Oberaargau at the intersection of the cantons of Berne, Lucerne and Aargau is a core area of traditional irrigation on the Swiss Plateau. Today, irrigation is used in the Langete and Rot valleys and on smaller areas in neighbouring Aargau. Meadow irrigation in the lowlands of the wide valley bottoms has characterised the landscape of the Upper Aargau water meadows in an unmistakable way. Irrigation ditches with many branches dissect the meadows like a network and the sediment deposits from the trickling water have created a finely modelled, gently undulating micro-relief. Gallery-like riparian copses and sparse groups of trees are the formative elements of the typical water mat landscape with its park-like character.
Read more and discover:
Book volume (in German): Traditionelle Bewässerung – ein Kulturerbe Europas, Band 2, Regional Documentation
Book (in German): Wässermatten – Die Wässermatten des Oberaargaus, Valentin Binggeli, 1999, ISBN 3-9070-1235-6
Wässermatten Foundation Website, www.waessermatten.ch
'Rottaler Genussfenster' website, www.rottalerwaessermatten.ch
Flyer (2012) zu den Wässermatten im Oberaargau (.pdf, in German)
Other organisations:
Water mat associations
Gruenholz Water and Farming Co-operative
Wässermatten irrigated meadows: © Werner Stirnimann