History of the Alps

Bold and determined, Edward Whymper measured his achievements by the yardstick. The career of this legendary mountaineer is engraved in stone like the tragic outcome of his victory on the Matterhorn. An explorer of the heights, he gave his name to the routes he inaugurated. In love with the mountains, he never stopped trying to conquer them. Like a challenge to the laws of nature, like a visceral need to step into the light. Portrait of an adventurer at the summit of the Alps, Edward Whymper, conqueror of the Matterhorn and unforgettable mountaineer. Edward Whymper | Designer ...

Alexandre Calame (1810-1864) is one of the most important Swiss artists of the 19th century. He is closely linked to the Alps, and it is obviously as such that he interests us here. Together with François Diday, he is the main representative of the Geneva school of painting.

Ferdinand Hodler (1853-1918) is undoubtedly one of the best known and most important Swiss artists of the early 20th century. An artist with a varied and prolific production who painted in different styles, a painter of all kinds, the mountain is never far from his brush.

The great appeal of the Alps in the 18th century, described in Previous , not only continued in the 19th century, but accelerated, aided in particular by the significant development of means of transport. This is the subject of this article. A paradigm shift The years 1830 to 1850 marked a decisive change. The aristocrats' grand tour gave way to bourgeois tourists. There was also a change in modality, from a journey lasting several years to one lasting several months, with the duration of the trip becoming shorter and shorter. As a result, tourist guides began to ...

Matterhorn, July 14, 1865: a tragic first Although it is now one of the most climbed mountains in the Alps every year, the Matterhorn has long resisted attempts to climb it: it was one of the last mountains to be climbed and, along with grandes Jorasses and the Eiger, is considered one of the last three problems of the Alps. The first ascent of the Matterhorn took place on July 14, 1865. Rivalry and stakes Many people wanted to be the first to set foot on the Matterhorn's summit . Two in particular: Englishman Edward Whymper and Italian mountain guide Jean-Antoine Carrel. After six unsuccessful attempts, Whymper hired ...

Part II - second half of the 19th century International renown earned in blood If the Matterhorn gained notoriety in the first half of the 19th century, it wasn't until the second half that it acquired international renown. Unfortunately, this was largely due to a tragic event: the death of four climbers during the first ascent on July 14, 1865. This event caused a scandal in the European and international press, not least because, although accidents had occurred in mountaineering before, none had been so tragic. In the wake of this fatal first ascent, many ...

Means of transport underwent significant development in the 19th century, as we'll be discussing in a later article. Here, we'll take a look at an "extreme" project that never saw the light of day, that of a train and funicular that was to have taken passengers... to summit of the Matterhorn, no less! In June 1892, engineers Leo Heer-Bétrix and Xaver Imfeld were awarded the concession for a railway line to the Matterhorn. It was in fact a double concession: one line was to link Zermatt to the Gornergrat and another Zermatt to the Matterhorn. The ...