San Bernardino Pass ( it, Passo del San Bernardino, german: Bernhardinpass, ) is a high mountain pass in the

Swiss Alps The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (german: Schweizer Alpen, french: Alpes suisses, it, Alpi svizzere, rm, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Sw ...

connecting the

Hinterrhein Hinterrhein can refer to: * Hinterrhein (river), a tributary of the Rhine * Hinterrhein, Switzerland, a municipality * Hinterrhein (district), the district including that Swiss municipality {{Disambig ...

and the

Mesolcina The ''Valle Mesolcina'', also known as the ''Val Mesolcina'' or ''Misox'' (German), is an alpine valley of the Grisons, Switzerland, stretching from the San Bernardino Pass to Grono where it joins the Calanca Valley. It is the valley formed by t ...

(Misox) valleys between Thusis (

canton of Graubünden The Grisons () or Graubünden,Names include: *german: (Kanton) Graubünden ; * Romansh: ** rm, label=Sursilvan, (Cantun) Grischun ** rm, label= Vallader, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label= Puter, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label= Surmiran, (Can ...

) and

Bellinzona Bellinzona ( , , Ticinese ; french: Bellinzone ; german: Bellenz ; rm, Blizuna )is a municipality, a historic Swiss town, and the capital of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The town is famous for its three castles (Castelgrande, Montebell ...

(

canton of Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

). Located in the far eastern side of the Western

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...

it is not to be confused with the

Great St Bernard Pass it, Colle del Gran San Bernardogerman: Grosser Sankt Bernhard , photo = Great St Bernard Pass.jpg , photo_caption = View of the pass and hospice from Great St Bernard Lake with Mont Vélan in background , elevation_m = 2469 , elevation_ref ...

and the

Little St Bernard Pass The Little St Bernard Pass (French: ''Col du Petit Saint-Bernard'', Italian: ''Colle del Piccolo San Bernardo'') is a mountain pass in the Alps on the France–Italy border. Its saddle is at 2188 metres above sea level. It is located between ...

. The top of the pass represents both the Italo-German language frontier and the watershed (drainage divide) between the

Po basin The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...

and the Rhine basin. Marscholsee is within the pass at an elevation of . The route first became important as a mule track in the fifteenth century when the route between Thusis and Splügen was known as the Via Mala. A road for wheeled vehicles was opened in 1770; this road was significantly improved between 1821 and 1823, financed in part by the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

, keen to improve a trade route connecting

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

and

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

to the Graubünden that was not directly controlled by

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. Traffic flow was much facilitated when in 1967, the San Bernardino road tunnel was completed: since then vehicle traffic on the pass has been reduced, benefiting those taking the time to avoid the tunnel. The pass road is only open from May to November. Laghetto Moesola und Hospiz am San Bernardino Pass

Laghetto Moesola und Hospiz am San Bernardino Pass

Climate

The average climatic conditions for San Bernardino village at the entry point to the San Bernardino tunnel at are given in the following chart.

Bibliography

* Nicola Pfund, ''Sui passi in bicicletta - Swiss Alpine passes by bicycle'', Fontana Edizioni, 2012, p. 134-139.

References

External links

Profile on climbbybike.com
* {{Authority control Bernardino, Pass San Bernardino, Pass San Mountain passes of Graubünden Roads in Switzerland Lepontine Alps Rheinwald

Climate

See also

Bibliography

References

External links