Jona (river)
Jona between Rüti and Rapperswil -Jona
The Jonah is a river in the Swiss cantons of Zurich and St. Gallen, after the eponymous district of Rapperswil -Jona is named.
From the source to the mouth
The source of Jonah is located on the eastern slope of the Bachtels above Gibswil, in the municipality of fish Thal. After an impressive waterfall that flows through a Jonah Tobel eastward to the forest and changes its direction to the south by a steep-walled canyon ( the Grundtal ), which bridges the Tösstal train (S26 S-Bahn Zurich ) with a viaduct.
After that Jonah flows to the west and forms the border between Durnten and Ruti, flows through Tann and Ruti, where the two streams Joweid village and Black lead to the Flüsslein. Again, the river changes its direction, flowing south ( and slightly meandering ) by Ruti, where by the so-called Joner Wald, largely the railway line (S5 and S15) follows him to the border of Jonah. The river bed here takes several more changes of direction before and crosses among others the Oberland motorway ( A53 ). Now to the municipality of Rapperswil -Jona, the Jonah strives for the Zurich S-Bahn stop Jonah relatively direct route through the Joner municipality, forms a small river delta and flows Busskirch ( Jona SG, the seaside resort of tap) in the upper lake of Zurich.
Communities along the Jona
- In the area of the Canton of Zurich: Fish valley, forest, Durnten, Ruti and
- In the canton of St. Gallen Rapperswil -Jona.
The Jonah as a source of energy and prosperity
Already in the Middle Ages was used in mills, the water power of the small river. As a renewable energy source, the Jonah in the 19th century industrialization, in particular neighboring communities and forest Ruti, and contributed significantly to the prosperity of the region and its textile industry.
Meaning of the name
The river name is Jonah occupied since 834, the eponymous village is mentioned until much later. It is believed that the name either from the Celtic Jauna, the cold ( the Jonah runs still largely forested area ), or is derived from the Indo-European form Yamam (gear, running ), in the definition of watercourse. The latest interpretations go but believe that the name originates from the Indo-European word jeu, which means move about, ie the Old High German name Jouna flow was borrowed as Jonah into German.
Cultural space
Already 812 should be mentioned on a hill right next to the Jonah in the floodplain between the Aspwald and the estuary on the Upper Lake, a former building of the parish church of Jonah. 1259 the building Wydenklösterli were built in a bend of Jonah in Rütiwald, in the former territory of the Counts of Rapperswil, at the community area of the district Jona, near the border with neighboring Ruti. Has received the knowledge of the former monastery through the corridor designation Klosterli whose ruins were rediscovered by chance in 1953. Fragments of a tile stove, for example, exhibited at the City Museum in Rapperswil -Jona, provide an insight into the life of the monastic community.
Flood hazards and
The river was channeled in the center of the hamlet of Jonah. This results in very fast differences concerning the water level. After a thunderstorm, it is very impressive to see the water masses in the Bühlstrasse.