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58-644: Grindelwald village is 1,034 m (3,392 ft) above sea level . Mentioned for the first time in 1146, it has become an important tourist destination of both Switzerland and the Alps since the golden age of alpinism in the 19th century. It is overlooked by a section of the Bernese Alps from the Wetterhorn to the Eiger , which creates a natural barrier. Together with the adjacent valley of Lauterbrunnen ,

116-443: A Fachhochschule ). Of the 302 who completed tertiary schooling, 57.9% were Swiss men, 24.5% were Swiss women, 9.3% were non-Swiss men and 8.3% were non-Swiss women. The Canton of Bern school system provides one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten , followed by six years of primary school. This is followed by three years of obligatory lower secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude. Following

174-543: A 7-foot pyramid to anchor a flagpole. Hugi stayed behind somewhat above the saddle not daring to cross a steep slope, partly because he had twisted an ankle four weeks earlier. On the way back Hugi's ankle played up and Leuthold, Währen and Joseph Zemt took turns carrying him down the glacier. Hugi's account makes no mention of evidence of an earlier ascent. In articles of 1881 and 1908, the mountaineers and leading historians of Alpine exploration Gottlieb Studer and W.A.B. Coolidge , respectively, declared to be convinced that

232-604: A Swiss heritage site of national significance . The land around the Kleine Scheidegg is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites . Both Jungfraubahn and Kleine Scheidegg are shared between the municipalities of Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen . In the 2011 federal election , the most popular party was the Swiss People's Party (SVP) which received 54.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were

290-541: A gateway to the Jungfrau-Aletsch protected area . The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules on a Bar Argent a Semi Chamois rampant issuant Sable between seven, 4-3, Mullets of the second. Grindelwald was first mentioned in 1146 as Grindelwalt . This designation is probably derived from the Old High German words "grintil" (bar, barrier) and "walt" (forest), thus describing the nature of

348-478: A mother language different from the classroom language. The municipality had 12 primary classes and 187 students. Of the primary students, 15.0% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 12.8% had a mother tongue different from the classroom language. During the same year, there were six lower secondary classes with a total of 99 students. There were 8.1% who were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 5.1% who had

406-635: A mother tongue different from the classroom language. As of 2000, there were 20 students in Grindelwald who came from another municipality, while 39 residents attended schools outside the municipality. Grindelwald is home to the Bibliothek Grindelwald library. The library has (as of 2008) 6,144 books or other media, and loaned out 10,777 items in the same year. It was open a total of 136 days with average of 6.5 hours per week during that year. AMSL Height above mean sea level

464-435: A rate of −1.3%. Migration accounted for 0.2%, while births and deaths accounted for −1.7%. Most of the population (as of 2000) spoke German (3,531 or 86.8%) as their first language, Portuguese is the second most common (183 or 4.5%) and French was the third (69 or 1.7%). There were 60 people who speak Italian and four people who spoke Romansh . As of 2008, the population was 50.1% male and 49.9% female. The population

522-462: A total of 1,581 apartments (44.9% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 1,750 apartments (49.6%) were seasonally occupied and 194 apartments (5.5%) were empty. As of 2010, the construction rate of new housing units was 13.1 new units per 1000 residents. The historical population is given in the following chart: The Jungfraubahn , a mountain railway up the Jungfrau mountain, is listed as

580-480: A total of 2,714 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 334 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 130 businesses involved in this sector. 393 people were employed in the secondary sector , and there were 51 businesses in this sector. 1,987 people were employed in the tertiary sector , with 229 businesses in this sector. There were 2,403 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 45.4% of

638-415: A world heritage site. On 31 December 2009, Amtsbezirk Interlaken, the municipality's former district, was dissolved. On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Interlaken-Oberhasli. Grindelwald has a population (as of December 2020) of 3,800. As of 2010, 18.0% of the population are resident foreign nationals. In the period from 2000 to 2010, the population changed at

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696-503: Is a mountain lying on the border between the cantons of Bern and Valais . It is the highest mountain of the Bernese Alps and the most prominent peak of Switzerland . The Finsteraarhorn is the ninth-highest mountain and third-most prominent peak in the Alps . In 2001 the whole massif and surrounding glaciers were designated as part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch World Heritage Site. Despite being

754-460: Is a measure of a location's vertical distance ( height , elevation or altitude ) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level . In geodesy , it is formalized as orthometric height . The zero level varies in different countries due to different reference points and historic measurement periods. Climate change and other forces can cause sea levels and elevations to vary over time. Elevation or altitude above sea level

812-579: Is a standard measurement for: Elevation or altitude is generally expressed as " metres above mean sea level" in the metric system , or " feet above mean sea level" in United States customary and imperial units . Common abbreviations in English are: For elevations or altitudes, often just the abbreviation MSL is used, e.g., Mount Everest (8849 m MSL), or the reference to sea level is omitted completely, e.g., Mount Everest (8849 m). Altimetry

870-549: Is also a popular summer activity resort with many miles of hiking trails across the Alps. The first person to ski there was Englishman, Gerald Fox (who lived at Tone Dale House ) who put his skis on in his hotel bedroom in 1881 and walked out through the hotel bar to the slopes wearing them. In Grindelwald, about 1,647 or (40.5%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education , and 302 or (7.4%) have completed additional higher education (either university or

928-424: Is settled (buildings or roads), 1.37 km (0.53 sq mi) or 0.8% is either rivers or lakes, and 89.21 km (34.44 sq mi) or 52.1% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.0% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.6%. Out of the forested land, 12.9% of the total land area is heavily forested, and 2.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of

986-621: Is split between the municipalities of Fieschertal (Valais) and Guttannen (Bern). The Valais–Bern border is also the watershed between the Rhône ( Mediterranean Sea ) and Rhine ( North Sea ) rivers. The Finsteraarhorn is the culminating point of the Rhine drainage basin . The Finsteraarhorn was dethroned by Monte Rosa as the highest summit of Switzerland when Valais joined the Swiss Confederation in 1815. The Finsteraarhorn

1044-701: Is the Ice cap climate zone. Grindelwald railway station , in the centre of Grindelwald village, is served by trains of the Berner Oberland Bahn (BOB), which run to Interlaken , and by trains of the Wengernalpbahn (WAB), which run to Kleine Scheidegg and on to Wengen and Lauterbrunnen . At Kleine Scheidegg, a connection can be made with the Jungfraubahn , which ascends inside the Eiger to

1102-765: Is the culminating point of the Aarmassif , a geologic crystalline massif which crops out in the eastern Bernese Alps and Urner Alps . The massif belongs to the Helvetic zone and consists of rocks from the European continent, mainly granites and gneisses . The summit itself is composed of amphibolites . The tectonic uplift of the massif occurred late in the alpine orogeny, during the Oligocene , 30 to 40 million years ago. The inelastic deformation of rocks led to many fractures and formation of hydrothermal crystals by

1160-476: Is the measurement of altitude or elevation above sea level. Common techniques are: Accurate measurement of historical mean sea levels is complex. Land mass subsidence (as occurs naturally in some regions) can give the appearance of rising sea levels . Conversely, markings on land masses that are uplifted (due to geological processes) can suggest a relative lowering of mean sea level. Finsteraarhorn The Finsteraarhorn (4,274 m (14,022 ft))

1218-680: The Alpine Club . The most difficult route to the summit, the north-east face, was opened on 16 July 1904 by G. Hasler and his guide F. Amatter. The ascent marked the beginning of the épopée of the great north faces in the Bernese Alps. In fact the north-east face of the Finsteraarhorn was climbed only 11 times between 1904 and 1977. A third ascent was made on 3 September 1930 by Miriam O'Brien Underhill with guides A. and F. Rubi. She relates this dangerous ascent in her book Give Me

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1276-772: The Conservative Democratic Party (BDP) (14.8%), the FDP.The Liberals (8.8%) and the Green Party (6.9%). In the federal election, a total of 1,194 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 44.4%. The principal commercial artery of Grindelwald is the Dorfstrasse, which is the prolongation of the Grindelwaldstrasse, the main access road of the village. As of  2011, Grindelwald had an unemployment rate of 1.48%. As of 2008, there were

1334-472: The Grosse Scheidegg , at nearly 2,000 metres above sea level. Long famed as a winter tourist destination with slopes for beginners, intermediates and the challenges of the Eiger glacier for the experienced, there are activities for the non-skiers, from tobogganing to groomed winter hiking tracks. It is the usual starting point for ascents of the Eiger and the Wetterhorn . Nowadays Grindelwald

1392-416: The Grosse Scheidegg , respectively "minor watershed" and "major watershed" are the two main passes of the valley. Grindelwald has an area of 171.33 km (66.15 sq mi). Of this area, 49.47 km (19.10 sq mi) or 28.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 28.02 km (10.82 sq mi) or 16.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.06 km (1.18 sq mi) or 1.8%

1450-475: The Jungfrau the previous year. They approached the mountain via the Oberaarjoch, Studer glacier, and south-east ridge, which is a more difficult and longer route than the current normal route over the north-west ridge. Meyer became exhausted and remained behind after reaching the ridge, perhaps near P. 3883 ( Meyer's Peak ). Huber kept him company, while the three other guides went on and purportedly reached

1508-703: The Jungfraujoch . Besides Grindelwald station, there are eight other railway stations within the municipality of Grindelwald. These are Burglauenen , Grindelwald Terminal , and Schwendi on the BOB; Grindelwald Grund , Brandegg and Alpiglen on the WAB; and Eigerwand and Eismeer on the Jungfraubahn. The Gondelbahn Grindelwald-Männlichen connects Grindelwald with the Männlichen and with onward travel on

1566-601: The Luftseilbahn Wengen-Männlichen offers an alternative route to Wengen . The recently built Eiger Express, connects directly Grindelwald to Eigergletscher , on the Jungfraubahn. Both Männlichen and Eiger Express cable transport start at the Grindelwald Terminal. Both mountain locations of First and Pfingstegg are also accessible by cable transport. In addition, during the summer season, buses run from Grindelwald to Meiringen via

1624-533: The 19th century, an ascent of the Wetterhorn marking the beginning of the golden age of alpinism . The ascent of the north face of the Eiger, in 1938, was also a milestone in mountaineering history. The Grindelwald road was built in 1860–72, and the Bernese Oberland railway reached the village in 1890, both of which transformed an arduous journey into a simple trip and allowed tourists to flood into

1682-651: The English alpinist W. A. B. Coolidge (1912) and in the Unesco research program Man and Biosphere of the Geographical Institute of the University of Bern on the effects of tourism (1979–1984). The municipality is quite large and is divided into seven mountain communities. However the municipality is dominated by the large tourist center of Grindelwald, slightly above the Black Lütschine ,

1740-531: The Grindlewald valley in 1191. His victory allowed him to expand Zähringen power into the Oberland, to expand the city of Thun and found the city of Bern . Beginning in the 13th century, Interlaken Monastery began to purchase rights and land in Grindelwald and eventually forced the local nobles out of the valley. The Monastery continued to exert influence in the village and in 1315 and again in 1332 ordered

1798-731: The Meyer expedition had been successful. However, John Percy Farrar concluded in 1913 in an article in the Alpine Journal that the guides in 1812 must have reached the 4,167 m high shoulder 200 m south of the true summit, which he considered nevertheless a feat half a century ahead of its time. The fifth ascent took place on August 13, 1857. It was the first British ascent, made by John Frederick Hardy, William Mathews , Benjamin St John Attwood-Mathews, John Clough Williams-Ellis and Edward Shirley Kennedy , accompanied by

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1856-477: The agricultural land, 5.1% is pastures and 23.8% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 6.6% is unproductive vegetation, 24.0% is too rocky for vegetation, and 21.6% of the land is covered by glaciers. The highest peaks of the valley, from the Wellhorn and Wetterhorn to the Eiger and Mönch , are part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch protected area ,

1914-453: The deposition of the saturated water flowing inside. The first ascent was long a controversial matter. The first attempt was made on 16 August 1812 by the Aargau merchant Rudolph Meyer  [ de ] , guided by the locals Kaspar Huber, Arnold Abbühl, Joseph Bortes and Aloys Volker. Bortes and Volker, guiding Meyer's father  [ de ] and uncle, had been the first to climb

1972-661: The east lie the Great Aar Glaciers . The smaller Lower Grindelwald Glacier lies north of the massif. The Finsteraarhorn is surrounded by the summits of the Schreckhorn and Lauteraarhorn to the north, the Gross Fiescherhorn , Grünhorn and Gross Wannenhorn to the west and the Oberaarhorn to the east. The summit lies on the border between the cantons of Valais and Bern . Politically, it

2030-560: The guides Auguste Simond and Jean Baptiste Croz from Chamonix, Johann Jaun the Elder from Meiringen, Aloys Bortis from Fiesch and the porter Alexander Guntern from Biel in Goms. They left Konkordiaplatz at 2:30 pm, reaching the summit at exactly 11:53 pm. Before ascending the mountain, Mathews already mentioned his idea of a club for alpinists. On the summit of the Finsteraarhorn the climbers decided to found such an association, which would be named

2088-488: The late 19th and 20th centuries to allow tourists to explore the mountains, notably the Wetterhorn Elevator , one of the first modern aerial tramways. Today, almost the entire economy of Grindelwald is based on tourism. The V-cableway , inaugurated in 2020, is the last major development in the valley. The Grindelwald region has been the subject of scientific investigations, including in the "Alpine Studies" by

2146-409: The lower secondary, students may attend additional schooling, or they may enter an apprenticeship . During the 2010–11 school year, there were a total of 341 students attending classes in Grindelwald. There were three kindergarten classes with a total of 55 students in the municipality. Of the kindergarten students, 27.3% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 20.0% had

2204-536: The main river of the valley, the latter converging with the White Lütschine. The village is surrounded by the mountains of the Faulhorn , Schwarzhorn , Wellhorn , Wetterhorn , Mettenberg , Schreckhorn , Lauteraarhorn , Agassizhorn , Fiescherhorn , Mönch (the highest), Eiger , Lauberhorn and Männlichen , all of which are either within or on the border of the municipality. The Kleine Scheidegg and

2262-475: The most elevated , prominent and isolated mountain of both the Bernese Alps and the canton of Bern , the Finsteraarhorn is less known and frequented than the nearby Jungfrau and Eiger . This is due to its location in one of the most remote areas in the Alps , completely surrounded by un-inhabited glacial valleys. To its west lies the Fiescher Glacier , the second longest in the Alps, and to

2320-478: The municipality and 265 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.6 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. Of the working population, 9.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 36.2% used a private car. From the 2000 census, 690 or 17.0% were Catholic , while 2,874 or 70.6% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church . Of the rest of

2378-589: The municipality. A castle was built on the Burgbühl hill above the village during the High Middle Ages . In 1146, King Conrad III granted estates in Grindelwald to Interlaken Monastery. In the late 12th century, the barons of the alpine valleys in what became the Berner Oberland went to war against the expansionist Duke Berthold V of Zähringen . The Duke defeated a coalition of nobles in

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2436-406: The north-west ridge, but had to retreat because of bad weather after Hugi and one of the guides (Arnold Dändler) nearly had fallen off the ridge. The next year Hugi organized another expedition via the same route. While an attempt on the 3rd of August faltered, on 10 August 1829 two of his guides, Jakob Leuthold and Johann Währen were able to reach the summit, where they spent three hours building

2494-463: The population) belonged to no church, were agnostic or atheist , and 227 individuals (or about 5.58% of the population) did not answer the question. Between 1981 and 2010, Grindelwald had an average of 145.4 days of rain or snow per year and on average received 1,450 mm (57 in) of precipitation . The wettest month was August during which time Grindelwald received an average of 165 mm (6.5 in) of rain or snow. During this month there

2552-637: The population, there were 31 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.76% of the population), there were two individuals (or about 0.05% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church , and there were 105 individuals (or about 2.58% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There was one individual who was Jewish , and 32 (or about 0.79% of the population) who were Muslim . There were 14 individuals who were Buddhist and one individual who belonged to another church. One hundred forty-four (or about 3.54% of

2610-425: The population, while adults (20–64 years old) made up 62.5% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 20%. As of 2000, there were 1,750 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 1,971 married individuals, 221 widows or widowers and 127 individuals who were divorced. As of 2000, there were 679 households that consisted of only one person and 82 households with five or more people. In 2000,

2668-494: The summit after three hours. On 19 August 1828, Franz Joseph Hugi , a geologist from Solothurn , made another attempt with seven local climbers. Among these was Arnold Abbühl, who told Hugi about his ascent 16 years earlier, but Hugi scoffingly dismissed his account, partly because Abbühl misidentified the peak in the beginning of their approach. The group reached a ca. 4,080-metre (13,390-foot) saddle (the Hugisattel ) on

2726-574: The summit of the Mönch (4,110 metres), huge differences in average temperature are naturally found. The Montane zone and the Subalpine zone extend from the bottom of the valley to the tree line , at approx. 2,000 metres. There, coniferous trees and snowfall progressively replace deciduous tree and rainfall. Above that is the Alpine zone , consisting of Alpine tundra. The last region, above 3,000 metres,

2784-461: The tertiary sector was 1,735. In the tertiary sector; 241 or 13.9% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 193 or 11.1% were in the movement and storage of goods, 1,022 or 58.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 27 or 1.6% were the insurance or financial industry, 45 or 2.6% were technical professionals or scientists, 46 or 2.7% were in education and 58 or 3.3% were in health care. In 2000, there were 432 workers who commuted into

2842-748: The valley of Grindelwald forms part of the Jungfrau Region of the Bernese Oberland , between Interlaken and the main crest of the Bernese Alps. Similarly to Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald is connected to Interlaken by the Bernese Oberland Railway and is the start of the Wengernalp Railway , leading to Kleine Scheidegg . The latter resort is the start of the Jungfrau Railway , the highest railway in Europe and

2900-613: The valley. According to a legend, the name Grindelwald comes from two monks of the Interlaken Monastery . After exploring the Lütschinen valleys, they are said to have reported about "Grinden" and "Wald", i.e. "stones" and "forests". This was initially the explanation for the origin of the name. The oldest traces of a settlement in the area are scattered neolithic tools which have been discovered around Grindelwald village. Several Roman era coins have also been found in

2958-545: The village. In 1888, Grindelwald was the first resort in the Bernese Oberland to also become a winter destination, attractions being sleigh rides, curling, skating and, from 1891, skiing. The first resort opened in 1888, there were 10 hotels in 1889, and by 1914 there were 33 in Grindelwald. A rack railway was built to Kleine Scheidegg in 1893, and it was expanded to the Jungfraujoch in 1912. Numerous ski lifts, cable cars, hiking trails and alpine huts were built in

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3016-555: The villagers to raid Unterwalden to further the political ambitions of the Abbot's patrons. In response to the raids, in 1342, Unterwalden attacked Grindelwald. A few years later, in 1348–49, the villagers joined in an unsuccessful rebellion against ecclesiastical power. In 1528, the city of Bern adopted the Protestant Reformation and proceeded to spread the new faith in Grindelwald against the populations' wishes. Berne

3074-469: The vistas were widely reprinted, quickly making the village internationally famous. In the 19th century many Englishmen came to the village to climb the alpine peaks around the valley. The Finsteraarhorn (4,274 m [14,022 ft]), the Wetterhorn (3,692 m [12,113 ft]), the Eiger (3,967 m [13,015 ft]), the Schreckhorn (4,078 m [13,379 ft]) and the Gross Fiescherhorn (4,049 m [13,284 ft]) were all climbed during

3132-399: The workforce. In 2008 there were a total of 2,265 full-time equivalent jobs. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 165, of which 159 were in agriculture and seven were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 365 of which 42 or (11.5%) were in manufacturing, six or (1.6%) were in mining and 292 (80.0%) were in construction. The number of jobs in

3190-463: Was able to impose its will, converted the village and secularized Interlaken Abbey and the Abbey's lands. Grindelwald became part of the bailiwick of Interlaken, under a Bernese bailiff . The first village church was a wooden building from the mid-12th century. The wooden building was replaced with the stone St. Mary's Church in 1180. This church was replaced in the 16th century, and the present church

3248-401: Was built in 1793. On August 18, 1892, a large part of the village was destroyed by a fire. That day, which followed a drought period, a violent foehn storm was raging. Within two hours, 116 buildings in the Grindelwald valley were destroyed and 412 residents became homeless. The tourism industry began in Grindelwald in the late 18th century as foreigners discovered the scenic town. Pictures of

3306-565: Was made up of 1,556 Swiss men (40.9% of the population) and 354 (9.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 1,568 Swiss women (41.2%) and 331 (8.7%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 1,846 or about 45.4% were born in Grindelwald and lived there in 2000. There were 847 or 20.8% who were born in the same canton, while 510 or 12.5% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 679 or 16.7% were born outside of Switzerland. As of 2010, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) made up 17.5% of

3364-401: Was precipitation for an average of 14.4 days. The month with the most days of precipitation was June, with an average of 14.8, but with only 151 mm (5.9 in) of rain or snow. The driest month of the year was February with an average of 89 mm (3.5 in) of precipitation over 9.7 days. As the municipality territory stretches from Lütschental (approx. 730 metres above sea level) to

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