
View from Hochwacht Tower near Albis Pass
Hochwacht, Albis, Langnau am Albis, Switzerland
20th of June 2008, 7:30am, local summer time
© 2008 Erich Nussbaumer, All Rights Reserved.
Hochwacht on Albis
What do you do if you don't have enough elevation to see what you want to see? You build a tower.
This has been practiced in Switzerland already centuries ago. There used to be a chain of watch towers, so called Hochwacht, which allowed observation of the countryside, to aid the defence of towns.
One of these towers used to be close to todays Albispass in Langnau am Albis. In the same spot, a new tower was built in 1978, obviously not for military reasons but as a viewing platform which gives a great panorama over the near lakes and mountains. Zoom in at the start position and move to the right to see the alps close up.
This panorama was taken on the top platform. Looking at the panorama, it becomes clear why this tower at this elevation had great meaning in the olden days.
Unfortunately we can't choose the weather - plenty of clouds over Zurich and the lake of Zurich
Lat: 47° 15' 59.04" N
Long: 8° 31' 54.12" E
Elevation: 789m at Ground Level. Unsure how high the tower is
Precision is: High. Pinpoints the exact spot.







