Brünig-Napf-Reuss line

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The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line. Marked in yellow is the area of High Alemannic German.

Alemannia and Burgundy, circa AD 1000. The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line runs approximately between Alemannia (orange) and Argovia (striated, disputed territory).

The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line forms a geographical boundary in traditional Swiss culture (Kulturgrenze). Running from the Brünig Pass along the Napf region to the Reuss River (which joins the Aare at Brugg), it partly separates western (Bernese German) and eastern (Zurich German) varieties of High Alemannic, although some places east of the line belong to the western dialect group (Schwyz, Zug). The line runs across the cantons of Lucerne and Aargau.

Some historians argue that this cultural boundary is of greater importance historically than the French-German language boundary (the Röstigraben).^{[citation needed]} The line coincides with the traditional distribution of Simmental Cattle (west) vs. Braunvieh (east). The line also corresponds to the frontline during the Swiss peasant war of 1653.

The High Alemannic regions west of the line correspond to medieval Argovia, the marches between Burgundy and Alemannia.

East of the Brünig-Napf-Reuss line:

• Schwyz
• St. Gallen
• Zug
• Zürich

West of the Brünig-Napf-Reuss line:

• Aarau
• Berne
• Liestal
• Solothurn

See also

• Swiss people
• Röstigraben

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