You may cross many bridges

From Emmenmatt station, you can reach the opposite bank of the river via an underpass and the Emme bridge. North of the bridge, the Ilfis flows into the Emme, coming from the Entlebuch region. The hike continues southward in the shade of the riverside vegetation along the «Experience Trail Emme». Over the Brunnmatt bridge, a typical covered Emmental wooden bridge, you return to the other side of the river. The path runs directly along the Emme; signs provide information about topics related to water. The next interesting structure is passed under at Schüpbach: the proud Schüpbach bridge from 1839, a successor to the «Nüwe Brügg» of 1550. After reinforcement in 1934, the bridge is still drivable today without weight restrictions. Passing a large sawmill, the path then runs through the Schachen to the Bubenei bridge, a crossing from the 1980s. To preserve the landscape, a wooden construction was chosen here as well, although it cost 50 percent more than a reinforced concrete bridge. Next follows a river loop bordered on one side by sandstone cliffs – it is hard to imagine that goods were once transported here on timber rafts all the way to Aargau and Basel. After Aeschau, the trail leaves the Emme for a bit. A small road cuts the big river and road loop, leading over Horben directly to the Horben bridge, over which you cross the Emme bank once again. Bypassing the valley road, you reach the Dieboldswil wooden bridge via Zimmerzei. Finally, at Unterschachen, a last side change but not the last bridge crossing: upon arriving at Eggiwil, you cross the Rötibach via the Dörflibrücke – also, of course, a beautiful wooden construction!

Background: The Emme is the namesake for the Emmental, a defining landscape element, economic foundation, cultural symbol, and ecological treasure all at once. However, the Emme is also feared for its sudden and severe floods. Particularly notorious is the flood of August 1837, which Jeremias Gotthelf processed literarily in his story «The Flood in the Emmental».