The Rhine is one of the most important rivers in Europe. This is not primarily because of its length of 1,230 kilometers, but because of its importance for the energy and water supply, for cooling industrial plants, for shipping, fishing - and last but not least as an attraction for recreation and leisure activities. 50 million people live in the Rhine catchment area. Their lives are sometimes influenced and shaped every day by the Rhine as a source of income or as a source of life.
Lake Toma is the source of the Vorderrhein. The mighty Vorderrhein glacier covered the whole of Surselva during the last ice age. The mountain landscape of the Oberalp Pass, formed by glaciers, is the headwaters of the Vorderrhein. The ice stream has long since melted. What remains is a firn hollow in which Lake Toma is embedded.
The Rhine Gorge Via Mala is legendary. An impressive natural monument with rock walls up to 300 m high, which are only a few meters apart at the narrowest points. Today, no fewer than 321 steps lead down into the deep gorge.
Union of the front and rear Rhine at Tamins / Reichenau (Chur)
At around 76 kilometers, the Vorderrhein is a good 5% longer than the Hinterrhein. Under the castle rock in the district of Reichenau, the front and rear Rhine unite to form the Rhine and then flow into Lake Constance at St. Margarethen. The Rhine flows through Lake Constance. Lake Constance is actually nothing more than the dammed river bed of the Rhine.
The largest waterfall in Europe, the Rhine Falls, offers an impressive natural spectacle. At a width of 150 m, the Rhine (coming from Lake Constance) falls over the rocks from a height of 23 m. The average flow rate is 750 cubic meters per second.
An exploration from the high-altitude Laufen Castle is recommended. The palace complex offers an impressive view of the Rhine Falls and the rocks in the middle of the river. The way down to the Rhine leads over stairs and through a tunnel to various viewing platforms up to the shipping pier. The rock in the Rhine can be approached and climbed by ship.