Gabi
Origin of the name Gabi
Napoleon's decree of 7 September 1800 names the place «Algaby». The origin of the name is unknown.[1]
Founding of Gabi
Gabi is a hamlet in the municipality of Simplon, at 1'228 metres, on the southern side of the pass, above the Gondo gorge. Its known history is tied to the Simplon road: the decree of 1800 makes Gabi the limit of a construction section, then the engineer Nicolas Céard plans galleries and refuge houses here. Today Gabi is the starting point of the path that runs down through the gorge to Gondo.[1][2][3]
History of Gabi
1736. Further down, at Undru Gstei, the chapel «Maria Hilf», probably built in the early 18th century, appears in a deed.[2]
1800. On 7 September Napoleon's decree on the Simplon road names «Algaby» as the limit of a construction section.[1]
1801. Nicolas Céard proposes galleries between Schallbett and Gabi. Paris refuses.[1]
1805. On 9 October the Simplon road opens, running through Gabi.[1]
1810. Céard presents a plan for refuge houses between Glis and Gabi. Nine refuges are built.[1]
1816. Date of the Gabi chapel, ten years after the road was completed.[1]
1887. The bishop orders the demolition of the Undru Gstei chapel. Its foundations survive.[2]
after 1960. The national road takes over almost the whole route, and the cutting near Gabi is widened.[1]
Historic sites in Gabi
Gabi chapel. Chapel dated 1816, on the Simplon road.[1]
Milestones of the Napoleonic road. At Gabi the distance stones of the Simplon road still stand in their original place.[1]
Stockalperweg to Gondo. From Gabi a 6.3 km path runs down through the gorge to Gondo, at 854 metres, past the ruined chapel of Undru Gstei.[2]
Remains in Gabi
Chapel «Maria Hilf» at Undru Gstei. Chapel mentioned in 1736 and demolished on the bishop's orders in 1887. Its foundations survive.[2]
Sources
- Office fédéral des routes (OFROU), IVS (Inventaire des voies de communication historiques de la Suisse), « VS 1.4 Napoleonstrasse »
- Ecomuseum Simplon (Klaus Anderegg), dépliant « Stockalperweg Gondoschlucht »
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Simplon (commune) » (Renato Arnold, version du 28.11.2011)
- Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, chiffres provisoires au 31.12.2025, via citypopulation.de
- geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux (coordonnées)
Other villages near Gabi
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