Erlenbach, Pfannenstiel, Natur, Meilen and Friedberg

12 April 2026

The shores of the Zürichsee (Lake Zurich) were shaped during the advance of the Rhine and Linth glaciers in the last Ice Age. The lake owes its very existence largely to the melting of these glaciers. Lake Zurich and its flora and fauna have experienced several ecological lows over the past 150 years.

Due to intensive development along the shores and pollution, a large part of the natural habitat on land and in the lake has been lost. In recent years, however, water quality and the recovery of nature on land have improved spectacularly – to the benefit of both people and the flora and fauna.

It is not yet perfect, but human interference with nature has been reduced to an acceptable level, given the high density of development and the intensive recreational and agricultural use of the area. The greatest threat today comes from so-called ‘exotics’ – animals and plants from other continents, such as American crayfish.

In the village of Erlenbach, situated a few kilometres further up the valley, little of this is yet apparent. The stream of the same name has flowed towards the lake for thousands of years and joins Lake Zurich at Meilen.

This strategic location did not go unnoticed by the local rulers. Around the year 1200, they built Friedberg Castle. Around 1350, the castle was destroyed and not rebuilt.

The Pfannenstiel

The Greifensee and Uster

The Schnebelhorn

At another strategic point stands the Pfannenstiel Hotel and Restaurant, offering magnificent views of the Alps, Lake Greifensee, Uster and the Schnebelhorn (1,291 m), the highest mountain in the canton of Zurich.

(Source and further information: Gemeinde Meilen)

Meilen

Wasserfels, former waterpower plant and textile industry

Ortsmuseum Meilen

And surroundings