Greifensee, Lake between Uster District and Zürich, Switzerland

Greifensee is a lake in the canton of Zürich, about 6 km long and 1.6 km at its widest, narrowing to under 800 m in the middle so that its outline resembles a fish, with the northern end as the head. It lies in a hollow shaped by the Linth glacier between the Pfannenstiel ridge to the west and the Zürcher Oberland to the east; the shores are flat and there are no islands. The old town of Greifensee is the only settlement directly on the water.

The area surrounding the lake shows evidence of human settlement from prehistoric times, particularly from the Bronze Age with important archaeological finds. These discoveries indicate that people have relied on the waters and surrounding resources for thousands of years.

The lake was called Glattsee in medieval times; the name Greifensee first belonged to the 12th-century fort of the counts of Rapperswil and was transferred to the water by the 16th century. In 1898 Robert Walser published a feuilleton titled "Greifen Lake", whose narrator picks it over Lake Zurich. Since 1972 the Greifenseelauf half-marathon has run from Uster around the shore each early autumn.

The lake lies about 11 km east of Zürich, separated from Lake Zurich by the Pfannenstiel ridge. The shores are largely unbuilt and protected, with only a few accessible spots, so most visitors walk or cycle the loop around the water. Private motorboats are banned; swimming is possible at several lidos, and campsites sit on the western shore.

The lake was called Glattsee in medieval times; the name Greifensee first belonged to a fort built by the counts of Rapperswil in the 12th century and was transferred to the water only by the 16th century. In 1898 Robert Walser published a feuilleton titled "Greifen Lake", whose narrator picks this lake over the larger Lake Zurich.