Enjoyable through Freiamt

Explore the Swiss cheese landscape with cheezy . Our Tour de Suisse cheese box takes you through the canton of Aargau in September. During the hike, you can visit the Berglinde cheese dairy and the Künten cheese dairy, which produce the "Biocella", the "Bierchäsli" and the "Berglinde" from the current Tour de Suisse cheese box . A hiking report by Jürg Studer:

The hike through Freiamt from Buttwil to Künten is a delightful experience. The uninterrupted view of ripe fruit trees and clear mountain views are (almost) guaranteed in the fall.

The tour starts above Muri in the Reuss Valley in Buttwil - Käserei Berglinde
There is also a cheese dairy here, right next to the Postbus station, which receives cow, sheep, goat and, as a specialty, water buffalo milk from the numerous farms in the area. Cheesemaker Beat Meier was the first to import water buffalo, with the help of friends, and processes the milk. The peace-loving and frugal animals now belong to the Villiger-Kneubühler family from Sins.

The fat-rich milk gives the cheese, which is stored for five to six months, a particularly full flavor. The production process can be observed through a window from the "Berglinde" store, derived from the Lindenberg. As many specialties from the counter appeal to me, I pack a lot of them in my rucksack. However, weight doesn't play a role on this hike, as the path is almost all downhill.

The hike continues into the Reuss valley
Passing the simple Jakobskapelle chapel, which is of course on the Jakobsweg trail, you reach the edge of the village after a good 500 meters and have a magnificent view of the Reuss valley, the other side of the valley with the Albis, but also of the Lägern or towards central Switzerland. The route leads across the open field directly to Muri Abbey. The sacred building with its adjoining former Benedictine abbey and extensive outbuildings is now used for events and is home to cultural assets of national importance.

Hikers should definitely make a stop here. Through small hamlets and a section of forest, you reach the Reuss below Oberlunkhofen, the lowest point of the U-shaped valley formed by the Reuss glacier. The renaturalized meadowland to the left and right of the river and the shallow lake immediately after the municipalities of Rottenschwil and Unterlunkhofen are important biotopes for ground nesting and migratory birds - around 50 bird species can be spotted with binoculars or a telephoto lens. After the Reuss, which meanders through the valley, was squeezed into a narrow riverbed, the adjacent river meanders have become central to the animals and plants.

Next stop: Bremgarten
Hikers follow the Reuss for around an hour and a half - along the left bank to the Dominilochsteg, an old covered wooden bridge. Along the right bank of the Reuss, which makes two large loops, you reach Bremgarten. By now we have made friends with the river loops and are not surprised that our hiking trail also "winds" through Bremgarten. It would be a shame to cross the little town without admiring the weir, the wooden bridge or the pretty timber-framed buildings. Our route is on the eastern side of the river.

Visit to the Künten cheese dairy
Below Künten, we follow the Alte Reuss for a while, where it makes numerous bends, before heading to Künten. Here, the Biocella Bio from Chäsi Künten promises refreshment for the journey home. Fabian Spielhofer and his team produce twenty of their own creations and ten different raclettes from 2.8 million kilograms of milk in the 160-year-old cheese dairy. No wonder he raves about the best job of all that he is allowed to do. Short sections of this hike follow one of the three Freiämter trails. The mountain, valley and east routes are linked together to form a circular tour, or you can use public transport to discover and hike the landscape and cultural treasures along the 190 kilometers.

The most important facts in brief
25.95 km, 6:24 h, 308 m up and 519 m down. The current tour leads through Freiamt along the Reuss and through numerous natural beauties.

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