Wild nature at the Old Aare

From the station in Aarberg, it goes through the town center towards the Old Aare, where the namesake nature reserve soon begins. There are marked hiking trails on both sides of the water – this tour initially follows the east bank of the Old Aare. After a short time, you reach a pond that once served as a clarifying basin for the wash water of the Aarberg sugar factory. Here begins the natural floodplain forest. The wilderness in the untouched areas of the Old Aare is extraordinary: mighty bushes, pine groves, interesting flora, water insects, beaver lodges, and a rich bird world delight the hikers. Near the Kappelen bridge, the peace is initially disturbed due to the nearby highway and kart track, but soon you will be enchanted again by the floodplain landscape. A beautifully laid-out hiking trail leads to the outskirts of Lyss. At the turnoff to Busswil, you cross a piece of farmland before continuing again along the floodplain forest to Studen. At the adventure world Seeteufel, you turn left towards the village. After crossing the Old Aare, the route runs in the Grien on the right close to the Old Aare and to the destination Dotzigen.

Background: In the Middle Ages, Aarberg was an important market place at a strategically important crossing of the Aare. The city was surrounded by a city wall and consisted of two rows of wooden houses grouped around a market. The Old Aare in its current form was shaped by humans. The unique landscape is a direct result of the first Jura water correction between 1868 and 1891. At that time, the Aare between Aarberg and Meienried was reduced to a small watercourse – the present Old Aare. With the revitalization of the floodplains along the Old Aare, new ponds, pools, and floodplains have emerged where numerous, partly highly endangered animals and plants have settled.