Brünig-Napf-Reuss line

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The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line. Marked in yellow is the area of High Alemannic German.
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The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line. Marked in yellow is the area of High Alemannic German.
Alemannia and Burgundy in ca. 1000 AD. The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line runs approximately between Alemannia (orange) and Argovia (striated, disputed territory).
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Alemannia and Burgundy in ca. 1000 AD. The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line runs approximately between Alemannia (orange) and Argovia (striated, disputed territory).

The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line forms a geographical boundary in traditional Swiss culture (Kulturgrenze). Running from the Brünig Pass along the Napf region to the Reuss River (which joins the Aare at Brugg), it partly separates western (Bernese German) and eastern (Zurich German) varieties of High Alemannic, although some places east of the line belong to the western dialect group (Schwyz, Zug). The line runs across the cantons of Lucerne and Aargau.

Some historians argue that this cultural boundary is of greater importance historically than the French-German language boundary (the Röstigraben). The line coincides with the traditional distribution of Simmental Cattle (west) vs. Braunvieh (east).

The High Alemannic regions west of the line correspond to medieval Argovia, the marches between Burgundy and Alemannia.

East of the Brünig-Napf-Reuss line:

West of the Brünig-Napf-Reuss line:

[edit] See also

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