Benken between Wetland Landscapes and Cultural Heritage

Benken can be explored through a range of themes: its protected wetland landscapes and habitats for amphibians and other species, sacred culture, and the history of the Linth. There are also museums, hikes and activities along the Linth Canal. If you’re looking for a hotel in Benken, these highlights can help you decide how to spend your days here.

Wetland Landscapes and the History of the Linth

The school nature reserve on 4. Gangstrasse covers around 4 hectares of wetland. It is preserved as a wetland and used as a teaching resource for nature studies. Since 1991, the school nature reserve has been a fen of national importance (site SG1830) and the only original wetland area in the municipality of Benken. On a walk by the school nature reserve, you can see the information board “Dragonflies – Elegant Flying Artists” beside the bench.

Mösli is an amphibian breeding site of national importance (site SG367) and provides a habitat for amphibians. The restoration measures also benefit various dragonflies, the grass snake and the sand lizard. Another information board, “The Linth’s Courses Through History,” stands by the Tschächli care home and provides information about the Linth’s former courses. On Linthbettstrasse, by the turn-off to the forest hut, you’ll find the board “Bats – Secretive Neighbours.”

Sacred Sites, Museums and Carnival

For 500 years, Maria Bildstein on Benkner Büchel has been a place of spiritual strength and tranquillity. The pilgrimage church and the grotto and Stations of the Cross trail, with its various small sacred structures, invite visitors to meditate. The trail is suitable for walkers and wheelchairs. If current trail conditions are important to your plans, check them before your visit. Benken’s parish church was built between 1792 and 1795.

The Bakery Museum dedicates its main exhibition to baking, pastry-making and confectionery; it also displays three drivable vintage cars dating from 1899 to 1924. The Woodworm Sanatorium is a museum of old woodworking tools and equipment. Around 1,200 antique pieces of furniture and farmhouse furniture are currently available there to mix and match. Benken’s carnival includes local traditions such as Chesslätä, Türggä-Buzzi ufzie, Suppälöfflätä, Drägglizug, Türggä-Buzzi-Abzug and Verbrännätä.

Hiking and Time by the Linth Canal

Benken offers hikes for beginners, experienced hikers and experts; many routes pass huts where you can stop for refreshments. A T1 hiking route starts at Benken SG railway station and leads via Uznach to Schmerikon. It is 13.9 km long, takes about 3 hours 35 to 40 minutes, and has 324 m of ascent and 333 m of descent.

The Linth Canal between Lake Walen and Lake Zurich was built around 200 years ago according to plans by Konrad Escher von der Linth. The municipality of Benken’s bathing spots on the Linth Canal are in Giessen on both sides of the Linth, as well as at 5. Gang by the footbridge. Access conditions at the river may vary; check them before swimming. A rubber dinghy trip from Lake Walen to Lake Zurich takes around four hours, depending on the water level; launch and landing points include Giessen. Participation is at your own risk. For planning purposes, the estimated times for the roughly three-and-a-half- to four-hour hike and the approximately four-hour trip on the water are similar, although they are different activities.

Discover more destinations: Schänis, Hintergoldingen, Goldingen, Ernetschwil, Eschenbach, Weesen, Amden, Schmerikon

For the overview of the wider region: See-Gaster.