Fafleralp
Origin of the name Fafleralp
The same name appears in that of the Innerfaflertal, already mentioned in 1907. Its meaning is unexplained.[4]
Founding of Fafleralp
The Fafleralp is an alp of the municipality of Blatten at the very head of the Lötschental. Its modern history begins with tourism, when three men, Bellwald, Ebener and Rieder, decide to build a hotel there at almost 1'800 metres. They deliberately choose a building in the regional style.[1][2][5]
History of Fafleralp
1906. Bellwald, Ebener and Rieder decide to build a hotel on the Fafleralp.[2]
1908. The Hotel Fafleralp has existed since this year.[6]
1910. The Fafleralp becomes a tourist attraction.[1]
2010. German President Christian Wulff meets Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard here.[2]
2025. After the landslide of 28 May the undamaged hotel is the only one of Blatten's four hotels still standing. The only access road runs through the buried village, and the hotel, almost fully booked until June, stays closed for the season.[2]
2025. In September, with no guests, the hotel is close to bankruptcy. It needs at least 1.5 million francs in non-repayable aid, and the business interruption insurer refuses to pay because the building is still standing.[6]
2026. On 4 July the hotel reopens after a year. A PostBus again links the Lauchernalp with the Fafleralp, eight times a day with twenty seats per trip. The narrow, winding access road runs below the monitored Öigschtchummu glacier, and a traffic-light system is meant to raise the alarm in an emergency. The service costs half a million francs, paid by the tourism organisation and the canton.[3]
Historic sites in Fafleralp
Hotel Fafleralp. At almost 1'800 metres the hotel normally employs 20 staff and takes up to 120 guests. Charlie Chaplin and Gerhard Schröder stayed here.[2][5]
Campsite. A campsite lies near the hotel.[5]
Legends of Fafleralp
The fiddler of the Blümlisalp. According to a Lötschental legend, a fiddler lived on the Blümlisalp, at the very head of the Innerfaflertal, an alp now partly covered by ice. In the evenings he often went to see his sweetheart on the Gugginenalp. One day, as he leapt the stream near the Talmauer, his foot left its print in the rock, but he ignored the warning. On his way back at night, a jealous rival pushed him over the cliff at the same spot. Badly hurt, he took his fiddle and played the song of the Way of the Cross. A narrow path then opened before him, and he was able to escape.[4]
Meier Heim and his alp. It is said that Meier Heim of the Grindorf, the richest burgher in the valley with thirty cows, owned a large alp pasture in the Innerfaflertal, near the Blümlisalp. The site of his hut is still called « s'Meier Heims Ferrich ». His maid ate so much in summer that in autumn she had to be brought back to the village on a sledge. The priest of Kippel, it is said, began Mass only once Meier Heim sat in church in his red Sunday stockings.[4]
Sources
- Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (version allemande originale), « Blatten (VS) » (Werner Bellwald, version du 02.06.2004)
- SRF, « Legendäres Hotel in Blatten: Abschied von der Fafleralp » (1.6.2025)
- SRF, « Lötschental: Postauto fährt nach Bergsturz wieder auf Fafleralp » (4.7.2026)
- F. G. Stebler, « Am Lötschberg. Land und Volk von Lötschen », Monographien aus den Schweizeralpen, Zurich, Albert Müller, 1907 (RERO DOC)
- geo.admin.ch, service de recherche de swisstopo (Fafleralp)
- Blick, « Trotz Hilfsgeldern: Traditionshotel in Blatten VS steht vor dem Aus » (26.9.2025)
Other villages near Fafleralp
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