HISTORY OF ZERMATT

Until the year 1500 A.D the history of Zermatt is shouded in darkness. Roman coins found on the Theodol Pass, however, prove that the Theodul Pass
(see image-skimap) served the Romans as a means of access and a military highway to Gaul and Helvetia betveen 200 and 400 B.C. A hundred years after the birth of Christ the people of Zermatt lived in scattered pleasant houses clustered round what is today the site of Zermatt.

The first document mentioning Zermatt with the initial name "Protobornum" originates from 1280. The old seal of the municipality also bears a similar inscription: "Vallis Prato Borni" whose equivalent translation leads to today's "zer matt", which was first discovered on a map dated 1495. In the course of time the people of Zermatt bought their freedom with money, paying for it in an old Swiss currency called "Moersepfund"

The tourism in Zermatt started in 1820. In 1838 vicar Ruden encouraged Dr. Josef Lauber, surgeon, to open the first inn with three beds under the name "Hotel Cervin" (later Monte Rosa)

Hearing the name of Zermatt immediately means thinking of the Matterhorn unforgettable and fascinating for everybody who sees it once. The Matterhorn, this unique and most beautiful mountain of the alps is truly a magnificent monument of nature.


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THE ALPINE MUSEUM

The museum was created in the summer of 1944, but it was not until 1958 it took its new shape that we see today. It has different sections that are deducated to alpine history, geology, flowers, and animals of the Valley of Zermatt. The entries alone (about 18 000 visitors a year) cover the expenses to maintain the Alpine Museeum. In the museum we find alot of photographies, maps and documents from the early days of alpinism in Switzerland.

The first man to ever climb the Matterhorn was Edward Whymper, who on the 14th of July 1865 stood on the top. With him was Rev Charles Hudson, Lord Francis Douglas. There is a special room in the museum with material dedicated to the event. Amoung other famous people that have climbed the impressive mountain around Zermatt, we see a picture and a note from Winston Churchill, who climbed the Monte Rosa with a guide from Zermatt.


© Tobias Tornqvist, SnoWeb.
Last updated 25/1 1996