History & Tradition
The History
of Grindelwald.
Where guests from all over the world now take in the imposing mountain scenery, there once lay a remote mountain farming village.
1404
A valley with a long tradition
1890
The Bernese Oberland Railway reaches the valley
1892
A great fire in the village
1912
The Jungfrau Railway reaches the Jungfraujoch
Overview
From mountain farming village to world-famous Alpine destination
Grindelwald has changed over the centuries – but its special bond with the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau has remained.
1404
A valley with a long tradition
The history of Grindelwald goes back a long way. The valley was already being farmed in the Middle Ages. People lived from cattle farming, alpine pasture management and working the steep mountain meadows.
To this day the traditional seven Bergschaften shape the history and landscape of Grindelwald. Together they regulated the use of the alpine pastures, forests and meadows, and they remain an important part of the valley’s distinctive identity.
18th & 19th century
The golden age of alpinism
In the 18th and 19th centuries travellers and mountaineers discovered the Swiss Alps. Grindelwald, too, increasingly became a destination for international guests.
The striking view of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau made the valley a particular draw. English alpinists were among the first international visitors to use Grindelwald as a base for mountain tours.
Farmers became mountain guides, simple inns became hotels – and slowly tourism began to change the valley.
1890
The railway arrives
A decisive moment for Grindelwald was the opening of the Bernese Oberland Railway in 1890.
Suddenly the mountain village was far easier to reach. More and more travellers came to the valley, and Grindelwald developed into an international holiday resort.
Only a few years later another spectacular project began: the Jungfrau Railway. In 1912 it reached the Jungfraujoch – a technical sensation at the time and to this day one of the best-known mountain railways in the world.
18 August 1892
A village struck by the flames
Not every development was peaceful. On 18 August 1892 a great fire broke out in the village. A strong föhn wind fanned the flames, and within a short time more than a hundred buildings were destroyed.
The fire changed the face of the village for good. Grindelwald was rebuilt and, over the following decades, grew ever more strongly into the holiday resort we know today.
Eiger north face
The Eiger makes Grindelwald world-famous
The Eiger is inseparable from Grindelwald. The legendary Eiger north face in particular drew climbers from all over the world.
The dramatic attempts on the face in the first half of the 20th century made it internationally famous. Grindelwald became an important base for alpinists and a symbol of adventure, courage and the fascination of the mountains.
Winter sports
From summer resort to winter paradise
For a long time Grindelwald was above all a destination for summer guests and mountaineers. With the rise of winter sports, however, a new era began.
Skiing, sledging and winter walking made Grindelwald attractive in the cold season too. Mountain railways opened up ever greater heights and allowed guests to experience the alpine landscape in very different ways.
Today Grindelwald is a year-round destination – combining tourism, mountain sport and traditional agriculture like few other places in the Bernese Oberland.
Grindelwald today
Tradition meets the world
Today Grindelwald is an internationally known holiday resort. People from all over the world come here to experience the mountains, to do sport, to find peace and quiet, or simply to enjoy the unique landscape.
And yet much has stayed the same: the alpine pastures, the Bergschaften, the farming and, above all, the mountains that have towered over the valley for centuries.