The Schynige Platte (''Scheinige Platte'' on the old

Siegfried Map Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

) is a small mountain ridge and a viewpoint in the

Bernese Highlands 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 belongs to the Schwarzhorn group. The mountain range consists of three peaks: Gumihorn (),

Tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

(), and the closest summit next to the viewpoint, Geiss (). The viewpoint lies at an altitude of about , at the western end of a prominent ridge of the Schwarzhorn group, which separates the valley of the Schwarze Lütschine from

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 ...

. It is notable for its hotel and, since 1893, its mountain railway, one of the highest in Switzerland. In good weather conditions there are views to many surrounding mountains, including the Eiger,

Mönch The Mönch (, German: "monk") at is a mountain in the Bernese Alps, in Switzerland. Together with the Eiger and the Jungfrau, it forms a highly recognisable group of mountains, visible from far away. The Mönch lies on the border between the c ...

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 Ju ...

, and others giants of the

Bernese Alps , topo_map= Swiss Federal Office of Topography swisstopo , photo=BerneseAlps.jpg , photo_caption=The Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau , country= Switzerland , subdivision1_type= Cantons , subdivision1= , parent= Western Alps , borders_on= , ...

. Also, the town of

Interlaken Interlaken (; lit.: ''between lakes'') is a Swiss town and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern. It is an important and well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss A ...

and the two great lakes of

Thun , neighboring_municipalities= Amsoldingen, Heiligenschwendi, Heimberg, Hilterfingen, Homberg, Schwendibach, Spiez, Steffisburg, Thierachern, Uetendorf, Zwieselberg , twintown = , website = www.thun.ch Thun (french: Thou ...

and Brienz are visible to the north, lower. The area is accessible via the

Schynige Platte railway The Schynige Platte Railway (german: Schynige Platte-Bahn, SPB) is a mountain railway in the Bernese Highlands area of Switzerland, which connects the town of Wilderswil, near Interlaken with the Schynige Platte Alpine Garden, famous wildflower g ...

, which runs from

Wilderswil Wilderswil is a village and a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Wilderswil belongs to the Small Agglomeration ''Interlaken'' with 23,300 inhabitants (2014). Geography Th ...

, where connection is made with

Bernese Oberland railway The Bernese Oberland Railway (german: Berner Oberland-Bahn, BOB) is a narrow-gauge mountain railway in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. It runs, via a "Y" junction at Zweilütschinen to serve Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald from Inter ...

trains from

. The railway reaches a height of at the

terminus station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

, on the south-facing slopes of Geiss summit. Southwest of the station is a hotel and mountain restaurant, at a height of . Northeast of the station is the Schynige Platte alpine botanical garden, specialising in the display of, and research into, the high altitude

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

of Switzerland. A number of short loop trails extend north from the train station, reaching several view points, all within one kilometre from each other. Directly above the station and hotel, and overlooking the valleys of

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

Grindelwald , neighboring_municipalities = Brienz, Brienzwiler, Fieschertal (VS), Guttannen, Innertkirchen, Iseltwald, Lauterbrunnen, Lütschental, Meiringen, Schattenhalb , twintowns = Azumi, now Matsumoto (Japan) Grindelwald is a village and ...

, is the Geiss summit (). Further north, and overlooking Interlaken and the two great lakes, are the Tuba () and Oberberghorn () summits. The highest summit in the Schynige Platte area, between the Daube and Geiss summits, the tower-like Gumihorn peak (), cannot be reached by pedestrians. The Schynige Platte is also the starting point for the popular hiking trails to Loucherhorn,

Faulhorn The Faulhorn is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, located between Lake Brienz and Grindelwald in the Bernese Oberland. The summit is high and can be reached by several trails. The mountain is split between the municipalities of Iseltwald and Grin ...

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

which is connected to Grindelwald by a gondola lift. Administratively, the area is shared between the municipalities of

Gündlischwand Gündlischwand is a village and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Besides the village of Gündlischwand, the municipality also includes the hamlet of Zweilütschinen. History G ...

and

Gsteigwiler Gsteigwiler is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Gsteigwiler belongs to the Small Agglomeration ''Interlaken'' with 23,300 inhabitants (2014). History Gsteigwiler is first ...

, the tripoint between the municipalities of

Bönigen Bönigen is a village and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Swiss canton of Bern. It lies on the shore of Lake Brienz, near to the mouth of the river Lütschine, and adjacent to the resort town of Interlaken ...

, Gündlischwand and Gsteigwiler being on the Tuba summit. All the municipalities are in the canton of Bern. File:Schynige Platte and Loucherhorn.jpg, Schynige Platte from the south, with the railway station at the left (western) end of the ridge, and the Oberberghorn and Loucherhorn to the right. File:Schynige Platte 03632.JPG, View from the Schynige Platte over the Bödeli and

, with the

Thunersee 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 a ...

to the left and the Brienzersee to the right. File:5801 - Schynige Platte - Lütschinetal, Wetterhorn, Mettenberg, Schreckhorn, Finsteraarhorn.JPG, View from the Schynige Platte up the valley of the Schwarze Lütschine, with the

Wetterhorn The Wetterhorn (3,692 m) is a peak in the Swiss Alps towering above the village of Grindelwald. Formerly known as Hasle Jungfrau, it is one of three summits on a mountain named the "Wetterhörner", the highest of which is the Mittelhorn (3,704 ...

, Mettenberg,

Schreckhorn The Schreckhorn (4,078 m) is a mountain in the Bernese Alps. It is the highest peak located entirely in the canton of Berne. The Schreckhorn is the northernmost Alpine four-thousander and the northernmost summit rising above 4,000 metres in Eu ...

and

Finsteraarhorn The Finsteraarhorn () is a mountain lying on the border between the cantons of Bern and Valais. It is the highest mountain of the Bernese Alps and the most prominent peak of Switzerland. The Finsteraarhorn is the ninth-highest mountain and thi ...

behind. File:5802 - Schynige Platte - Ebnefluh, Mittaghorn, Grosshorn, Breithorn, Lauterbrunnental.JPG, View from the Schynige Platte up the Lauterbrunnen Valley, with the

Ebnefluh The Ebnefluh, also known as the Äbeni Flue and the Ebenefluh, (3,962 m) is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, located on the border between the Swiss cantons of Bern and Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the ...

Mittaghorn The Mittaghorn is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, located on the border between the cantons of Bern and Valais. It is situated in the middle of the Lauterbrunnen Wall The Lauterbrunnen Wall is a term used in the English-speaking mountaineerin ...

Grosshorn The Grosshorn is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, located on the border between the Swiss cantons of Bern and Valais. It is situated in the middle of the Lauterbrunnen Wall The Lauterbrunnen Wall is a term used in the English-speaking mountaine ...

and Breithorn behind.

References

External links

Walks from Schynige Platte

Schynige Platte Bahn website
{{Authority control Bernese Oberland Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Switzerland Tourist attractions in Switzerland Mountains of the canton of Bern Two-thousanders of Switzerland