Albis

CountrySwitzerlandCantonZürich

The Albis is a chain of hills in the Canton of Zürich, Switzerland, stretching for some 19 km from Sihlbrugg in the south to Waldegg near Zürich in the north. The chain forms, among others, the border between the Affoltern and Horgen districts. The best known point is Uetliberg at 870 m, overlooking the city of Zürich. Other points of interest include the Albishorn (909m.) the Bürglen (also known as Bürglenstutz, the highest peak, 914.6m.), the Schnabelburg, an observation tower, the Albis Pass, the small town of Buechenegg, and the extensive woods (known as the Sihlwald forest) on both sides of the river Sihl. The Sihl Valley borders the Albis chain on its entire east side. On the west side, the Albis is bordered by various streams (including the Reppisch) and one lake, the Türlersee.

The chain is mostly wooded, but also has extensive fields, often reaching to the summit, some cultivated, some used as pastures for cows or sheep. Being very near Zürich, the area is heavily visited, especially near its northern end, and includes many restaurants along the summit (from Uetliberg to Albishorn), well-maintained trails and dirt roads, a railroad (the Uetlibergbahn) from Zürich, and a cable car (Felseneggbahn) from Adliswil to Felsenegg.

The Albis chain was formed as the left moraine of the glacier the bed of which is now Lake Zürich. The soil is mostly a conglomerate of gravel, some of it large, and glacial loess. The frequently steep sides of the chain are often subject to small landslides. As a generalization, the eastern side of the chain (overlooking Lake Zürich) tends to be steeper than the western side.

The hilltops of the Albis provided several good defensive sites, and were the locations of the castles of Uetliberg, Baldern and Schnabelburg, all of which are now ruined or lost.

Picture gallery

• 
  Hiking trail from Felsenegg to Uetliberg as seen near Balderen.
• 
  So called Fallätsche at Zürich-Leimbach, Wollishofen quarter in the foreground.
• 
  Leimbach (Zürich), lower Sihltal and Albis hills, as seen from Käferberg
• 
  360° panorama from Albis Hochwacht

References

Settlements

Archeological	Centum Prata Pile Dwellings Enge Alpenquai Feldbach Hurden Seefeld Kleiner Hafner Rorenhaab Rosshorn Technikum Vorder Au Winkel Turicum

IslandsRiversValleysMountainsLandmarks

Buildings	Alt Rapperswil Castle Alt Wädenswil Castle Au Castle Bollingen Tower Grynau Castle Heilig Hüsli Pavillon Le Corbusier Pfäffikon Castle Rapperswil Castle Wulp Castle Wurmsbach Abbey
Parks/Resorts	Frauenbad Stadthausquai Zürich Quaianlagen Arboretum Belvoir Park Bürkliplatz Chinagarten Mythenquai Sechseläutenplatz Tiefenbrunnen Utoquai

Transportation

VBZ tram lines	2 4 5 8 9 11 15
Lake Zurich left-bank railway line	S2 S8 S24 S25
Lake Zurich right-bank railway line	S6 S7 S16 S20
Rapperswil–Pfäffikon railway line	S5 S40
Rapperswil–Ziegelbrücke railway line	S4 S6 S17
Railway stations	Altendorf Au ZH Bäch Blumenau Bollingen Erlenbach ZH Feldbach Freienbach SBB Herrliberg-Feldmeilen Horgen Hurden Kempraten Kilchberg Küsnacht Goldbach Küsnacht ZH Lachen Männedorf Meilen Oberrieden Pfäffikon SZ Rapperswil Richterswil Rüschlikon Schmerikon Stäfa Thalwil Uerikon Uetikon Wädenswil Winkel am Zürichsee Zollikon Zürich Stadelhofen Zürich Tiefenbrunnen Zürich Wollishofen

People

Media	Obersee Nachrichten Radio Zürisee Zürichsee-Zeitung