The Splügen Pass (; ; ) is an Alpine

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

of the Lepontine Alps. It connects the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

, Grisonian Splügen to the north below the pass with the Italian Chiavenna to the south at the end of the Valle San Giacomo below the pass.

Geography

The pass road connects the

Hinterrhein valley and Splügen in the canton of Graubünden with the Valle San Giacomo and Chiavenna in the Italian province of Sondrio, the road continuing to Lake Como. The pass is the water divide between the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

s of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

, which flows into the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

, and the Po, which flows into the Adriatic. The pass is overlooked by Pizzo Tambo and the Surettahorn, on its western and eastern side, respectively. On the Italian side of the pass is Montespluga, a small three street village that is cut off from both Italy and Switzerland during the winter. ViaSpluga01

Since the opening of the San Bernardino road tunnel in 1967, the pass has lost its former importance; it is not kept open in winter. Thanks to its lack of importance, it is now a quiet pass where essential portions of the historical roads have survived allowing a good historical review for hikers on the ''Via Spluga''.

History

The pass was in use in the Roman era. It possibly corresponds to ''Cunus Aureus'' shown on the Tabula Peutingeriana (which may alternatively have referred to the Julier Pass). The name ''Splügen'' itself is possibly derived from ''specula'' ("lookout"). In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the bishops of Chur had the trade route relocated to Septimer Pass. From 1818 to 1823 the modern road was built at the behest of the Austrian authorities, then ruling the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia in the south. In 1840, author

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

traveled through the pass on the way to Lake Como with her son. She describes the pass in her travel narrative, ''Rambles in Germany and Italy'', published in 1844: In 1843 the road was further expanded with a long avalanche gallery designed by the Swiss engineer Richard La Nicca which today is out of use but largely preserved. Plans to build a railroad line across Splügen Pass were abandoned in favour of the Gotthard railway line, which opened in 1882. The Pass is also mentioned in

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

's '' The Adventure of the Illustrious Client'', a

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

short story of 1924. The Austrian Baron Adalbert Grüner, the villain of the story, murdered his wife by throwing her from the Pass, although Holmes cannot prove it.

Bibliography

* Nicola Pfund, ''Sui passi in bicicletta - Swiss Alpine passes by bicycle'', Fontana Edizioni, 2012, p. 140-145.

References

External links

*
HistoryGradient of the road from SplügenGradient of the road from Chiavenna
{{DEFAULTSORT:Splugen Pass Mountain passes of the Alps Mountain passes of Italy Mountain passes of Switzerland Italy–Switzerland border crossings Valle Spluga Landforms of Lombardy Mountain passes of Graubünden Transport in Lombardy Lepontine Alps Rheinwald

Geography

History

See also

Bibliography

References

External links