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Prehistory to Christianity Ötzi, the 5,300-year-old mummy, found in the Ötztal Alps shown here in a museum reproduction of what he may have looked like. About 10,000 years ago, when the ice melted after the last glacial period, late Paleolithic communities were established along the lake shores and in cave systems. Evidence of human habitation has been found in caves near Vercors, close to Grenoble; in Austria the Mondsee culture shows evidence of houses built on piles to keep them dry. Standing stones have been found in Alpine areas of France and Italy. The Rock Drawings in Valcamonica are more than 5000 years old; more than 200,000 drawings and etchings have been identified at the site.[74] In 1991 a mummy of a neolithic body, known as Ötzi the Iceman, was discovered by hikers on the Similaun glacier. His clothing and gear indicate that he lived in an alpine farming community, while the location and manner of his death—an arrowhead was discovered in his shoulder—suggests he was traveling from one place to another.[75] Analysis of the Mitochondrial DNA of Ötzi, has shown that he belongs to the K1 subclade which cannot be categorized into any of the three modern branches of that subclade. The new subclade has provisionally been named K1ö for Ötzi.[76] Celtic tribes settled in Switzerland between 1000 to 1500 BC. The Raetians lived in the eastern regions, while the west was occupied by the Helvetii and the Allobrogi settled in the Rhone valley and in Savoy. Among the many substances Celtic tribes mined was salt in areas such as Salzburg in Austria where evidence of the Hallstatt culture was found by a mine manager in the 19th century.[74] By the 6th century BC the La Tène culture was well established in the region,[77] and became known for high quality decorated weapons and jewelry.[78] The Celts were the most widespread of the mountain tribes—they had warriors that were strong, tall and fair skinned skilled with iron weapons, which gave them an advantage in warfare.[79] During the Second Punic War in 218 BC, the Carthaginian general Hannibal probably crossed the Alps with an army numbering 38,000 infantry, 8,000 cavalry, and 37 war elephants. This was one of the most celebrated achievements of any military force in ancient warfare,[80] although no evidence exists of the actual crossing or the place of crossing. The Romans, however, had built roads along the mountain passes, which continued to be used through the medieval period to cross the mountains and Roman road markers can still be found on the mountain passes.[81] Château de Chillon, an early medieval castle on the north shore of Lake Geneva, is shown here against the backdrop of the Dents du Midi The Roman expansion brought the defeat of the Allobrogi in 121 BC and during the Gallic Wars in 58 BC Julius Caesar overcame the Helvetii. The Rhaetians continued to resist but were eventually conquered when the Romans turned northward to the Danube valley in Austria and defeated the Brigantes.[82] The Romans built settlements in the Alps; towns such as Aosta (named for Augustus) in Italy, Martigny and Lausanne in Switzerland, and Partenkirchen in Bavaria show remains of Roman baths, villas, arenas and temples.[83] Much of the Alpine region was gradually settled by Germanic tribes, (Lombards, Alemanni, Bavarii, and Franks) from the 6th to the 13th centuries,[84] with the latest expansion corresponding to the Walser migrations. Christianity, feudalism, and Napoleonic wars Christianity was established in the region by the Romans, and saw the establishment of monasteries and churches in the high regions. The Frankish expansion of the Carolingian Empire and the Bavarian expansion in the eastern Alps introduced feudalism and the building of castles to support the growing number of dukedoms and kingdoms. Castello del Buonconsiglio in Trento, Italy, still has intricate frescoes, excellent examples of Gothic art, in a tower room. In Switzerland, Château de Chillon is preserved as an example of medieval architecture.[85] Much of the medieval period was a time of power struggles between competing dynasties such as the House of Savoy, the Visconti in northern Italy and the House of Habsburg in Austria.[86] In 1291 to protect themselves from incursions by the Habsburgs, four cantons in the middle of Switzerland drew up a charter that is considered to be a declaration of independence from neighboring kingdoms. After a series of battles fought in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, more cantons joined the confederacy and by the 16th century Switzerland was well-established as a separate state.[87] Russian troops under Suvorov crossing the Alps in 1799 During the Napoleonic Wars in the late 18th century and early 19th century, Napoleon annexed territory formerly controlled by the Habsburgs and Savoys. In 1798 he established the Helvetic Republic in Switzerland; two years later he led an army across the St. Bernhard pass and conquered almost all of the Alpine regions.[88] In the 19th century, the monasteries built in the high Alps during the medieval period to shelter travelers and as places of pilgrimage, became tourist destinations. The Benedictines had built monasteries in Lucerne, Switzerland, and Oberammergau; the Cistercians in the Tyrol and at Lake Constance; and the Augustinians had abbeys in the Savoy and one in the center of Interlaken, Switzerland.[89] The Great St Bernard Hospice, built in the 9th or 10th centuries, at the summit of the Great Saint Bernard Pass was shelter for travelers and place for pilgrims since its inception; by the 19th century it became a tourist attraction with notable visitors such as author Charles Dickens and mountaineer Edward Whymper.[90] Exploration Main article: Exploration of the High Alps The first ascent of the Matterhorn (1865), lithograph by Gustave Doré Radiocarbon dated charcoal placed around 50,000 years ago was found in the Drachloch (Dragon's Hole) cave above the village of Vattis in the canton of St. Gallen, proving that the high peaks were visited by prehistoric people. Seven bear skulls from the cave may have been buried by the same prehistoric people.[91] The peaks, however, were mostly ignored except for a few notable examples, and long left to the exclusive attention of the people of the adjoining valleys.[92] The mountain peaks were seen as terrifying, the abode of dragons and demons, to the point that people blindfolded themselves to cross the Alpine passes.[93] The glaciers remained a mystery and many still believed the highest areas to be inhabited by dragons.[94] Charles VII of France ordered his chamberlain to climb Mont Aiguille in 1356. The knight reached the summit of Rocciamelone where he left a bronze triptych of three crosses, a feat which he conducted with the use of ladders to traverse the ice.[95] In 1492 Antoine de Ville climbed Mont Aiguille, without reaching the summit, an experience he described as "horrifying and terrifying."[92] Leonardo da Vinci was fascinated by variations of light in the higher altitudes, and climbed a mountain—scholars are uncertain which one; some believe it may have been Monte Rosa. From his description of a "blue like that of a gentian" sky it is thought that he reached a significantly high altitude.[96] In the 18th century four Chamonix man almost made the summit of Mont Blanc but were overcome by altitude sickness and snowblindness.[97] Conrad Gessner was the first naturalist to ascend the mountains in the 16th century, to study them, writing that in the mountains he found the "theatre of the Lord".[98] By the 19th century more naturalists began to arrive to explore, study and conquer the high peaks; they were followed by artists, writers and painters.[99] Two men who first explored the regions of ice and snow were Horace-Bénédict de Saussure (1740–1799) in the Pennine Alps,[100] and the Benedictine monk of Disentis Placidus a Spescha (1752–1833).[99] Born in Geneva, Saussure was enamored with the mountains from an early age; he left a law career to become a naturalist and spent many years trekking through the Bernese Oberland, the Savoy, the Piedmont and Valais, studying the glaciers and the geology, as he became an early proponent of the theory of rock upheaval.[101] Saussure, in 1787, was a member of the third ascent of Mont Blanc—today the summits of all the peaks have been climbed.[31] The Romantics Jean-Jacques Rousseau was the first of many to present the Alps as a place of allure and beauty, banishing the prevalent conception of the mountains as a hellish wasteland inhabited by demons. Rousseau's conception of alpine purity was later emphasized with the publication of Albrecht von Haller's poem Die Alpen that described the mountains as an area of mythical purity.[102] Late in the 18th century the first wave of Romantics such as Goethe and Turner came to admire the scenery; Wordsworth visited the area in 1790, writing of his experiences in The Prelude. Schiller later wrote the play William Tell romanticising Swiss independence. After the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Alpine countries began to see an influx of poets, artists, and musicians,[103] as visitors came to experience the sublime effects of monumental nature.[104] Panoramic view from Nivolet peak. The Bourget lake inspired many romantic poets and especially Lamartine The scenery of the lac du Bourget in Savoy inspired the romantic poet Lamartine who wrote Le Lac (the lake) In 1816 Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and his wife Mary Shelley visited Geneva and all three were inspired by the scenery in their writings.[103] During these visits Shelley wrote the poem "Mont Blanc", Byron wrote "The Prisoner of Chillon" and the dramatic poem Manfred, and Mary Shelley, who found the scenery overwhelming, conceived the idea for the novel Frankenstein in her villa on the shores of Lake Geneva in the midst of a thunderstorm. When Coleridge travelled to Chamonix, he declaimed, in defiance of Shelley, who had signed himself "Atheos" in the guestbook of the Hotel de Londres near Montenvers,[105] "Who would be, who could be an atheist in this valley of wonders".[106] By the mid-19th century scientists began to arrive en masse to study the geology and ecology of the region.[107] The World Wars During World War I, an estimated 40,000 to 80,000 soldiers died as a result of avalanches during the mountain campaign in the Alps at the Austrian-Italian front, many of which were caused by artillery fire.[108][109] Some 10,000 men, from both sides, lost their lives in avalanches in December 1916.[110] Austrian-born Adolf Hitler had a lifelong romantic fascination with the Alps and by the 1930s established a home in the Obersalzberg region outside of Berchtesgaden. His first visit to the area was in 1923 and he maintained a strong tie there until the end of his life. At the end of World War II the US Army occupied Obersalzberg, to prevent Hitler from retreating with the Wehrmacht into the mountains.[111] The Nazis hid looted art in salt mines at Altaussee, such as the Early Netherlandish Ghent Altarpiece which sustained significant damage. By 1940 the Third Reich had occupied many of the Alpine countries. Austria underwent a political coup that made it part of the Third Reich; France had been invaded and Italy was a fascist regime. Switzerland was the only country to luckily avoid invasion.[112] The Swiss Confederate mobilized its troops—the country follows the doctrine of "armed neutrality" with all males required to have military training—a number that General Eisenhower estimated to be about 850,000. The Swiss commanders wired the infrastructure leading into the country, and threatening to destroy bridges, railway tunnels and passes in the event of a Nazi invasion, and then they retreated to the heart of the mountain peaks where conditions were harsher and a military invasion would involve difficult and protracted battles.[113] Ski troops were trained for the war, and battles were waged in mountainous areas such as the battle at Riva Ridge in Italy, where the American 10th Mountain Division encountered heavy resistance in February 1945.[114] At the end of the war, a substantial amount of Nazi plunder was found stored in Austria, where Hitler had hoped to retreat as the war drew to a close. The salt mines surrounding the Altaussee area, where American troops found 75 kilos of gold coins stored in a single mine, were used to store looted art, jewels, and currency; vast quantities of looted art were found and returned to the owners.[115] Alpine people and culture Further information: Transhumance in the Alps and Swiss folklore The population of the region is 14 million spread across eight countries.[2] On the rim of the mountains, on the plateaus and the plains the economy consists of manufacturing and service jobs whereas in the higher altitudes and in the mountains farming is still essential to the economy.[116] The city of Trento is known for its quality of life. Hallstatt is known for its production of salt, dating back to prehistoric times. Today, the majority lives in Alpine towns or agglomerations, especially around Grenoble, Innsbruck, Trento and Bozen/Bolzano. Alpine urban regions, which often extend over entire valley sections,[117] are perceived to offer a relatively high quality of life due to their proximity to natural environments.[118] Farming and forestry continue to be mainstays of Alpine culture, industries that provide for export to the cities and maintain the mountain ecology.[119] Much of the Alpine culture is unchanged since the medieval period when skills that guaranteed survival in the mountain valleys and in the highest villages became mainstays, leading to strong traditions of carpentry, woodcarving, baking and pastry-making, and cheesemaking.[120] Farming and forestry continue to be mainstays of Alpine culture, industries that provide for export to the cities and maintain the mountain ecology.[119] Farming had been a traditional occupation for centuries, although is becoming less dominant in the 20th century with the advent of tourism. Grazing and pasture land is limited because of the steep and rocky topography of the Alps. In mid-June cows are moved to the highest pastures close to the snowline, where they are watched by herdsmen who stay in the high altitudes often living in stone huts or wooden barns during the summers.[120] Villagers celebrate the day the cows are herded up to the pastures and again when they return in mid-September. The Alpanschluss or Désalpes ("coming down from the alps") is celebrated by decorating the cows with garlands and enormous cowbells while the farmers dress in traditional costumes.[120] Herding sheep Cheesemaking is an ancient tradition in most Alpine countries. A wheel of cheese from the Emmental in Switzerland can weigh up to 100 pounds, and the Beaufort in Savoy can weight up to 70 kg (150 lb). Owners of the cows traditionally receive from the cheesemakers a portion in relation to the proportion of the cow's milk from the summer months in the high alps. Haymaking is an important farming activity in mountain villages which has become somewhat mechanized recent years, although the slopes are so steep that usually scythes are necessary to cut the grass. Hay is normally brought in twice a year, often also on festival days.[120] Alpine festivals vary from country to country and often include the display of local costumes such as dirndl and trachten, the playing of Alpenhorns, wrestling matches, some pagan traditions such as Walpurgis Night, and in many areas Carnival is celebrated before Lent.[121] In the high villages people live in homes built according to medieval designs that withstand cold winters. The kitchen is separated from the living area (called the stube, the area of the home heated by a stove), and second-floor bedrooms benefit from rising heat. The typical Swiss chalet originated in the Bernese Oberland. Chalets often face south or downhill, are built of solid wood, with a steeply gabled roof to allow accumulated snow to slide off easily. Stairs leading to upper levels are sometimes built on the outside, and balconies are sometimes enclosed.[120][122] In some French chalets called "Tournavel" the cows are staying downstairs, people using the warmth from the cattle to heat up the living areas designed for humans upstairs. Typical village of Savoy (France) with roofs made up with pieces of rocks. Food is passed from the kitchen to the stube, where the dining room table is placed. Some meals are communal, such as fondue, where a pot is set in the middle of the table for each person to dip into. Other meals are still served in a traditional manner on carved wooden plates. Furniture has been traditionally elaborately carved and in many Alpine countries carpentry skills are passed from generation to generation. Roofs are constructed from Alpine rocks such as pieces of schist, gneiss or slate.[123] Theses chalets are usually found in the higher parts of the valleys were the wood is rare and the amount of snow very important during the cold months like the Maurienne valley in Savoy. The inclination of the roof cannot exceed 40%, allowing the snow to stay on top. Thus this thick layer is used as an effective insulation from the cold.[124] The Alpine regions are multicultural and linguistically diverse. Dialects are common, and vary from valley to valley, region to region. In the Slavic Alps alone 19 dialects have been identified. Some of the French dialects spoken in the French, Swiss and the Italian alps of Aosta Valley derive from Old Provençal and is called mostly Arpitan; the German dialects derive from Germanic tribal languages.[125] Romansh, spoken by two percent of the population in southeast Switzerland, is an ancient Rheato-Romanic language derived from Latin, remnants of ancient Celtic languages and perhaps Etruscan.[125] In others parts of the alps, Celtic languages were used. Like the name of Tarentaise in Savoy (France) deriving from "Darantasia" a Celtic word, meaning "The wild waters" (see Ceutrones). Tourism Further information: Tourism in Austria, Tourism in France, Tourism in Italy, Tourism in Slovenia and Tourism in Switzerland The ski resort in Speikboden, South Tyrol At present the Alps are one of the more popular tourist destinations in the world with many resorts such Oberstdorf, in Bavaria, Saalbach in Austria, Davos in Switzerland, Chamonix in France, and Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy recording more than a million annual visitors. With over 120 million visitors a year tourism is integral to the Alpine economy with much it coming from winter sports although summer visitors are an important component of the tourism industry.[126] The tourism industry began in the early 19th century when foreigners visited the Alps, traveled to the bases of the mountains to enjoy the scenery, and stayed at the spa-resorts. Large hotels were built during the Belle Époque; cog-railways, built early in the 20th century, brought tourists to ever higher elevations, with the Jungfraubahn terminating at the Jungfraujoch after going through a tunnel in Eiger. During this period winter sports were slowly introduced: in 1882 the first figure skating championship was held in St. Moritz, and downhill skiing became a popular sport with English visitors early in the 20th century,[126] as the first ski-lift was installed in 1908 above Grindelwald.[127] Karl Schranz running the Lauberhorn in 1966 In the first half of the 20th century the Olympic Winter Games were held three times in Alpine venues: the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France; the 1928 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland; and the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. During World War II the winter games were canceled but after that time the Winter Games have been held in St. Moritz (1948), Cortina d'Ampezzo (1956), Innsbruck, Austria (1964 and 1976), Grenoble, France, (1968), Albertville, France, (1992), and Torino (2006).[128] In 1930 the Lauberhorn Rennen (Lauberhorn Race), was run for the first time on the Lauberhorn above Wengen;[129] the equally demanding Hahnenkamm was first run in the same year in Kitzbühl, Austria.[130] Both races continue to be held each January on successive weekends. The Lauberhorn is the more strenuous downhill race at 4.5 km (2.8 mi) and poses danger to racers who reach 130 km/h (81 mph) within seconds of leaving the start gate.[131] During the post-World War I period ski-lifts were built in Swiss and Austrian towns to accommodate winter visitors, but summer tourism continued to be important; by the mid-20th century the popularity of downhill skiing increased greatly as it became more accessible and in the 1970s several new villages were built in France devoted almost exclusively to skiing, such as Les Menuires. Until this point Austria and Switzerland had been the traditional and more popular destinations for winter sports, but by the end of the 20th century and into the early 21st century, France, Italy and the Tyrol began to see increases in winter visitors.[126] From 1980 to the present, ski-lifts have been modernized and snow-making machines installed at many resorts, leading to concerns regarding the loss of traditional Alpine culture and questions regarding sustainable development as the winter ski industry continues to develop quickly and the number of summer tourists decline.[126] Transportation Zentralbahn Interregio train following the Lake Brienz shoreline, near Niederried in Switzerland. The region is serviced by 4,200 km (2,600 mi) of roads used by 6 million vehicles.[2] Train travel is well established in the Alps, with, for instance 120 km (75 mi) of track for every 1,000 km2 (390 sq mi) in a country such as Switzerland.[132] Most of Europe's highest railways are located there. Moreover, plans are underway to build a 57 km (35 mi)-long sub-alpine tunnel connecting the older Lötschberg and Gotthard tunnels built in the 19th century.[133] Some high mountain villages, such as Avoriaz (in France), Wengen, and Zermatt (in Switzerland) are accessible only by cable car or cog-rail trains, and are car free. Other villages in the Alps are considering becoming car free zones or limiting the number of cars for reasons of sustainability of the fragile Alpine terrain.[134] The lower regions and larger towns of the Alps are well-served by motorways and main roads, but higher mountain passes and byroads can be treacherous even in summer due to steep slopes. Many passes are closed in winter. A multitude of airports around the Alps (and some within), as well as long-distance rail links from all neighbouring countries, afford large numbers of travellers easy access from abroad.[2] |
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