St. Gotthard Pass
Encyclopedia
The Gotthard Pass or St. Gotthard Pass (el. 2106 m) is a high mountain pass
in Switzerland
between Airolo
in the canton
of Ticino
, and Göschenen
in the canton of Uri
, connecting the northern German-speaking part of Switzerland with the Italian-speaking part, along the route onwards to Milan
.
Though the pass was locally known in antiquity, it was not generally used until the early 13th century because it involved fording the turbulent Reuss
, swollen with snowmelt during the early summer, in the narrow steep-sided Schöllenen Gorge
(the Schöllenenschlucht), below Andermatt
. As early as 1236, it was dedicated to the Bavaria
n Saint Gotthard of Hildesheim.
(north) and Ticino
(south). The pass itself is located within the latter canton, about 2 km south of the border with Uri, between the massifs of Pizzo Lucendro
(west) and Pizzo Centrale
(east). The pass lies on the most important route between the southern canton of Ticino and central Switzerland as well as most of the northern part of the country. It is the most direct link between Zürich
and Lugano
and also between some regions of Germany
and Italy
. The nearest towns are Hospental
(7 km north) near Andermatt and Airolo
(4 km south), respectively in the valleys of Urseren and Leventina. The region of Andermatt lies at the foot of the Furka
and Oberalp
passes connecting the Rhone
and Rhine valleys thus making the Gotthard area a strategic place for transports and military (the Swiss Réduit
for instance).
The hospice is located south of the pass at 2,091 m, near the Lago della Piazza and other small lakes. Lago di Lucendro
and Lago Sella are larger reservoir lakes accessible from the pass.
The pass can be reached by crossing the Schöllenenschlucht and several bridges have been built across the River Reuss in order to facilitate this. According to the oral histories of the nearby villages, seasonal deaths resulting from drowning reached a peak in April–May of most years and thus a safer crossing was required . The original bridge (the Teufelsbrücke
) built under these challenging conditions was one of so many "devil's bridge
s" that the legends about them form a category in the Aarne-Thompson classification system
for folktales (number 1191).
The legend of this particular bridge states that the Reuss was so difficult to ford that a Swiss herdsman wished the devil would make a bridge. The Devil appeared, but required that the soul of the first to cross would be given to him. The mountaineer agreed, but drove a goat across ahead of him, fooling his adversary. Angered by this sham, the devil fetched a rock with the intention of smashing the bridge, but an old woman drew a cross on the rock so the devil couldn't lift it anymore. The rock is still there and, in 1977, 300,000 Swiss franc
s were spent to move the 220 ton rock by 127 m in order to make room for the new Gotthard road tunnel.
The bridge permitted traffic to follow the Reuss to its headwaters and over the saddle at the top—a continental divide
between the Rhine, which flows into the North Sea and the Ticino River towards Milan, which after leaving Switzerland flows into the Po River
and ultimately into the Mediterranean Sea
. It carried only foot traffic and pack animals until 1775, when the first carriage
made the journey on an improved road.
Several tunnels provide access through the pass. The 15 km Gotthard Rail Tunnel
was the first and opened in 1882 for railway traffic at a cost of around 200 workers' lives (there is uncertainty as to the exact toll). It replaced the pass road, connecting Göschenen with Airolo.
A 17 km motorway tunnel, the Gotthard Road Tunnel
opened in 1980. It was closed for two months in 2001 following a fatal fire.
A second rail tunnel through the pass, the Gotthard Base Tunnel
, is currently under construction. When completed, it will be the longest rail tunnel in the world at 57 km. This tunnel, combined with two shorter tunnels planned near Zürich
and Lugano
as part of the AlpTransit
initiative, will reduce the 3 hour 40 min rail journey from Zürich
to Milan
by one hour, while increasing the size and number of trains that can operate along the route because the line is nearly level, compared with the spirals of the older tunnel.
The tunnel is expected to have an elevator station for exit at Sedrun.
A number of international artists have been inspired by the dramatic scenery of the St. Gotthard Pass, the Schöllenen Gorge and the Teufelsbrücke.
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
between Airolo
Airolo
Airolo is a municipality in the district of Leventina in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.-History:In the settlement of Madrano, Roman tombs from the 2nd and 3rd Centuries AD were found. They belonged to a Vicus, whose inhabitants probably collected crystal, which was processed in Locarno into...
in the canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of Ticino
Ticino
Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...
, and Göschenen
Göschenen
Göschenen a village in the canton of Uri in Switzerland.-History:Göschenen is first mentioned in 1280 as Geschenden. In 1290 it was mentioned as Gescheldun, then in 1294 as Geschenen and in 1429 as ze Gestinen.-Geography:...
in the canton of Uri
Canton of Uri
Uri is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and a founding member of the Swiss Confederation. It is located in Central Switzerland. The canton's territory covers the valley of the Reuss River between Lake Lucerne and the St. Gotthard Pass. German is the primary language spoken in Uri...
, connecting the northern German-speaking part of Switzerland with the Italian-speaking part, along the route onwards to Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
.
Though the pass was locally known in antiquity, it was not generally used until the early 13th century because it involved fording the turbulent Reuss
Reuss River
The Reuss is a river in Switzerland. With a length of and a drainage basin of , it is the fourth largest river in Switzerland...
, swollen with snowmelt during the early summer, in the narrow steep-sided Schöllenen Gorge
Schöllenen Gorge
Schöllenen Gorge is a gorge located in the Swiss canton of Uri between the towns of Göschenen to the north and Andermatt to the south. It is 5 km long along the Reuss River in central Switzerland, and provides access to the St...
(the Schöllenenschlucht), below Andermatt
Andermatt
Andermatt is a municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland.With Realp and Hospental, it is located in the Urseren valley, south of Altdorf.-Geography:...
. As early as 1236, it was dedicated to the Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n Saint Gotthard of Hildesheim.
Geography
The Gotthard Pass connects the cantons of UriCanton of Uri
Uri is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and a founding member of the Swiss Confederation. It is located in Central Switzerland. The canton's territory covers the valley of the Reuss River between Lake Lucerne and the St. Gotthard Pass. German is the primary language spoken in Uri...
(north) and Ticino
Ticino
Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...
(south). The pass itself is located within the latter canton, about 2 km south of the border with Uri, between the massifs of Pizzo Lucendro
Pizzo Lucendro
Pizzo Lucendro is a 2,963 metres high mountain in the Lepontine Alps, located on the border between the cantons of Uri and Ticino. It overlooks St. Gotthard Pass and Lake Lucendro on its east side....
(west) and Pizzo Centrale
Pizzo Centrale
Pizzo Centrale is a mountain in the Lepontine Alps, located on the border between the cantons of Uri and Ticino. At 2,999 metres above sea level, it is the highest summit overlooking Gotthard Pass from the east. Lago della Sella is located on its southern side...
(east). The pass lies on the most important route between the southern canton of Ticino and central Switzerland as well as most of the northern part of the country. It is the most direct link between Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
and Lugano
Lugano
Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...
and also between some regions of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The nearest towns are Hospental
Hospental
Hospental is a municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland.-History:Hospental is first mentioned in 1285 as Hospenthal. In 1499 it was mentioned under its latin name as Hospicium, and in 1616 as Spithal.-Geography:...
(7 km north) near Andermatt and Airolo
Airolo
Airolo is a municipality in the district of Leventina in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.-History:In the settlement of Madrano, Roman tombs from the 2nd and 3rd Centuries AD were found. They belonged to a Vicus, whose inhabitants probably collected crystal, which was processed in Locarno into...
(4 km south), respectively in the valleys of Urseren and Leventina. The region of Andermatt lies at the foot of the Furka
Furka Pass
Furka Pass is a high mountain pass in the Swiss Alps connecting Gletsch, Valais with Realp, Uri. The Furka-Oberalp-Bahn line through the Furka Tunnel bypasses the pass...
and Oberalp
Oberalp Pass
Oberalp Pass is a high mountain pass in the Swiss Alps connecting the cantons of Graubünden and Uri between Disentis and Andermatt.-Winter closure:...
passes connecting the Rhone
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
and Rhine valleys thus making the Gotthard area a strategic place for transports and military (the Swiss Réduit
National Redoubt (Switzerland)
The Swiss National Redoubt was a defensive plan developed by the Swiss government beginning in the 1880s to respond to foreign invasion. In the opening years of World War II the plan was expanded and refined to deal with a potential German invasion. The German plan, Operation Tannenbaum, was real,...
for instance).
The hospice is located south of the pass at 2,091 m, near the Lago della Piazza and other small lakes. Lago di Lucendro
Lago di Lucendro
Lago di Lucendo is a reservoir at the St. Gotthard Pass in the municipality of Airolo of the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. The dam Lucendro with a height of 73 m was completed in 1947....
and Lago Sella are larger reservoir lakes accessible from the pass.
The Devil's Bridge
Teufelsbrücke
The Teufelsbrücke is a bridge over the Schöllenen Gorge in the Swiss canton of Uri. The bridge provides access to the St. Gotthard Pass by crossing the gorge and the Reuss River below....
) built under these challenging conditions was one of so many "devil's bridge
Devil's Bridge
Devil’s Bridge is a term applied to dozens of ancient bridges, found primarily in Europe. Most of these bridges are stone or masonry arch bridges and represent a significant technological achievement...
s" that the legends about them form a category in the Aarne-Thompson classification system
Aarne-Thompson classification system
The Aarne–Thompson classification system is a system for classifying folktales. First developed by Antti Aarne and published in 1910, it was translated and enlarged by Stith Thompson...
for folktales (number 1191).
The legend of this particular bridge states that the Reuss was so difficult to ford that a Swiss herdsman wished the devil would make a bridge. The Devil appeared, but required that the soul of the first to cross would be given to him. The mountaineer agreed, but drove a goat across ahead of him, fooling his adversary. Angered by this sham, the devil fetched a rock with the intention of smashing the bridge, but an old woman drew a cross on the rock so the devil couldn't lift it anymore. The rock is still there and, in 1977, 300,000 Swiss franc
Swiss franc
The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...
s were spent to move the 220 ton rock by 127 m in order to make room for the new Gotthard road tunnel.
The bridge permitted traffic to follow the Reuss to its headwaters and over the saddle at the top—a continental divide
Continental divide
A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not connected to the open sea...
between the Rhine, which flows into the North Sea and the Ticino River towards Milan, which after leaving Switzerland flows into the Po River
Po River
The Po |Ligurian]]: Bodincus or Bodencus) is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face...
and ultimately into the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. It carried only foot traffic and pack animals until 1775, when the first carriage
Carriage
A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be light,...
made the journey on an improved road.
Tunnels through the Pass
Gotthard Rail Tunnel
The Gotthard Rail Tunnel, is a 15-kilometre long railway tunnel and forms the summit of the Gotthard Railway in Switzerland. It connects Göschenen with Airolo and was the first tunnel through the Gotthard massif...
was the first and opened in 1882 for railway traffic at a cost of around 200 workers' lives (there is uncertainty as to the exact toll). It replaced the pass road, connecting Göschenen with Airolo.
A 17 km motorway tunnel, the Gotthard Road Tunnel
Gotthard Road Tunnel
The St. Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland runs from Göschenen in the Canton of Uri at its northern portal, to Airolo in Ticino to the south, and is just under in length below the St. Gotthard Pass...
opened in 1980. It was closed for two months in 2001 following a fatal fire.
A second rail tunnel through the pass, the Gotthard Base Tunnel
Gotthard Base Tunnel
The Gotthard Base Tunnel is a new railway tunnel beneath the Swiss Alps, expected to open in 2016. With a route length of and a total of of tunnels, shafts and passages, it is the world's longest rail tunnel, surpassing the Japanese Seikan Tunnel....
, is currently under construction. When completed, it will be the longest rail tunnel in the world at 57 km. This tunnel, combined with two shorter tunnels planned near Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
and Lugano
Lugano
Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...
as part of the AlpTransit
AlpTransit
AlpTransit, also known as New Railway Link through the Alps NRLA , is a Swiss federal project aimed to build faster north-south rail links across the Swiss Alps by constructing base tunnels several hundred metres below the level of the current tunnels...
initiative, will reduce the 3 hour 40 min rail journey from Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
to Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
by one hour, while increasing the size and number of trains that can operate along the route because the line is nearly level, compared with the spirals of the older tunnel.
The tunnel is expected to have an elevator station for exit at Sedrun.
Paintings of the pass
See also
- List of highest paved roads in Europe
- List of mountain passes