Municipality of Andermatt

History has been written in Andermatt for centuries. The main town of the holiday region lies at 1444 metres above sea level and has roughly the same number of inhabitants. Its central location in the Alpine passes has been known and heavily frequented since Roman times. The Gotthard Pass offered the easiest connection between north and south, as there was only one mountain pass to cross.

In the 13th century, the Walser people in the Ursern Valley made it possible to build the first bridge through the Schöllenen Gorge, later known as the Devil's Bridge. This promoted trade considerably and consolidated Andermatt as a strategically important location. The muleteer era flourished for centuries.

Andermatt became interesting for tourists in the 18th century thanks to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who praised the mountain village. During the war of 1799, the Russian General Suvorov brought attention to the region. The era of stagecoaches over the Gotthard began in 1840. Today, the historic stagecoach is a reminder of this era.

In the 20th century, military personnel moved to Andermatt and remained stationed here until the 1990s. The Sasso San Gottardo fortress is now open to visitors and provides an insight into this period.

In the new millennium, one of Switzerland's most important tourism projects was realised: Egyptian investor Samih Sawiris is developing a new resort next to the historic village centre and modernising the ski area by linking it with Sedrun.