Matterhorn Museum
Encyclopedia
The Matterhorn Museum in Zermatt
is a cultural-natural museum
whose main theme is the Matterhorn
. The museum is in the form of a reconstituted mountain village consisting of 14 houses (church, hotel, huts and granaries), and relates the history and development of tourism
in the Zermatt area, including the story of the first ascent of the Matterhorn by Edward Whymper
and party.
The museum displays one of the two stones that Claude Nicollier
took from the summit and brought with him on the Space Shuttle Endeavour
STS-61
mission in 1993. The other stone was put back on the summit.
Zermatt
Zermatt is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a population of about 5,800 inhabitants....
is a cultural-natural museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
whose main theme is the Matterhorn
Matterhorn
The Matterhorn , Monte Cervino or Mont Cervin , is a mountain in the Pennine Alps on the border between Switzerland and Italy. Its summit is 4,478 metres high, making it one of the highest peaks in the Alps. The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points...
. The museum is in the form of a reconstituted mountain village consisting of 14 houses (church, hotel, huts and granaries), and relates the history and development of tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
in the Zermatt area, including the story of the first ascent of the Matterhorn by Edward Whymper
Edward Whymper
Edward Whymper , was an English illustrator, climber and explorer best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. On the descent four members of the party were killed.-Early life:...
and party.
The museum displays one of the two stones that Claude Nicollier
Claude Nicollier
Claude Nicollier is the first astronaut from Switzerland, and has flown on four Space Shuttle missions. His first spaceflight was in 1992, and his final spaceflight was in 1999. He took part in two servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope...
took from the summit and brought with him on the Space Shuttle Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States. Endeavour was the fifth and final spaceworthy NASA space shuttle to be built, constructed as a replacement for Challenger...
STS-61
STS-61
STS-61 was the first Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, and the fifth flight of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The mission launched on 2 December 1993 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission restored the spaceborne observatory's vision, marred by spherical aberration, with the...
mission in 1993. The other stone was put back on the summit.