Thur-Route

A kingfisher darting like an arrow, a silver willow felled by beavers and the call of a cuckoo - the Thur water meadows are bursting with life. The wide river plain is marked by farming, your spokes hum, a wooden bridge links both parts of Andelfingen, castle and colourful timber-framed houses are cheerful. Frauenfeld, cantonal capital and full of its own importance. The Thur, trusted companion on the scenic trip, now near, now far, the river mostly peaceful in its bed.

Over the curved Roman bridge to Bischofszell with its vivid baroque facades. The Thur swings to the west, the silhouette of Wil old town visible from a distance. Now the river burrows into sandstone cliffs, the atmosphere becomes strangely haunting. Toggenburg is a hilly and compact region with many forests, hay farming and scattered farmsteads. Medieval Lichtensteig is followed by the former textile centre of Wattwil with its factory owners’ villas, before the wistful sound of old zithers is heard from the Ackerhus Museum in Ebnat-Kappel.

The mountains appear on the scene: Säntis, Schafberg and the Churfirsten adorn the horizon. The Thur is now a babbling mountain stream in the middle of a pre-Alpine idyll. The tourist resort of Wildhaus nestles in a high valley where the Thur collects its first waters. Views sink deep down into the wide Rheintal. The wheels spin, the air gets warmer and Switzerland’s smallest town awaits you: Werdenberg, with 42 ancient wooden houses, a castle and a tiny lake.