German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kno ...

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= , ...

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 ...

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 ...

Sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...

Aletsch Glacier The Aletsch Glacier (german: Aletschgletscher, ) or Great Aletsch Glacier () is the largest glacier in the Alps. It has a length of about (2014), has about a volume of (2011), and covers about (2011) in the eastern Bernese Alps in the Swiss can ...

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the S ...

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 ...

Fiesch Fiesch is a municipality in the district of Goms in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Nearby Fiescheralp is administered by Fiesch and is accessible by the Eggishorn lift. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site for its view ...

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 ...

Kleine Scheidegg The Kleine Scheidegg ( en, Little Scheidegg) is a mountain pass at an elevation of , situated below and between the Eiger and Lauberhorn peaks in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. The name means "minor watershed", as it only divides the ...

Eiger The Eiger () is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, just north of the main watershed and border with Valais. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that exten ...

Jungfraujoch railway station Jungfraujoch is an underground railway station situated near the Jungfraujoch, in the canton of Valais, a few metres from the border with the canton of Bern. At above sea level, it is the terminus of the Jungfrau Railway and the highest railway ...

Top of Europe The Top of Europe is a high-altitude building located in the Swiss canton of Valais. It overlooks the eternal snows of the Aletsch Glacier from the south side of the Jungfraujoch, at a height of above sea level. It is connected to the underground ...

crevasse A crevasse is a deep crack, that forms in a glacier or ice sheet that can be a few inches across to over 40 feet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid p ...

Mönchsjoch Hut The Mönchsjoch Hut ( German: ''Mönchsjochhütte'') is a mountain hut located in the Bernese Alps in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. At an altitude of is one of the highest huts owned by the Swiss Alpine Club. The hut lies just above the O ...

Sphinx Observatory The Sphinx Observatory is an astronomical observatory located above the Jungfraujoch in Switzerland. It is named after the ''Sphinx'', a rocky summit on which it is located. At above mean sea level, it is one of the highest observatories in th ...

Global Atmosphere Watch The Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) is a worldwide system established by the World Meteorological Organizationa United Nations agencyto monitor trends in the Earth's atmosphere. It arose out of concerns for the state of the atmosphere in the 1960s. ...

Jungfraujoch radio relay station The Jungfraujoch radio relay station (german: Richtfunkstation Jungfraujoch) is a former Swisscom microwave radio relay station atop the Jungfraujoch, the mountain ridge between Mönch and Jungfrau, in the Swiss Alps. At an altitude of above sea ...

radio relay Radio stations that cannot communicate directly due to distance, terrain or other difficulties sometimes use an intermediate radio relay station to relay the signals. A radio relay receives weak signals and retransmits them, often in a different di ...

yoke A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, u ...

Deutsches Wörterbuch The ''Deutsches Wörterbuch'' (; "The German Dictionary"), abbreviated ''DWB'', is the largest and most comprehensive dictionary of the German language in existence.weisth. 1, 4 (Zürich)"). The name ''Jungfrau'' ('maiden, virgin'), which refers to the highest mountain overlooking the Jungfraujoch, is most likely derived from the name ''Jungfrauenberg'' given to

Wengernalp The Wengernalp is an alpine meadow at an elevation of 1874 m, above Wengen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland. It lies on the southern slopes of the Lauberhorn, just below Kleine Scheidegg, a mountain pass connecting the valleys of Lauterbr ...

, so named for the nuns of

Interlaken Monastery , order = Augustinians , established = by 1133 , disestablished = 1528 , mother = , dedication = , diocese = Lausanne , churches = , founder = B ...

, its historical owner. However, the "virgin" peak was heavily romanticized as a "goddess" or "priestess" only in late 18th- to 19th-century Romanticism. After the first ascent in 1811 by Swiss alpinist Johann Rudolf Meyer, the peak was jokingly referred to as ''Mme Meyer'' (Mrs. Meyer).

Geographic setting

The Jungfraujoch is a snow saddle located directly between the summits of Mathildespitze (west) and Sphinx (east). It is, however, most notably the lowest point between 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 Ju ...

and the

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 ...

, respectively third and fourth highest mountains in the Bernese Alps, and the key col of the former. The south side (canton of Valais), almost flat, is constituted by the Jungfraufirn, one of the branches of the

Aletsch Glacier The Aletsch Glacier (german: Aletschgletscher, ) or Great Aletsch Glacier () is the largest glacier in the Alps. It has a length of about (2014), has about a volume of (2011), and covers about (2011) in the eastern Bernese Alps in the Swiss can ...

, the longest in the

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, Sw ...

. From the south, the Jungfraujoch can be relatively easily accessed by mountaineers in two days from the region of

Fiesch Fiesch is a municipality in the district of Goms in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Nearby Fiescheralp is administered by Fiesch and is accessible by the Eggishorn lift. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site for its view ...

, via the Konkordia Hut. The north side (canton of Bern) is almost vertical with a difference of height of nearly 3,000 metres from the bottom of the valley at

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 ...

, with no easy natural access. For those reasons, the only easy and quick access to the Jungfraujoch is through the 7 kilometre-long tunnel of the Jungfrau Railway, accessed via

Kleine Scheidegg The Kleine Scheidegg ( en, Little Scheidegg) is a mountain pass at an elevation of , situated below and between the Eiger and Lauberhorn peaks in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. The name means "minor watershed", as it only divides the ...

on the north side, the railway pass between

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 ...

. Administrativelly, the Jungfraujoch is split between the territories of the municipalities 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

Fieschertal Fieschertal is a village and municipality in the district of Goms in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Besides the village of Fieschertal, the municipality includes the nearby hamlets of Wichul, Zer Flie and Wirbul. History Fieschertal is ...

. Nearly all built infrastructure, including the

Jungfraujoch railway station Jungfraujoch is an underground railway station situated near the Jungfraujoch, in the canton of Valais, a few metres from the border with the canton of Bern. At above sea level, it is the terminus of the Jungfrau Railway and the highest railway ...

,

Top of Europe The Top of Europe is a high-altitude building located in the Swiss canton of Valais. It overlooks the eternal snows of the Aletsch Glacier from the south side of the Jungfraujoch, at a height of above sea level. It is connected to the underground ...

complex and the

Sphinx Observatory The Sphinx Observatory is an astronomical observatory located above the Jungfraujoch in Switzerland. It is named after the ''Sphinx'', a rocky summit on which it is located. At above mean sea level, it is one of the highest observatories in th ...

, are on the Valais side of the border, therefore in the municipality of Fieschertal. The ridge between the Jungfrau and the Mönch is a major European watershed as well. The north side is drained by the Weisse Lütschine, 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 descen ...

and the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

. The south side is drained by the

Massa Massa may refer to: Places *Massa, Tuscany, the administrative seat of the Italian province of Massa-Carrara. *Massa (river), river in Switzerland * Massa (Tanzanian ward), administrative ward in the Mpwapwa district of the Dodoma Region of Ta ...

and the Rhone. Jungfraujoch 090425

First crossing

There is a tradition in the Bernese Oberland, supported by some documentary evidence, that a pass existed between

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

and

Fiesch Fiesch is a municipality in the district of Goms in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Nearby Fiescheralp is administered by Fiesch and is accessible by the Eggishorn lift. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site for its view ...

in

Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the S ...

in the late medieval period, later lost to the advancing glaciers. With the early development of

tourism in Switzerland Tourists are drawn to Switzerland's diverse landscape as well as the available activities, which take advantage of the Alpine climate and landscapes, in particular for skiing and mountaineering. As of 2016, tourism accounted for an estimated 2.6 ...

and the

exploration of the High Alps The higher region of the Alps were long left to the exclusive attention of the inhabitants of the adjoining valleys, even when Alpine travellers (as distinguished from Alpine climbers) began to visit these valleys. It is reckoned that about 20 gla ...

in the 19th century, there were once again attempts to traverse the great ridge that encloses the head of the

Aletsch Glacier The Aletsch Glacier (german: Aletschgletscher, ) or Great Aletsch Glacier () is the largest glacier in the Alps. It has a length of about (2014), has about a volume of (2011), and covers about (2011) in the eastern Bernese Alps in the Swiss can ...

, and connecting Fiesch with Grindelwald and

Wengernalp The Wengernalp is an alpine meadow at an elevation of 1874 m, above Wengen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland. It lies on the southern slopes of the Lauberhorn, just below Kleine Scheidegg, a mountain pass connecting the valleys of Lauterbr ...

. Four such routes were found, with the Jungfraujoch and the Eigerjoch being among the most difficult passes in the Alps, John Ball, ''The Alpine guide, Central Alps'', p. 106, 1866, London despite the former having a relatively easy southern approach on the Aletsch Glacier. The first ascent of the north side of the Jungfraujoch succeeded in July 1862, by a party of six English climbers and six Swiss guides:

Leslie Stephen Sir Leslie Stephen (28 November 1832 – 22 February 1904) was an English author, critic, historian, biographer, and mountaineer, and the father of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell. Life Sir Leslie Stephen came from a distinguished intellect ...

, F. J. Hardy, H. B. George, Living, Moore, and Morgan, with

Christian Almer 220px, Christian Almer Christian Almer (29 March 1826 – 17 May 1898) was a Swiss mountain guide and the first ascentionist of many prominent mountains in the western Alps during the golden and silver ages of alpinism. Almer was born and died ...

, Christian and Peter Michel, Ulrich Kauffmann, P. Baumann, and C. Bohren as guides. The time of ascent from Wengernalp was nine hours. The party turned back on the first day at a

bergschrund A bergschrund (from the German for ''mountain cleft'') or rimaye (from French; ) is a crevasse that forms where moving glacier ice separates from the stagnant ice or firn above. It is often a serious obstacle for mountaineers, who sometimes ...

, returning on the following day with a ladder in length, carried by Peter Rubi, a porter from Grindelwald. The way lay at first by the rocky buttress of the

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 ...

, separating the

Eiger The Eiger () is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, just north of the main watershed and border with Valais. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that exten ...

and Guggi glaciers. From the buttress the route descended a short distance in order to reach the Guggi Glacier, which could be ascended to a plateau. This halting place was reached in about three hours. 2009 Jungfraujoch

Above the bergschrund was a second and smaller plateau which was situated immediately under the long slopes of broken neve that lay below the saddle. The final and very arduous stage in the ascent was a single patch of dark rocks jutted out from the snow in the ridge connecting the Jungfrau with the Mönch. After more than an hour of climbing, a great wall of ice, whose projecting cornice of snow was fringed by long icicles, had to be avoided bearing left in the direction of the Mönch, along the base of the wall by a slippery pathway of ice formed from the dripping from the icicles above. At a point where the pathway thinned out nearly to a point, and was cut across by a transverse

crevasse A crevasse is a deep crack, that forms in a glacier or ice sheet that can be a few inches across to over 40 feet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid p ...

, the wall became low enough to be scaled by the ladder. This was the last serious obstacle: a moderate slope of névé, unbroken by crevasses, then led up to the summit of the saddle. After reaching the first patch of rocks, a short way below the saddle on the south side, the party divided: George and Moore, with C. Almer and U. Kaufmann went down to the Eggishorn and Fiesch, therefore completing the first crossing of the Jungfraujoch, while the remainder of the party returned to Grindelwald by the Mönchsjoch.

Jungfrau Railway

History

Adolf Guyer-Zeller Adolf Guyer-Zeller (1 May 1839 – 3 April 1899) was a Swiss entrepreneur. Born in Bäretswil, Switzerland on 1 May 1839, Guyer-Zeller was the son of an owner of spinning mill and creator of a textile export trade in Zürich. After the death of hi ...

first thought of the idea of a tunnel in 1893, and at that point, he had planned to have seven stations inside the tunnel before reaching the peak of the Sphinx. The building of the tunnel started on July 27, 1896 and took 16 years to complete. The construction phase was troubled by many problems including monetary shortages, inclement weather and mounting deaths due to construction accidents. The worst accident occurred in 1908, when 30 tons of

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germany, and patented in 1867. It rapidl ...

accidentally exploded. When construction finally finished, the railway reached only to the height of the Jungfraujoch saddle, rather than the summit of the Sphinx, and had only two intermediate stations. However, even in its current state, the Jungfraubahn is a significant achievement in engineering and construction, still holding the title for highest railway in Europe.

Railway

The train into the mountain leaves from

Kleine Scheidegg The Kleine Scheidegg ( en, Little Scheidegg) is a mountain pass at an elevation of , situated below and between the Eiger and Lauberhorn peaks in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. The name means "minor watershed", as it only divides the ...

, which can be reached by trains from

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

and

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 ...

. The train enters the tunnel running eastward through the Eiger shortly after leaving Kleine Scheidegg. It runs close behind the Eiger's north face, stopping at Eigerwand, where there is a window about 8 m long and a metre high, halfway up the face. The windows have been placed in holes used to remove excavated rock from the tunnel during construction, and are also occasionally used as access points, by climbers, and also rescue parties. This window was used for one of the final scenes of a

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...

spy movie The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond film ...

, ''

The Eiger Sanction ''The Eiger Sanction'' is a 1972 thriller novel by Trevanian, the pen name of Rodney William Whitaker. The story is about a classical art professor and collector who doubles as a professional assassin, and who is coerced out of retirement to ave ...

''. There one can get off the train to admire the view before the train continues five minutes later. The tunnel then turns west, heading towards the Jungfrau. There is a second stop at a window looking out on the Eismeer ("Sea of Ice") before the train continues to the Jungfraujoch. The tunnel was constructed between 1898 and 1912; it is about long, with gradients of up to 25%. The journey from Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch takes approximately 50 minutes including the stops at Eigerwand and Eismeer; the downhill return journey taking only 35 minutes. The Jungfraujoch complex plays an important role in

John Christopher Sam Youd (16 April 1922 – 3 February 2012), was a British writer, best known for science fiction written under the name of John Christopher, including the novels ''The Death of Grass'', ''The Possessors'', and the young-adult novel series ...

's ''

The Tripods ''The Tripods'' is a series of young adult novels written by John Christopher, beginning in 1967. The first two were the basis of a science fiction TV series, produced in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. Synopsis The story of ''The Tripods'' ...

'' novels.

Climate

Located above the permanent

snow line The climatic snow line is the boundary between a snow-covered and snow-free surface. The actual snow line may adjust seasonally, and be either significantly higher in elevation, or lower. The permanent snow line is the level above which snow wil ...

, the Jungfraujoch is officially the coldest place in Switzerland,Swiss records - Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss
/ref> although other higher locations with no weather station, for example the top of the nearby

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

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 ...

, probably experience a more extreme climate. According to

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, the Jungfraujoch has an alpine climate on the border between

tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. undra climate https://www.britannica.com/science/tundra-climateThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019 It is classified as ET according to Köppen ...

(ET) and

ice cap climate An ice cap climate is a polar climate where no mean monthly temperature exceeds . The climate covers areas in or near the high latitudes (65° latitude) to polar regions (70–90° north and south latitude), such as Antarctica, some of the northe ...

(EF) with long, cold winters lasting most of the year and a brief period during summer where the average daily highs rise above freezing.

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

Jungfraubahn
{{Authority control Mountain passes of Switzerland Mountain passes of the Alps Bernese Oberland Tourist attractions in Switzerland World Heritage Sites in Switzerland Mountain passes of the canton of Bern Bern–Valais border Mountain passes of Valais Rail mountain passes of Switzerland

Etymology

Geographic setting

First crossing

Jungfrau Railway

History

Railway

Climate

See also

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links