GRIMSEL PASS 2'164 m. A.S.L. MOUNTAIN PASS IN SWITZERLAND

The Grimsel Pass was used as an alpine traverse route way back in Roman times. Its importance as a trading route (Luzern-Milan) is proven by a «Document of Trade» signed 12 August 1397, in which the cantons of Bern and Valais regulated the upkeep of trails and bridges, duties and the running of the Hospiz. Wine, rice, Murano glass etc came northwards and cheese (Sbrinz), leather, iron goods and livestock were brought southwards. The trading route was an important source of income for the residents of the Haslital and Goms, which came to an abrupt end around the end of the 1800s when the Gotthard Railway was opened. The Grimsel pass gained international significance at the end of the 1800s when the famous explorers Horace Bénédict de Saussure and Franz Josef Hugi chose the Grimsel as the centre of their alpine research. The pass road was constructed for horse-drawn wagons in 1894 and they travelled over the pass until 1925 when the KWO Hydroelectric Power Company widened the roads to make construction of their hydro-dams and power plants possible. The canton of Bern continually extended the pass road between 1950 and construction ended on the Bernese side in 1972. The canton of Valais didnt begin widening the road until 1975. Final construction on both sides ended in 1986