Gimmelwald is a small traffic free village in 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 ...

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. ...

, Switzerland, and is located between

Stechelberg Stechelberg is a small village in Switzerland located at the base of the Schwarzmönch mountain in the Bernese Alps, part of the district of Lauterbrunnen. History The name "Stächelbärg" is first recorded in 1749 to describe this part of the v ...

and

Mürren Mürren is a traditional Walser mountain village in the Bernese Highlands of Switzerland, at an elevation of above sea level and it cannot be reached by public road. It is also one of the popular tourist spots in Switzerland, and summer and wi ...

, at an elevation of 1363 meters (4472 feet). The village is at the foot of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage site the

Jungfrau-Aletsch Protected Area The Jungfrau-Aletsch protected area (officially Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch) is located in south-western Switzerland between the cantons of Berne and Valais. It is a mountainous region in the easternmost side of the Bernese Alps, containing the nor ...

. Gimmelwald is an allemanic linear village and a

walser The Walser people are the speakers of the Walser German dialects, a variety of Highest Alemannic. They inhabit the region of the Alps of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, as well as the fringes of Italy and Austria. The Walser people are named af ...

settlement first mentioned in a

bill of sale A bill of sale is a document that transfers ownership of goods from one person to another. It is used in situations where the former owner transfers possession of the goods to a new owner. Bills of sale may be used in a wide variety of transaction ...

in 1346. Because of its very typical and exceptional townscape, Gimmelwald is part of the inventory of Swiss heritage. Gimmelwald is one of the few traffic-free villages in Switzerland where access by car is not possible due to a missing road connection. The

Schilthorn The Schilthorn () is a summit in Europe, in the Bernese Alps of Switzerland. It overlooks the valley of Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland, and is the highest mountain in the range lying north of the Sefinenfurgge Pass. The Schilthorn lies ...

cable car Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems: * Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable ** Aerial tramway ** Chairlift ** Gondola lift *** Bi ...

stops in Gimmelwald, where it is possible to board another cable car which runs between Gimmelwald and Mürren. Farming and tourism are the main source of income today. Farmers raise hay on tiny plots of land to feed small herds of cows. In winter, farmers often work as well for the

by performing jobs like running ski lifts or ski-slope grooming. In the year 2003 the population of Gimmelwald was 130. The local school closed in 2010 due to the small number of students and students now attend the school in

Lauterbrunnen , neighboring_municipalities= Aeschi bei Spiez, Blatten (Lötschen) (VS), Fieschertal (VS), Grindelwald, Gündlischwand, Kandersteg, Lütschental, Reichenbach im Kandertal, Saxeten, Wilderswil , twintowns = } Lauterbrunnen is a village and M ...

. The school building was bought in 2019 by a

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

to convert the school building into flats and to prevent it from being used as a holiday flat.

Traffic and accessibility

There is a walking path between Gimmelwald and

, but lacking connection to the main road system, the main transportation to Gimmelwald is the Luftseilbahn Stechelberg-Mürren-Schilthorn (LSMS)

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...

famous for connecting the

. The cable car connects Gimmelwald with the neighbouring elevated village Mürren and the village

, which is situated at the floor of the

valley. From Stechelberg a bus connects Lauterbrunnen where there are connections to the rest of Switzerland.

Politics

Gimmelwald, together with

Wengen Wengen () is a mountain village in the Bernese Oberland of central Switzerland. Located in the canton of Bern at an elevation of above sea level, it is part of the Jungfrauregion and has approximately 1,300 year-round residents, which swells to ...

Isenfluh Isenfluh is a hamlet in Switzerland, north of the road from Wilderswil to Lauterbrunnen. It is first mentioned in 1319 as ''Ysenfluo'' and in 1401 people from the Lötschental started to settle in the small hamlet. The hamlet belonged to the mon ...

, and

, belongs to the municipality of

. The parish covers the entire valley.

Tourism

The main source of income for Gimmelwald is tourism, and the village has a small hotel, former pension (now a British run hotel), a bed & breakfast and the Mountain Hostel. Gimmelwald was stopped from being developed into a large ski resort by having it declared an

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...

zone which is only partly the case. In summer, Gimmelwald is mostly visited by tourists from North America, and in winter is mostly visited by European and Swiss tourists for winter sports. Gimmelwald has a 2.2 km long

via ferrata A via ferrata (Italian for "iron path", plural ''vie ferrate'' or in English ''via ferratas'') is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other locations. The term "via ferrata" is used in most countries and languages except n ...

connecting the neighbouring village of

.Homepage Via Ferrata Gimmelwald-Mürren http://www.klettersteig-muerren.ch/ File:Jungfrau seen from gimmelwald.JPG, The

Jungfrau The Jungfrau ( "maiden, virgin"), at is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. Together with the Eiger and Mönch, the J ...

seen from Gimmelwald File:Gspaltenhorn seen from gimmelwald.jpg, The

Gspaltenhorn The Gspaltenhorn is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, located between the valleys of Kiental and Lauterbrunnen in the canton of Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkap ...

seen from Gimmelwald

References

External links

Gimmelwald tourismGimmelwald Mountain HostelKlettersteig/Via Ferrata Mürren–GimmelwaldRick Steves Gimmelwald
* {{authority control Villages in the canton of Bern Bernese Oberland Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland Car-free villages in Switzerland