A Sunday Walk with Historical Highlights, Close to Home

August 20, 2017 -- Sometimes we think we have to go far from home to do a nice hike, but this does not need to be so. The area around Zug where we live has some very nice pastoral landscapes, historical locations, and even super views across the city and the lake.

For our regular 12-km walk this Sunday (seems like all our walks are at least 10 km) we took a 45-minute bus ride up the hill just North of us, to the foothills of the Albis Range and started in the town called Hausen. (This area is actually in Canton Zurich)

The walk started with a surprisingly pretty and unkempt trail through a wetland area, probably known only by the locals. We then followed part of a cultural/historical trail to the town of Kappel, a significant location in the history of the Protestant Church in Switzerland and an area that figured prominently in the religious wars of 1529 and 1531. The Cistercian Monastery in Kappel was founded in 1185 by monks who emigrated from France, and remained Catholic until the Reformation, when it was handed over to the City of Zurich in 1527. The Abbey in Kappel, built in the 13th and 14th Centuries, is one of the best preserved early Gothic buildings in Switzerland. 

Shortly after Kappel we crossed the Canton line into Canton Zug, and the trail continued through meadows, farmyards, forests and finally along the river Lorze back home just about at Lake Zug. 

This 12-km walk from Hausen a. Albis to our home in Zug took 3 hours, 15 minutes.

Community Hall in Hausen a.Albis

Two days earlier we had a storm with such heavy rains, that caused the streams to rise and overflow the banks, crushing all this vegetation.

A surprisingly wild and unkempt wetland between the towns of Hausen and Kappel

Approaching Kappel a.Albis, with the beautiful rolling hills in the background.

Pretty farmsteads all along the way.

Pretty farmsteads all along the way.

There are many half-timbered homes in this area as well.

The Abbey at Kappel is one of the best preserved early Gothic buildings in Switzerland. (Mount Rigi in the background)

The Abbey at Kappel is one of the best preserved early Gothic buildings in Switzerland.

The Abbey at Kappel, built in the 13th and 14th Centuries, is one of the best preserved early Gothic buildings in Switzerland.

The Kappel Monastery was founded in 1185.

Some very pretty half-timbered farm houses in this area

Pretty farm houses in this area.

Our first glimpse of Lake Zug above a very tall corn field!

This is a very good use of solar panels!

This view was a surprise to me. I've lived here 4 years and didn't realize we had these views so close to home (which is right in the middle of this photo at lake level)

Just 1 km from home, this fabulous building is a restaurant I pass every day on the way to work (Zur Alten Lorze)

The River Lorze which flows into Lake Zug. I ride my bike along this river every day to work.

All the hikes we have done in this area in the past four years