Switzerland, Zermatt

Zermatt is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.

It is located at the northern base of the Matterhorn in the German-speaking and predominantly Roman Catholic section of the canton. It is 62 km southeast of Gstaad, and only about 10 km from the border with Italy.

Zermatt has a permanent population of around 5,500 people, although the actual population varies considerably through the seasons as tourists come and go. The village is situated at the end of a north-facing valley, at an altitude of 1,620m (5,315ft).

Tourism

Zermatt is famed as a ski resort and as a tourist destination. Until the mid-19th century, it was predominantly an agricultural community — its name, as well as that of the Matterhorn itself, derives from the alpine meadows, or matten, in the valley.

The town was "discovered" mid-century by British mountaineers, most notably Edward Whymper, whose conquest of the Matterhorn made the village famous worldwide.

Zermatt is a starting point for many hikes into the surrounding mountains, including the Haute Route that ultimately leads to Chamonix in France. A complex of cable cars and chair lifts carry skiers in the winter and hikers in the summer; the highest of them leads to the Klein Matterhorn at 3,883m, a small outcropping on the ridge between Breithorn and Matterhorn that offers spectacular views in all directions.

Transportation

To prevent air pollution which could disfigure the town's lovely view of the Matterhorn, the entire town is a combustion-engine car-free zone. Electric vehicles are allowed for local commerces. The Cantonal police can issue a permit which allows residents to drive and park at the northern outskirts.

There are various passenger vehicles operating within Zermatt, from tiny electric shuttles provided by hotels to carry visitors from the main train station (or the taxi transfer point just outside town) to the hotel properties, to "electro" taxis operated by four major Zermatt families, and "electro" buses, which serve two routes: one between the major hotel areas and the stations of the various ski-lifts, and the other following a similar route but also serving the more rural "suburb" of Winkelmatten.

In 2007, a project group was formed to evaluate different options for further development of the local transportation network (as the "electro" buses do not have enough capacity). The results of this study are published in the December 2007 edition of Zermatt Inside.