Gimmelwald is a small traffic-free village in the

Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland (; ; ), sometimes also known as the Bernese Highlands, is the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern. It is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context it is referred to as ''Oberland'' witho ...

in the

Canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

, Switzerland, and is located between

Stechelberg Stechelberg () is a small village in Switzerland located at the base of the Schwarzmönch mountain in the Bernese Alps, part of the district of Lauterbrunnen. History The name "Stächelbärg" is first recorded in 1749 to describe this part of th ...

and

Mürren Mürren is a traditional Walser mountain village in the Bernese Highlands of Switzerland, at an elevation of above sea level. It cannot be reached by public road. It is also one of the popular tourist spots in Switzerland, and summer and winte ...

, at an elevation of 1363 meters (4472 feet). The village is at the foot of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage site the

Jungfrau-Aletsch Protected Area The Jungfrau-Aletsch protected area (officially Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch) is located in south-western Switzerland between the cantons of Bern and Valais. It is a mountainous region in the easternmost side of the Bernese Alps, containing the nort ...

. Gimmelwald is an Allemanic linear village and a

Walser The Walser people are the speakers of the Walser German dialects, a variety of Highest Alemannic. They inhabit the region of the Alps of Swiss Alps, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, as well as the fringes of Italy and Austria. The Walser peopl ...

settlement first mentioned in a

bill of sale A bill of sale is a document that transfers ownership of goods from one person to another. It is used in situations where the former owner transfers possession of the goods to a new owner. Bills of sale may be used in a wide variety of transaction ...

in 1346. Because of its very typical and exceptional townscape, Gimmelwald is part of the inventory of Swiss heritage. Gimmelwald is one of the few traffic-free villages in Switzerland where access by car is not possible due to a missing road connection. The

Schilthorn The Schilthorn () is a summit in Europe, in the Bernese Alps of Switzerland. It overlooks the valley of Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland, and is the highest mountain in the range lying north of the Sefinenfurgge Pass. The Schilthorn lies ab ...

cable car stops in Gimmelwald, where it is possible to board another cable car which runs between Gimmelwald and Mürren. Farming and tourism are the main sources of income. Farmers raise hay on tiny plots of land to feed small herds of cows. In winter, farmers often work as well for the

cable car by performing such jobs as running ski lifts or ski-slope grooming. In the year 2003, the population of Gimmelwald was 130. The local school closed in 2010 due to the small number of students; students now attend the school in

Lauterbrunnen Lauterbrunnen () is a village and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli (administrative district), Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Bern, Bern in Swi ...

. The school building was bought in 2019 by a

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

to convert it into flats and to prevent it from being used as a holiday flat.

Traffic and accessibility

There is a walking path between Gimmelwald and

, but lacking connection to the main road system, the main transportation to Gimmelwald is the Luftseilbahn Stechelberg-Mürren-Schilthorn (LSMS)

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, aerial tram, sky tram, cable car or aerial cablecar, aerial cableway, ropeway, téléphérique (French), or Seilbahn (German) is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary cables for support, with a third movin ...

famous for connecting the

valley to the

. The cable car connects Gimmelwald with the neighbouring elevated village Mürren and the village

, which is situated at the floor of the Lauterbrunnen valley. From Stechelberg a bus connects Lauterbrunnen where there are connections to the rest of Switzerland.

Politics

Gimmelwald, together with

Wengen Wengen () is a mountain village in the Bernese Oberland of central Switzerland. Located in the canton of Bern at an elevation of above sea level, it is part of the Jungfrauregion and has approximately 1,300 year-round residents, which swells t ...

Isenfluh Isenfluh is a hamlet in Switzerland, north of the road from Wilderswil to Lauterbrunnen. It is first mentioned in 1319 as ''Ysenfluo'' and in 1401 people from the Lötschental started to settle in the small hamlet. The hamlet belonged to the mon ...

, and

, belongs to the municipality of

. The parish covers the entire valley.

Tourism

The main source of income for Gimmelwald is tourism, and the village has a small hotel, former pension (now a British run hotel), a bed & breakfast and the Mountain Hostel. Gimmelwald was stopped from being developed into a large ski resort by having it declared an

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...

zone which is only partly the case. In summer, Gimmelwald is mostly visited by tourists from North America, and in winter is mostly visited by European and Swiss tourists for winter sports. Gimmelwald has a 2.2 km long

via ferrata A via ferrata (Italian language, Italian for "iron path", plural ''vie ferrate'' or in English ''via ferratas'') is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other Alpine locations. The protection includes steel fixtures such as ...

connecting the neighbouring village of

.Homepage Via Ferrata Gimmelwald-Mürren http://www.klettersteig-muerren.ch/ File:Jungfrau seen from gimmelwald.JPG, 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 Mönc ...

seen from Gimmelwald. File:Gspaltenhorn seen from gimmelwald.jpg, The

Gspaltenhorn The Gspaltenhorn is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, located between the valleys of Kiental and Lauterbrunnen in the canton of Canton of Bern, Bern. With an elevation of 3,436 metres above sea level, the Gspaltenhorn is the highest summit of the ra ...

seen from Gimmelwald.

References

External links

Gimmelwald tourismGimmelwald Mountain HostelKlettersteig/Via Ferrata Mürren–GimmelwaldRick Steves Gimmelwald
* {{authority control Villages in the canton of Bern Bernese Oberland Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland Car-free villages in Switzerland