The Schilthorn () is a summit in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, in the

Bernese Alps The Bernese Alps are a mountain range of the Alps located in western Switzerland. Although the name suggests that they are located in the Berner Oberland region of the canton of Bern, portions of the Bernese Alps are in the adjacent cantons of Va ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. It overlooks the valley of Lauterbrunnen 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 ...

, and is the highest mountain in the range lying north of the

Sefinenfurgge Pass The Sefinafurgga ( Swiss German, Germanized: ''Sefinenfurgge'') is a mountain pass of the Bernese Alps. The pass crosses the col between the peaks of Hundshore and Bütlasse, at an elevation of . The pass is traversed by a hiking track, whi ...

. The Schilthorn lies above the village of Mürren, from where a cable car leads to its summit, holding the record of the steepest cable car in the world. Administratively, the summit is within the municipality of Lauterbrunnen, although the western slopes are within the municipality of Reichenbach im Kandertal. Both municipalities are 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 ...

. The summit has a panoramic view which spans from the

Titlis Titlis is a mountain of the Uri Alps, located on the border between the cantons of Obwalden and Bern. At above sea level, it is the highest summit of the range north of the Susten Pass, between the Bernese Oberland and Central Switzerland. It ...

, Jungfrau,

Mönch The Mönch (, German: "monk") at is a mountain in the Bernese Alps, in Switzerland. Together with the Eiger and the Jungfrau, it forms a highly recognisable group of mountains, visible from far away. The Mönch lies on the border between the ...

Eiger The Eiger () is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, just north of the main watershed and border with Valais. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that extends ...

, over the Bernese Alps and the

Jura mountains The Jura Mountains ( ) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper (" folded Jura", ) is located in France and Switzerla ...

up to the

Vosges Mountains The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian (linguistics), Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its France–Germany border, border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the bor ...

and the

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...

is also just visible.

Access

To get to the Schilthorn from the valley floor, a series of cable cars must be taken. The cable cars begin in

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 ...

leaving to Gimmelwald and then onto Mürren. Since its renovation in 2024, it holds the record of the steepest cable car in the world, with a gradient of 159.4%. From Mürren another cable car is taken to Birg, which is the final change before the Schilthorn. This cable airway is the longest and was the most technically challenging airway to be built. The other way up is to take the cable car from Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp and a train to Mürren, from where the cable car must be taken. Between Birg and the summit, the cable car passes over Grauseeli, a small lake. It is also possible to hike to the peak, along the myriad of small, but well-marked paths to the top. The hike to the top takes roughly five hours from Gimmelwald for a fit walker.

''Piz Gloria''

The panoramic revolving restaurant at the summit, ''

Piz Gloria Piz Gloria is a revolving restaurant at the -high summit of the Schilthorn near Mürren in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland. Overview The Aerial lift, cable car station and the restaurant were designed by Bernese architect Konrad Wolf. The Piz ...

'', was featured in the 1969

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

movie '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service''. A black ski run featured in the film starts at the summit and leads down to the Engetal below Birg. The restaurant revolves a full 360 degrees in 45 minutes, slightly faster than the minute hand of a clock. After considering a number of locations, the stalled construction of the sports bar atop the Schilthorn was chosen when the film's producer financed the completion of the famous revolving platform, for the right to use the facility for his next film, the first and only Bond film starring

George Lazenby George Robert Lazenby (; born 5 September 1939) is an Australian retired actor. Lazenby began his professional career as a model and had only acted in commercials when he was cast to replace the original James Bond actor, Sean Connery, playing ...

. A number of scenes in the film were photographed by cameraman John Jordan hanging below a speeding helicopter. Jordan had previously lost a foot to a helicopter rotor while filming the previous Bond movie '' You Only Live Twice''. Within a year and fitted with a prosthetic limb, Jordan lost his footing and fell to his death when filming similar aerial imagery used in the film '' Catch-22''.

Inferno races

During the winter, the Schilthorn is the traditional start for the world's longest downhill ski race, the "Inferno," which started in 1928. It is the largest amateur alpine ski race in the world. During the summer, the Inferno Triathlon finishes at the summit after a run up from the

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 ...

valley.

Access

''Piz Gloria''

Inferno races

See also

References

External links