Gletsch
Origin of the name Gletsch
Gletsch is the name of the valley floor at the foot of the Rhône Glacier. Its origin has not been established.[1][6]
Founding of Gletsch
Gletsch lies on the valley floor at the foot of the Rhône Glacier. It belonged to the former municipality of Oberwald, merged in 2009 with Obergesteln and Ulrichen into the municipality of Obergoms. It grew out of an inn built in 1830-1832 by Josef Anton Zeiter, an innkeeper from Münster. Then came the Furka and Grimsel roads, and within a few decades the inn became a large hotel complex. The federal inventory of heritage sites describes it as a unique Belle Époque monument in the Alps and a well-preserved example of early mountain hotel building.[1][3][4]
History of Gletsch
around 1600. The Rhône Glacier reaches the Gletsch area.[1]
1830-1832. Josef Anton Zeiter, an innkeeper from Münster, builds the first inn.[1]
1856. The glacier snout still lies near Gletsch. By the end of the century only the innermost valley floor is still covered with ice.[1]
1858-1860. Construction of the west wing of the Hotel Glacier du Rhône.[1]
1864-1870. The central section and the east wing complete the hotel.[1]
1866. The new Furka road replaces the old mule track.[1]
1868. Queen Victoria spends the summer in Gletsch.[1]
1882. Alexander Seiler becomes sole owner of the hotel.[1]
1891-1895. Construction of the new Grimsel road.[1]
around 1900. His son Josef Seiler completes the complex: a fourth floor, a hip roof and a five-bay annex with a dining hall.[1]
1905. The annex known as the «Blauhaus» brings the hotel to 250 beds. The park is laid out around 1905-1910.[1]
1907-1908. A neo-Gothic Anglican chapel is built to plans by Josef Seiler.[1]
1914. Furka-Oberalp trains reach Gletsch, at first from Oberwald.[1]
1926. The line also opens from the Urseren valley.[1]
1942. The line is electrified.[1]
1981. On 11 October the last electric train arrives: the Furka base tunnel makes the pass line redundant.[1]
2000. On 14 July the steam railway resumes service between Gletsch and Realp.[1]
Historic sites in Gletsch
Hotel Glacier du Rhône. The Seilers' hotel complex, built from 1858 to 1870 and extended from 1906 to 1908, with its park and the Blauhaus annex. It is listed as a cultural property of regional importance («Hotelsiedlung Seiler Glacier du Rhône»).[1][2]
Anglican chapel. Small neo-Gothic church of 1907-1908, designed by Josef Seiler.[1]
Wirtshaus zum Gletsch. Inn listed as a cultural property of regional importance.[2]
Hotel Belvedere. On the Furka road, this hotel also belonged to the former municipality of Oberwald. It is listed as a cultural property of regional importance.[2][3]
Furka pass line. The adhesion and rack railway over the Furka is listed as a cultural property of national importance (category A).[2]
Sources
- Office fédéral de la culture, Inventaire fédéral des sites construits à protéger en Suisse (ISOS), « Gletsch (Oberwald) », relevé n° 4953 (2e version)
- Office fédéral de la protection de la population (PBC), « Révision Inventaire PBC 2021 : liste cantonale Canton du VS » (état au 1.1.2026)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Oberwald » (Robert Walpen, version du 05.01.2017, traduit de l'allemand)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Obergesteln » (Robert Walpen, version du 05.01.2017, traduit de l'allemand)
- Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, chiffres provisoires au 31.12.2025, via citypopulation.de
- geo.admin.ch, service de recherche de swisstopo (Gletsch)
Other villages near Gletsch
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