Goldau
{{Short description|City in the community of Arth, canton of Schwyz, Switzerland}}
File:Rigi-Scheidegg-from-Goldau-.jpg
Goldau is a town in the community of Arth, canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. It lies between the Rigi and Rossberg mountains, and between lakes Zug and Lauerz.
Well known attractions include the Natur- und Tierpark Goldau{{cite web | url = http://www.tierpark.ch | title = Natur und Tierpark Goldau | publisher = Natur und Tierpark Goldau | language = German | accessdate = 7 September 2015}} and the Arth-Goldau valley station of the Arth-Rigi Bahn connecting to the Rigi mountain.
Goldau is primarily known in Switzerland for its historic landslide, the "Goldau landslide" (Goldauer Bergsturz) of 1806 which killed 457 people. It is also known for its importance for the Swiss railways network, with Arth-Goldau station forming the intersection between the Gotthard, Lucerne, Zug–Zürich and Pfäffikon lines.
Goldau landslide
File:ETH-BIB-Arth-Goldau v. S. O. aus 1000 m-Inlandflüge-LBS MH01-001778.tif (1919)]]
There were numerous historical landslides in Goldau, with a major event, more significant than the 1806 landslide, dated to the 14th century.
The toponym itself, first recorded in 1353, refers to the remnants of these landslides, from a dialectal gol, goleten "gravel, rubble, debris".Helen Probst, Gold, Gol, Goleten: Studien zu schweizerischen Ortsnamen (1936), Schweizerisches Idiotikon (1887) II, [https://digital.idiotikon.ch/idtkn/id2.htm#!page/20215/mode/1up 216].
On September 2, 1806 heavy rains triggered a landslide from the Rossberg which destroyed Goldau and the adjacent villages of Buosingen, Röthen and Lauerz. The landslide comprised {{convert|40|e6m3|e6cuyd|abbr=unit}} of material, with a mass of {{convert|120|e6t|e6ST e6LT|sigfig=3|abbr=unit}}.[http://www.angewandte-geologie.ch/Dokumente/Archiv/Vol11_2/112_1Bollinger.pdf The 1806 Goldau landslide] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706221425/http://www.angewandte-geologie.ch/Dokumente/Archiv/Vol11_2/112_1Bollinger.pdf |date=2011-07-06 }} Bull Angew Geol 2006; 11(2):3-12.Brockhaus' Konversations-Lexikon. 14th ed., Leipzig, Berlin and Vienna 1894; Vol. 8, p. 125
Part of the mass hit Lake Lauerz (which had been created by an even larger landslide in the 14th century), and the resulting tsunami-like displacement wave caused more devastation towards Seewen. The event destroyed 111 houses, 220 barns, and two churches in a disaster area of about {{convert|20|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, parts of which were covered with debris to a height of {{convert|30|-|70|m}}. It resulted in the confirmed death of 457 people.
The disaster inspired the epic poem Goldau by American writer John Neal in 1818.{{cite thesis | last = Richards | first = Irving T. | date = 1933 | title = The Life and Works of John Neal | type = PhD | publisher = Harvard University | url = http://id.lib.harvard.edu/alma/990038995990203941/catalog | oclc = 7588473 | pages = 215–216}} A museum outside the Natur- und Tierpark exhibits findings and photos of the event.{{cite web | url = http://www.bergsturz.ch/ | title = Willkommen im Bergsturzmuseum Goldau | publisher = Bergsturzmuseum Goldau | language = German | accessdate = 7 September 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190426065219/http://www.bergsturz.ch/ | archive-date = 26 April 2019 | url-status = dead }}
Sport
SC Goldau is the city's football club.
References
File:6650 - Goldau - View from Rigi Kulm.JPG
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External links
- [http://www.arth-online.ch Arth-Online]
- [http://www.arth-online.ch/bergsturz/index2.html Landslide Museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060205222632/http://www.arth-online.ch/bergsturz/index2.html |date=2006-02-05 }}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100410035118/http://www.rigi.ch/en/welcome.cfm Rigi area website]
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{{coord|47|2|53|N|8|32|59|E|region:CH-SZ_type:city|display=title}}
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