Simplon
Origin of the name Simplon
The name appears as « Simpilion » (1267), « Xeinplon » (1285) and « communitas de Simplono » (1307). In Italian it is Sempione. Where does the name come from? That is still unknown. In the late 19th century the usual German spelling was « Simpeln ». In Upper Valais dialect it is reportedly « Simpilu ».[1][3]
Founding of Simplon
Simplon was probably settled before 1200 by Upper Valais people of Alemannic origin as part of the Walser migrations. The municipality in the district of Brig, on the south side of the pass near the Italian border, includes the village of Simplon Dorf, the hamlets of Gabi, Egga and Maschihüs, and the hospice on the pass. In the 13th century the parish separated from Naters. The community appears in 1307 as « communitas de Simplono » in an arbitration by Bishop Boniface de Challant on the sharing of goods transport. In 1469 the burghers asked the Bishop of Sion to set its boundaries, and the municipal statutes were written down in 1525. Until 1798 the community remained a subdivision (« Gumper ») of the Brig dizain and a sub-castellany of the great castellany of Brig, with limited powers. The village lived from pass traffic and mountain farming. Between 1880 and 1910 the decline of traffic and the opening of the railway tunnel in 1906 made it a village of emigration.[1]
History of Simplon
13th century. The parish separates from the mother parish of Naters.[1]
1267. Recorded as « Simpilion ».[1]
1285. Recorded as « Xeinplon ».[1]
1307. First mention of the « communitas de Simplono », in an arbitration by Bishop Boniface de Challant on the sharing of goods transport.[1]
1359. St Gotthard is first mentioned as patron saint of the church.[1]
1469. The burghers ask the Bishop of Sion to set the municipal boundaries.[1]
1525. The municipal statutes are written down.[1]
1725. A new parish church is built.[1][3]
1736. The parish church is reportedly solemnly consecrated this year.
1798. End of its status as a subdivision of the Brig dizain.[1]
1811. Gabriel Lory the younger and his father publish in Paris the « Voyage pittoresque de Genève à Milan par le Simplon », which includes an aquatint of the village.[1]
1880-1910. The decline of pass traffic and the building of the tunnel make Simplon a village of emigration.[1]
1906. Opening of the Simplon railway tunnel between Brig and Iselle.[1]
2000. The municipality has about as many incoming commuters, mainly from Italy, as outgoing commuters, mainly to Brig-Glis and Visp.[1]
2005. The primary sector provides 26 % of jobs and the secondary sector 32 %.[1]
Population of Simplon
Sources and references: [1][4]
| 1798 | 250 inhabitants |
| 1850 | 364 inhabitants |
| 1880 | 435 inhabitants |
| 1900 | 357 inhabitants |
| 1910 | 318 inhabitants |
| 1950 | 451 inhabitants |
| 1990 | 308 inhabitants |
| 2000 | 333 inhabitants |
| 2010 | 319 inhabitants |
| 2020 | 291 inhabitants |
| 2025 | 287 inhabitants |
Historic sites in Simplon
Simplon Dorf. Main village of the municipality, on the pass road. It has its own entry in the Federal Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites (ISOS).[3]
Parish church of St Gotthard. St Gotthard has been attested as patron of the church since 1359. The present church was built in 1725.[1]
Simplon Hospice. The hospice on the pass is part of the municipal territory.[1]
Hamlets of Gabi, Egga and Maschihüs. Hamlets of the municipality on the south side of the pass.[1]
Remains in Simplon
Mayors' tower (Meierturm). The mayor's feudal tower overlooked the upper entrance of the village until it collapsed in 1882. It was reportedly built in the 13th century.[3]
Legends of Simplon
The women of Simplon and the spring of 1476. Tradition says that in 1476, as Lombard troops climbed towards Simplon, only one man, Marin, had stayed in the village. He armed the women and drove the enemy back at the place called «zu den Gräbern». Exhausted, he thrust his halberd into the ground and prayed for a spring: water gushed out, the Virgin appeared before the attackers, and they fled. The villagers are said to have built a chapel in thanks. The collection notes that the number of enemies is exaggerated.[6]
The old village. Another tradition places the first village higher up, on the Bärenfumme at the Kastelberg, where a paved path and an old wall known as the «heathens' wall» (Heidenmauer) can be seen.[6]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Simplon (commune) » (Renato Arnold, trad. Laurence Margairaz Dewarrat, version du 28.11.2011)
- Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz, « Simplon (Gemeinde) » (Renato Arnold, version du 28.11.2011)
- Office fédéral de la culture, ISOS, « Simplon Dorf » (commune de Simplon, 2e version, 05.1996)
- Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, chiffres provisoires au 31.12.2025, via citypopulation.de
- geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux (coordonnées)
- Walliser Sagen, Historischer Verein von Oberwallis, Brig, 1907, n° 29 et 114
Localities of the municipality with a page
Other villages near Simplon
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