The Brünig Pass, at an altitude of , connects the

Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland ( en, Bernese Highlands, german: Berner Oberland; gsw, Bärner Oberland; french: Oberland bernois), the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern, is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context ...

and central Switzerland, linking

Meiringen Meiringen () is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Besides the village of Meiringen, the municipality includes the settlements of Balm, Brünigen, Eisenbolgen, Hausen, Prasti, ...

in the

canton of Bern The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...

and

Lungern Lungern is a municipality in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. It encompasses Lake Lungern and, besides the village of Lungern, the settlements of Bürglen, Kaiserstuhl and Obsee. Geography The village of Lungern lies above sea level in ...

in the

canton of Obwalden Obwalden, also Obwald (german: Kanton Obwalden, rm, Chantun Sursilvania; french: Canton d'Obwald; it, Canton Obvaldo), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of seven municipalities and the seat of the govern ...

. It is on the watershed between the upper reaches of the

Aare The Aare () or Aar () is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about , during which distance it descend ...

, which flows through

Lake Brienz Lake Brienz (german: Brienzersee) is a lake just north of the Alps, in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It has a length of about , a width of and a maximum depth of . Its area is ; the surface is above the sea-level. It is fed, among others, by ...

and

Lake Thun Lake Thun (german: Thunersee) is an Alpine lake in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland named after the city of Thun, on its northern shore. At in surface area, it is the largest Swiss lake entirely within a single canton. The lake was created af ...

, and the

Sarner Aa The Sarner Aa is a long river in the Swiss canton of Obwalden. It drains the area to the eastern side of the Brünig Pass, flowing through the Lake Lungern, Lake Sarnen and the Wichelsee, before entering Lake Lucerne near Alpnach. It goes by seve ...

, which flows into

Lake Lucerne __NOTOC__ Lake Lucerne (german: Vierwaldstättersee, literally "Lake of the four forested settlements" (in English usually translated as ''forest cantons''), french: lac des Quatre-Cantons, it, lago dei Quattro Cantoni) is a lake in central ...

. The pass is crossed by the

Zentralbahn The Zentralbahn is a Swiss railway company that owns and operates two connecting railway lines in Central Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland. It was created on January 1, 2005, with the acquisition of the independently owned Luzern–Stans� ...

Brünig railway line The Brünig railway line (german: Brünigbahn) is a Swiss narrow gauge railway line that links Lucerne, in central Switzerland, with Interlaken, in the Bernese Oberland. The line runs via Alpnachstad, Giswil, Meiringen and Brienz, and passes ov ...

, between

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

and

Interlaken , neighboring_municipalities= Bönigen, Därligen, Matten bei Interlaken, Ringgenberg, Unterseen , twintowns = Scottsdale (USA), Ōtsu (Japan), Třeboň (Czech Republic) Interlaken (; lit.: ''between lakes'') is a Swiss town and mun ...

, and that line's Brünig-Hasliberg station is situated in the pass. The pass is also crossed by the A8 motorway, between Lucerne and

Spiez Spiez is a town and municipality on the shore of Lake Thun in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss canton of Bern. It is part of the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district. Besides the town of Spiez, the municipality also includes ...

. Both rail and road crossings are normally kept open throughout the winter. The pass is the starting or finishing point of many hikes. Particularly popular is the route to or from the

Brienzer Rothorn The Brienzer Rothorn is a mountain of the Emmental Alps, in Switzerland. With an elevation of above sea level, the Brienzer Rothorn is the highest summit of the range. To its west lies the Tannhorn, whilst to its east are Arnihaaggen, Höch Gumm ...

, which is accessible by rail at both ends. The pass was on a general transport route with the southern

Grimsel The Grimsel Pass (german: Grimselpass; french: Col du Grimsel; it, Passo del Grimsel) is a mountain pass in Switzerland, crossing the Bernese Alps at an elevation of . The pass connects the Haslital, the upper valley of the river Aare, with the ...

and Gries passes connecting

central Switzerland Central Switzerland is the region of the Alpine Foothills geographically the heart and historically the origin of Switzerland, with the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Lucerne and Zug. Central Switzerland is one of the NUTS 2 Statist ...

with present-day Italian

Domodossola Domodossola (; Lombard: Dòm) is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the region of Piedmont, northern Italy. It was also known as Oscela, Oscella, Oscella dei Leponzi, Ossolo, Ossola Lepontiorum, and Domo d'Ossola ...

. It is assumed the route was in use since

roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

, when the Romans controlled

Vindonissa Vindonissa (from a Gaulish toponym in *''windo-'' "white") was a Roman legion camp, vicus and later a bishop's seat at modern Windisch, Switzerland. The remains of the camp are listed as a heritage site of national significance. The city of B ...

. In 1339 the warriors of central Switzerland marched towards the

Battle of Laupen The Battle of Laupen was fought in June 1339, between Bern and its allies on one side, and Freiburg together with feudal landholders from the County of Burgundy and Habsburg territories on the other. Bern was victorious, consolidating its positio ...

over the Brünig pass. In 1383, warriors of Lucerne,

Schwyz The town of Schwyz (; french: Schwytz; it, Svitto) is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the '' ...

and

Uri Uri may refer to: Places * Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland * Úri, a village and commune in Hungary * Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India * Uri (island), an island off Malakula Islan ...

among others crossed over the Brünig pass to support the Bernse troops in the siege of Burgdorf. In 1856 the

Federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

funds led to the construction of a street over the pass. In 1861 the road was completed and inaugurated. In the 19th century and before the inauguration of the Brünig railway, up to 120 private carriages and post wagons shall have crossed the pass. The pass is the subject of a watercolour painting by J. M. W. Turner, entitled '' The Brunig Pass, from Meiringen'', and dating from c.1847-8.

References

External links

*
Weather report for the Brünig Pass
Mountain passes of Switzerland Mountain passes of Obwalden Bernese Oberland Mountain passes of the canton of Bern Bern–Obwalden border Rail mountain passes of Switzerland {{Obwalden-geo-stub

See also

References

External links