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Villages / Valais / Westlich Raron district / Blatten (Lötschen)
Coat of arms of Blatten (Lötschen)

Blatten (Lötschen)

Canton of Valais · District: Westlich Raron · 291 inhabitants (31.12.2025, provisional FSO figure)
View of Blatten (Lötschen)
Photo: Johannes Löw (WP.de: Mo4jolo), CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons · Coat of arms: Public domain
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Blatten (Lötschen)

The place is mentioned in 1433 in the form « uffen der Blattun ». What the name means is not yet known.[1]

Founding of Blatten (Lötschen)

Blatten is the highest municipality in the Lötschental, at 1'540 metres above sea level. It includes the hamlets of Eisten, Ried and Weissenried. Important settlements, notably at Geryn and Kühmatt, were abandoned. In the Middle Ages and early modern period its history is entirely bound up with that of the Lötschental. The oven, the sawmill and the communal house bear witness to former self-sufficiency and community spirit. Blatten separated from the parish of Kippel in 1898. Crop and livestock farming dominated until the Second World War, while heavy emigration marked the 19th and 20th centuries. The road opened in 1954 allowed residents to work in the lowlands, and the Fafleralp has attracted tourists since 1910. On 28 May 2025 the collapse of the Birch glacier buried a large part of the village, which had been evacuated more than a week earlier.[1][2]

History of Blatten (Lötschen)

1433. Mentioned in the form « uffen der Blattun ».[1]

1654. Construction of the Baroque Chapel of the Visitation at Kühmatt, a regional pilgrimage site.[1]

1877. Construction of a neo-Gothic church.[1]

1898. Blatten separates from the parish of Kippel.[1]

1910. Tourism begins at the Fafleralp.[1]

1954. Opening of the road, allowing residents to commute daily or weekly to work in the lowlands.[1]

1985. The church of 1877 is demolished and replaced by a modern building.[1]

2001. The Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn site is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The municipality's territory is reportedly part of it.[8]

2025. The village, evacuated on 19 May, is largely buried on 28 May by the collapse of the Birch glacier. Many houses and the church disappear under the debris, which also covers the Lonza, and a lake forms above the debris. A 64-year-old man, reported missing, is found dead in June in the Tennmatten area.[2][5][6][7]

Population of Blatten (Lötschen)

Sources and references: [1][3]

Population of Blatten (Lötschen)
1798280 inhabitants
1850234 inhabitants
1900274 inhabitants
1950362 inhabitants
2000281 inhabitants
2025291 inhabitants

Historic sites in Blatten (Lötschen)

Chapel of the Visitation at Kühmatt. Baroque chapel of 1654, a regional pilgrimage site, with altars by Johann Sigristen and numerous ex-votos.[1][9]

Fafleralp. Tourist destination since 1910.[1]

Hamlets of Eisten, Ried and Weissenried. Hamlets of the municipality; Weissenried and Eisten were not affected by the evacuation of 19 May 2025.[1][5]

Oven, sawmill and communal house. Buildings that showed the village's former self-sufficiency and community spirit.[1]

Remains in Blatten (Lötschen)

Abandoned settlements of Geryn and Kühmatt. Important settlements were abandoned within the municipality, notably at Geryn and Kühmatt.[1]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Blatten (VS) » (Werner Bellwald, trad. Emilien Grivel, version du 02.06.2004)
  2. SRF, « Gletscherabbruch in Blatten: Ein Grollen, ein Beben, und in Blatten ist nichts mehr wie zuvor » (28.05.2025)
  3. Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, chiffres provisoires au 31.12.2025, via citypopulation.de
  4. geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux (coordonnées)
  5. SWI swissinfo.ch, « Landslide threat: authorities order evacuation of Swiss mountain village » (19.05.2025)
  6. SWI swissinfo.ch, « Flood risk threatens Swiss valley after ‘millennium event’ glacier collapse » (30.05.2025)
  7. SWI swissinfo.ch, « Blatten: Body of missing man found and identified » (27.06.2025)
  8. UNESCO, Centre du patrimoine mondial, « Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch » (inscription 2001, extension 2007)
  9. Office fédéral de la protection de la population (OFPP), Inventaire PBC, liste cantonale du Valais (objets A et B, état au 1.1.2026)

Localities of the municipality with a page

Other villages near Blatten (Lötschen)

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