  The dehydration of CuCl2*2(H2O) to CuCl2 leads to a dramatic change in
magnetic behavior and ground state. Combining density functional electronic
structure and model calculations with thermodynamical measurements we reveal
the microscopic origin of this unexpected incident -- a crystal water driven
switching of the magnetically active orbitals. This switching results in a
fundamental change of the coupling regime from a three-dimensional
antiferromagnet to a quasi one-dimensional behavior. CuCl2 can be well
described as a frustrated J1-J2 Heisenberg chain with ferromagnetic exchange J1
and J2/J1 ~ -1.5 for which a helical ground state is predicted.
