a b c d "1091 Zürich" (Map). Uetliberg. 1:25 0000. National Map 1:25'0000. Wabern, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Office for Topography -– swisstopo. 2013. Retrieved 2017-05-23 – via map.geo.admin.ch.
  2. ^ The key col is located north of Balderen at 727 metres.
  3. ^ The nearest point of higher elevation is northwest of the Langnauer Berg.
  4. ^ The spelling used by Swisstopo is Uetliberg and defines the official naming. Historically also Ütliberg, Utliberg, Uto. Pierer's Universal Lexikon (1864), p. 322. Stumpf Chronik (1548), s.a. 1268: ütliberg am Albiß. The name is derived from that of the castle formerly near the summit, recorded in 1210 as Uotelenburg (destroyed in 1268). The name of the castle is in turn from an Alemannic personal name in Uotal-; the possible connection to Odilo, count of Thurgau between 709 and 736, is a suggestion due to Josef Siegwart, Die Chorherren- und Chorfrauengemeinschaften in der Deutschprachigen Schweiz vom 6. Jahrhundert bis 1160 (1962), 62f.
  5. ^ Andreas Zürcher: Uetliberg in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, 2013-11-13.
  6. ^ "Uetliberg observation tower" (commercial website). Stallikon, Switzerland: Uto Kulm AG (Hotel/Restaurant). Retrieved 2017-06-22.
  7. ^ "Portrait" (in German). SAC Uto Section. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
  8. ^ "Uto Peak". Bivouac.com. Retrieved 2017-06-23.