Thur (Rhine)

The Thur (Swiss Standard German pronunciation: [ˈtuːr]) is a 135-kilometre-long (84 mi) river in north-eastern Switzerland and a tributary of the High Rhine (Hochrhein). The name was first attested in 886 A.D. as Dura. In the 13th century, the spelling Turia appears, and in the 14th century Thûr, Tûr. The name has been interpreted as an Old European hydronym, from *durâ or *duriâ “river” from the Indo-European root *dhu “to run, to hurry”. Turgowe, a village in the Duchy of Alamannia, was named after a body of water. The first mention of the village is slightly older than the earliest mention of the body of water. Around 745, it was cited in the village of Durgaugen. This led to the eventual naming of the canton as Thurgau. The river's source is near Wildhaus in the south-east of the Toggenburg region in the canton of St. Gallen, south of Säntis mountain (Alpstein). Near Unterwasser, it forms two waterfalls.