Riffelalp is a hamlet in the municipality of

Zermatt Zermatt (, ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Visp (district), Visp in the German language, German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is cl ...

in the canton of

Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

. It is located at a height of above sea level, just above the tree line, approximately halfway between the town of Zermatt and the

Gornergrat The Gornergrat (; ) is a rocky ridge of the Pennine Alps, overlooking the Gorner Glacier south-east of Zermatt in Switzerland. It can be reached from Zermatt by the Gornergrat rack railway (GGB), the highest open-air railway in Europe. Betwee ...

mountain. Once the site of the prestigious Riffelalp Grand Hotel, today Riffelalp mainly consists of a large hotel complex, the Riffelalp Resort 2222m, and a chapel. Riffelalp is connected to Zermatt by the

Gornergrat railway The Gornergrat Railway (; GGB) is a mountain rack railway, located in the Switzerland, Swiss Valais, canton of Valais. It links the Zermatt, resort village of Zermatt, situated at above mean sea level, to the summit of the Gornergrat. The Gorn ...

, although Riffelalp railway station is located some distance from the resort. The long

Riffelalp tram The Riffelalp tram (, RiT) is a high altitude tramway line located in the Swiss canton of Valais near the resort of Zermatt. The line links the Riffelalp Resort to Riffelalp station, on the Gornergrat railway, and via that line to Zermatt and ...

links the two together.

History

The famous Zermatt hotelier Alexander Seiler first spotted the potential of the Riffelalp meadow, with its view of the

Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...

, in 1856, when he purchased his first parcel of land there. It wasn't, however, until 1878 that construction of the Riffelalp Grand Hotel got underway, and the hotel opened in 1884. In 1898, the

was opened, and the following year the hotel built the Riffelalp tram to connect it to the railway. Around this time, the capacity of the hotel reached 280 rooms, with the opening of two annex buildings. During the night of 14 February 1961, the Riffelalp Grand Hotel was destroyed in a fire. In 1986 work commenced on the refurbishment of the two annex, which had survived the fire, and 1988 the Riffelalp was again open to visitors. In 1998, work started on the construction of the new Riffelalp Resort on the site of the old grand hotel.

References

External links

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Riffelalp Resort
{{Matter Valley Zermatt