190 Million Years of Earth History in the Breggia Gorge

(This post made on January 24, 2025)

Saturday February 20, 2016 – Spring is taking a long time coming this year, and in the Ticino you can usually find milder weather. (Except just two weeks after we came to this place, it snowed here as well).

The main goal of this trip was to visit the National Park in the Breggia Gorge, of special interest for its geological and paleontological heritage: Thanks to the river's natural excavation process, rocks from geological periods across several hundreds of millions of years have been exposed. The thought of how old this is truly breathtaking. 

Additionally, the first part of the hike, starting in Mendrisio was through the vineyards of this southern part of Switzerland, passing through Castel San Pietro before we descended into the gorge. The section through the vineyards was along a trail called “Man and Grapevine” with information about the wine industry. 

We ended the hike in Balerna, at the south end of the gorge.

We always pass this castle (Castello Grande) on our way to the Italian Border. The lighting was pretty this morning (10 a.m.)

As the train heads south to the Ceneri Pass, this view is to the west to the mountains on the west side of Lago Maggiore. 

Starting in Mendrisio at 11:00, we followed Trail no.52 "Sentiero Lago di Lugano" (Lake Lugano Trail) to Castel San Pietro.  

We started our hike at about 11:00 a.m. in Mendrisio, walking through the vineyards to Castel San Pietro, where we first went to look at the "Pink Chapel", and then descended into the the Breggia Gorge. We got to the train station in Balerna at about 3:30 p.m. 

Walking through the vineyards of the Ticino, Switzerland. This is near the start of our walk in Mendrisio.

Heading up the hill, we get this fantastic view north to the summit of Monte San Salvatore (with the communication tower on the left), and the mountains near the Magadino plain. 

Walking through the vineyards of the Ticino, Switzerland. Placards give information about the production of grapes and wine in this region. There are 3800 growers managing 1000 hectares of vineyards in the Ticino, Switzerland

Clay tile roofs and palm trees are typical of this region!

It's always fun watching the cats in the villages and the meadows!

Heading through an old part of a village called Corteglia. 

More vineyards around Corteglia. The view is toward the Muggio Valley, where we are headed. 

A row of old houses. 

Decorations on the wall of the Swiss Winery in Corteglia called the Parravicini Vitivinicoltori. The motto is "Fruit of life and the labour of man".  

Having a peek into the village church. We were here at shortly after noon. 

Just before reaching the center of Castel San Pietro, we passed the gates of the cemetery. 

A sign indicates that we are close to the "Park of the Breggia Gorges". 

First a quick walk around Castel San Pietro, to the village church of course.  

This is the "Chiesa di Sant Eusebio" in Castel San Pietro. 

We sat on the church's wall for our picnic lunch at about 12:30, with this view over the southern part of Switzerland, near the border with Italy. The mountains in the back are in Italy. 

An interesting-looking chimney!

Higher up on the mountain above the town of Castel San Pietro stands another large church called "Chiesa Sant'Antonino"

At the junction of the path to the Chiesa Rossa (no photos?) and the other trail into the gorge, we saw this interesting line of houses with olive trees. 

Some interesting, and surely very old, olive trees.

At 1:30 p.m. we reach the junction that leads us down into the Breggia Gorge. 

A bridge along the trail heading into the Breggia Gorge. 

Now we have reached the Breggia River. The bridge is called Punt da Canaa.

Placards along the way inform about the history of the rock in the Breggia Gorge. In the description, it tells us that this is the oldest part of the park. The rock is called Moltrasio Limestone, is 4000 m thick and basically constitutes the entire Monte Generoso massif.  

This is the oldest part of the park. This rock is called Moltrasio Limestone and is 195 million years old (about 4000m thick on the Earth's crust, of which we can observe the top 100 meters here).

Balancing on the edge is an erratic rock, totally different than the other older layers. A fault in the limestone is also visible here. 

(The Director of the Breggia National Park had inquired to use one of my photos in a flyer they were putting together. See at the end of this album).

This is the site of an old mill

More interesting striations. This rock is called Lombardian Ammonitico Rosso, and according to a nearby placard, the deposit is 15 m thick, and apparently the most interesting rock formation in the park.   

A cool wooden bridge crosses the gorge high above the river. 

Wooden bridge crosses the gorge. 

From the bridge we can see the trail we have to descend, a cool set of steps!

At this junction, one trail heads back out of the gorge to Castel San Pietro. We are continuing on to the train station in Balerna, 45 minutes from here. At this point it is 2:20 p.m. 

An interesting section through the gorge.

An interesting section through the gorge.

20 minutes later we came across another very interesting rock striation: A tectonic fold, directly related to the formation of the Alps. 

The road and trail passed right "through" that house!

Just before leaving the gorge, we come to the old Ghitello Mill, with this cute waterwheel. The old mill buildings here are from the end of the 16th Century, and are used for demonstrations as well as housing administration offices for the Breggia Gorge Park. 

Arriving at the Balerna train station at 15:25. 

9-km walk from Mendrisio to Balerna via Castel San Pietro and the Breggia Gorge National Park (in Ticino, Switzerland).

This is a screenshot of a section of the flyer put together by the Director of the National Park. He had requested to use one of my photos, which is the one on the bottom right. 

A flyer about the Breggia Gorges uses one of my photos, bottom right. 

Along the Rhine to Europe's Longest Wooden Covered Bridge

(This post published on December 12, 2024)

Saturday February 6, 2016 -- In the midst of Carnival Celebrations all over Switzerland, we were able to "escape" some of the crowds with our 12 km walk along the Rhine River, a small part of that stretch which forms the Northern border of Switzerland and the Southern border of Germany.

Highlights were the two medieval towns of Laufenburg at the start of the walk, and Bad Säckingen at the end. Both towns have a "German" side and a "Swiss" side, joined by a bridge.

Of note was the bridge at Bad Säckingen, Europe's longest wooden covered bridge (203m). The bridge was first mentioned in the “Annals of Colmar” in 1272, and has since been damaged or destroyed several times by high water and fire. High waters in 1999 rose to a point just 20 cm below the bottom of the bridge.

At the end of our walk we treated ourselves to lots of handmade Italian gelato!

We started at the train station in Laufenburg at 11:30. Our plan was to cross the Rhine River to the German side to have lunch in a German Restaurant (usually cheaper than on the Swiss side). We first had to pass through the old gate tower to walk through the town. 

Walking down the roads of the town of Laufenburg, heading toward the bridge over the Rhine River. 

Walking down the roads of the town of Laufenburg, heading toward the bridge over the Rhine River. 

Walking down the roads of the town of Laufenburg, heading toward the bridge over the Rhine River. 

The town is decorated because it is carnival time. 

I enjoy all the signs that hang outside of the shops or restaurants, advertising what the business is. This looks like a restaurant that specializes in fish!

Laufenburg, German side, seen from the Swiss side. The country border runs right through the center of the Rhine River.

Because I don't really like the crowds at Carnival, I take photos of photos in shop windows.

We walked through the small German part of Laufenburg, but did not find an open restaurant. Before heading back to the Swiss side, we climbed up to the village church where we could look across the river to the Swiss side. 

From the site of the church on the German side of the Rhine River, we look back across the bridge to the Swiss side of the town!

Close-up look at the houses on the Swiss side of the Rhine River. 

Heading back down from the church to the bridge which crosses the river. 

Riverside road on the German side of Laufenburg. 

Bridge across the Rhine River, that joins the two parts of Laufenburg. The border between Switzerland and Germany run right through the middle of the river. 

There is a fortress ruins on a hill in the center of Old Town Laufenburg on the Swiss side, but we didn't have time to go have a look, as it was now 12:15 and we needed to find a place to have lunch. 

We had seen a pizzeria near the train station when we first got here about an hour earlier, so went back there to have this fantastic pizza lunch. Mine was a tuna pizza with lots of onions, which has become my favourite pizza!

After lunch (at 1:20 p.m.) we headed on to our planned hike to Stein Säckingen, along Trail no.60: "Via Rhenana". The stretch between Laufenburg and ultimately the train station in Stein Säckingen is 11 kilometers, and Section 8 of the total 200-km trail along the Rhine River from Konstanz to Basel.

There are two hydro-electric power plants along this stretch. This one is just over one kilometer west of Laufenburg. 

A look behind us at the Laufenburg Power Plant as we head off to Stein Säckingen. 

A perfect kind of walk on a February day. It was about 9 kilometers along the Rhine rivershore to the wooden bridge at Stein Säckingen, and from there another two kilometers to the train station. 

Watching waterfowl on the river

I'd never seen something like this before. It looks like an apartment complex for swallows!

There was a lot of evidence of recent beaver activity along the rivershore!

On the German side of the Rhine River, the city with the longest covered wooden bridge in Europe is called Bad Säckingen. From across the river, we could see a large church building on the eastern part of the city (called Obersäckingen). 

And then as we followed a large bend in the river, we could see the large Fridolin's Münster in the old part of the city of Bad Säckingen. 

As we approach the wooden bridge on the Swiss side of the Rhine River, the town here is called Stein Säckingen. On the German side of the river, the town is called Bad Säckingen. 

A look at the Fridolin Münster as we cross under the wooden bridge, to view the bridge from its south side. We got here at 3:45 p.m, about 1½ hours after starting out in Laufenburg. 

Full view of the “Alte Rheinbrücke”, longest covered wooden bridge (203 meters) in Europe. I am standing in Switzerland. The other end of the bridge is in Germany. 

Crossing the longest covered wooden bridge in Europe, from the Swiss side to the German side of the Rhine River. Because it is Carnival time, people are walking around in costumes, like this fellow in a pirate's costume!

VIDEO: 

Walking over the longest wooden covered bridge in Europe

Lots of information on panels on the bridge about the many times the river had flooded and damaged the bridge, which was rebuilt several times. This is an aerial view of the longest covered wooden bridge in Europe.

On the immediate north side of the bridge, we discovered a gelateria/café, and had to try the gelato, obviously. The ice cream shops in Germany make the best gelato!

We then walked around the main part of the old town to have a look at the Fridolin Münster. Originally built in the Romanesque style, it was rebuilt in the 14th Century in the Gothic style after a fire, and then updated with Baroque details in the 17th and 18 Centuries. 

Carnival celebrations in Bad Säckingen, Germany

Intricately-painted house front in the main plaza

Around the main plaza in Bad Säckingen

Before heading back onto the bridge to cross back into Switzerland, we stopped at the Gelateria again for a cup of coffee, to warm up, as it is now 5 p.m. And it is never NOT a good time for another gelato!

At 5:10 p.m. we headed back across the wooden bridge, for the last 20-minute walk along the river to the train station in Stein Säckingen (which is in Canton Aargau). This is looking down the bridge from the German side to the Swiss side. 

After returning to the Swiss side of the bridge, we still walked for another 20 minutes along the river's shore to get to the train station in Stein Säckingen (from there, about 1 hour and 40 minutes to get home). In all, this was about a 14-km walk, with the two detours to the German side! 

What the 1-km walk looks like on Google Satellite Maps. This is all along the Rhine River. 

Description of Stage 8 of the regional Trail "ViaRhenana", which is the section we walked this day. This is from the App we use for hiking.