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Villages / Valais / Östlich Raron district / Massaboden

Massaboden

Canton of Valais · District: Östlich Raron · No published figure for the locality; the municipality of Bitsch has 1'218 inhabitants (31.12.2025, provisional FSO figure)
Part of the municipality of Bitsch
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Massaboden

Locally it is called «Massabodu». The name has no explanation yet.[5]

Founding of Massaboden

Massaboden lies in the municipality of Bitsch, in the district of Östlich Raron. Neolithic graves with crouched burials have been found there. When a settlement formed is unknown. At the end of the 19th century the place received a hydroelectric power station, built to supply energy for boring the Simplon tunnel.[1][2][3]

History of Massaboden

Neolithic. The dead are buried in a crouched position at Massaboden.[1]

1799. A fight against the French takes place near the Massaboden bridge.[1]

1899. The canton of Valais builds the Massaboden hydroelectric power station.[2][3]

1906. With the tunnel finished, SBB takes over the plant to power the Brig-Iselle line electrically.[2][3]

1915-1916. A power station is built at Massaboden.[1]

1968. On the same grounds SBB adds a frequency converter plant.[2]

2016-2017. The plant's hydro control system is renewed and put into service in February 2017.[3]

Historic sites in Massaboden

Massaboden power station. SBB run-of-river power station with an output of 8 MW, producing about 40 GWh a year. Water from the Rotten (the Rhône) is captured at Mörel, carried through a tunnel to a surge chamber near Biel, then down a penstock to the two Francis turbines. It is the only SBB plant that combines hydropower and frequency conversion. It supplies the Lötschberg-Simplon line.[2]

Remains in Massaboden

Neolithic graves. Neolithic graves with crouched burials have been found at Massaboden.[1]

Sources

  1. Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz, « Bitsch » (Philipp Kalbermatter, version du 02.06.2004, version allemande)
  2. CFF (SBB), « Wasserkraftwerk Massaboden »
  3. HYDRO Exploitation, « Hydroleittechnik Massaboden »
  4. Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, chiffres provisoires au 31.12.2025, via citypopulation.de
  5. geo.admin.ch, service de recherche de swisstopo (Massabodu, Bitsch)

Other villages near Massaboden

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