Gondo-Zwischbergen
Zwischbergen is a municipality south of the Simplon Pass and lies directly on the border with Italy. It includes the famous village of Gondo, where the majority of the municipality’s 74 inhabitants live. Opposite this village on the border, a road winds its way along a terrace as the wonderfully wild, 16km-long Zwischbergental valley opens up behind it.
The Zwischbergental certainly lives up to its name, which means “valley between the mountains” in German: it is surrounded by peaks stretching up to 4,000 metres high. The gold mines at the entrance to the valley date back to Roman times. They were shut down at the end of the 19th century and are now used as an exhibition mine. The gold mines experienced their heyday between 1660 and 1691 under Kaspar Jodok von Stockalper. The mule track named after him connects Brig with Gondo and leads through a former infantry fortress, Fort Gondo.
There are around 50 people working in Gondo, mainly in the management of through traffic on the national road, at the hydropower plant, in border security, petrol stations and shops, and at the Stockalperturm and Bellevue restaurants. A single full-time farmer cultivates the entire Zwischbergental valley and makes cheese at his dairy farm.
Iselle railway station in Italy is only five kilometres away, and provides regular connections between Brig and Domodossola. The quickest-available rail connection takes commuters and schoolchildren from Brig to Gondo via Iselle in just 22 minutes.
Altitude: |
850 (m. above sea level) |
Number of inhabitants (as of 31.12.2023): |
81 |
Languages of municipal administration: |
Deutsch, Französisch, Englisch, Italienisch |
Travel time by car to/from Visp : |
49 min |
Distance by car to/from Visp: |
49 km |
Gemeinde Gondo-Zwischbergen
3907 Gondo
Phone: +41 (0)27 979 15 01
gemeinde@gondo.ch
www.gondo.ch