The river Reuss

The river Reuss is a tributary of the river Aar, which is itself a tributary of the river Rhine. The length of the Reuss is 160 km, making it the fourth river of Switzerland by the length, after the Rhine, Aar and Rhone.

The main sources of the Reuss are the Gotthard-Reuss and the Furka-Reuss. The Gotthard-Reuss has its source near the Gotthard pass (German: Gotthardpass, French: col du Saint-Gothard, Italian: Passo del San Gottardo) at an altitude of about 2100m. The Furka-Reuss has its source near the Furka pass (German: Furkapass, French: col de la Furka, Italian: Passo della Furka) at an altitude of about 2430m.

The confluence of the Gotthard-Reuss and the Furka-Reuss is located in Hospental at an altitude of about 1450m. 3km further down, in Andermatt, the Unteralp-Reuss adds its water to the Reuss.

Then the Reuss flows through the Schöllenen canyon, which was a major hindrance to access the Gotthard pass throughout the middle ages, until the famous devil's bridge was built.


After the Schöllenen canyon, the Reuss passes Göschenen and Wassen where the Meienreuss, coming from the Sustenpass, adds its water to the Reuss. Wassen is known for the famous loops of the Gotthard railway. After Wassen, the Reuss feeds a little reservoir, the Pfaffensprung Stausee. Further it passes Gurtnellen, Amsteg, Erstfeld, Altdorf, Flüelen and then the Reuss feeds the Lake of Lucerne (German: Vierwaldstättersee, French: lac des 4 cantons).


The outflow of the Lake of Lucerne, again the river Reuss, is located in the city of Lucerne with the famous wooden bridge "Kapellbrücke" and the water tower. Later the Reuss passes Buchrain, Gisikon, Bremgarten AG, Meilingen, Windisch (Latin: Vindonissa) site of an ancient Roman Castra.



The confluence of the Reuss into the Aar is located on the limit between Windisch and Vogelsang in the Water Castle of Switzerland (German: Wasserschloss).

See also the Hydrology of the river Reuss (September 2012).