Welcome to our themed trail "With Goethe at the Gotthard"! The app guides you primarily along the historic route from Andermatt via Hospental up to the Gotthard Pass. Along the way, text excerpts and audio files provide insights into how Goethe perceived the Ursern Valley and the Gotthard Pass during his three journeys across this central Alpine crossing. This allows you to experience the Andermatt holiday region and the Gotthard in a completely new way. Upon reaching your destination at the Gotthard Pass, you can visit the Museum Sasso San Gottardo, home to Switzerland's first permanent exhibition dedicated to Goethe in Switzerland. It is located deep within the mountain, inside the legendary Gotthard Fortress. Information about the museum and its opening hours can be found here: https://www.sasso-sangottardo.ch
Here in front of the Andermatt tourist office, right by the train station, the themed trail "With Goethe at the Gotthard" begins. This app guides you up to the Gotthard Pass, with a walking time of approximately 4 hours. As you walk through the village, you are already following in Goethe's footsteps. Heading towards the village centre, you will soon see a large quote by him on the left side of a building facade. Follow the Gotthard road here into the old part of the village.
Coordinate: 46.6369994, 8.5949603
Andermatt is the main village of the Ursern Valley. This name comes from Romansh and means Bear Valley. Goethe's praise of the green alpine valley, which he first walked through in 1775, is painted on a house facade on the Gotthard road at the junction to the Oberalp Pass. Indeed, in his "Letters from Switzerland" after his second journey to the Gotthard in 1779, Goethe expressed his enthusiasm for this region in full. The complete quote reads: "Of all the regions I know, it is my favourite and most interesting; whether it is that old memories make it dear to me, or that the feeling of so many wonders of nature linked together arouses in me a secret and indescribable pleasure." Just four years after 1775, Goethe was already in the Ursern Valley for the second time, and he was to visit Andermatt again on his third Swiss journey in 1797. He enjoyed not only the landscape, but also the cheese produced here, and took delight in the mineral wealth of the region.
Coordinate: 46.6342288, 8.5976443
At the bridge over the Unteralp Reuss, Goethe stopped several times at the inn "Drei Könige und Post". On his first journey in 1775, he probably also spent the night here during his descent from the Gotthard. In 1775, during his midday rest after the strenuous ascent through the Schöllenen Gorge, Goethe praises the "excellent cheese" from Andermatt. In his diary he notes here: "Feeling great and making plans". Afterwards, Goethe sets off with his travelling companion at the time, Jakob Ludwig Passavant, in the direction of the pass. The flute-playing faun on the bridge railing can remind us of the young, exuberant poet who had just published "Werther" in 1774. Closeness to nature and passionate feelings – the mythological figure of the faun stands for both.
Coordinate: 46.633884, 8.597684
The Gotthard road turns right here towards the village centre. We follow it for about 150 metres until we reach the small square with the village fountain dating from 1581.
Coordinate: 46.63372, 8.597569
The historic village fountain, at which travellers were already able to refresh themselves in earlier times, has a basin made of local serpentine stone. A bear, the heraldic animal of Andermatt, serves as the fountain figure. Directly opposite stands the town hall. The valley community of Ursern had its own government for a long time, led by an Ammann. In 1803 it was integrated into the canton of Uri. Further along the street, the house after next on the left side serves today as the valley museum. In the 18th century this was the residence of Ammann Frank Dominik Nager, whom Goethe visited in 1797 and whose mineral collection he admired. The valley museum also presents objects and texts on the history of travel and tourism in its permanent exhibition. In the 18th century, no coaches yet travel over the Swiss Alpine passes. In the mountains, Goethe and his companions therefore always travel on foot. For the luggage, one engages a porter or a muleteer. Goethe survives all his hikes in the Alps without a single accident, even though he is sometimes on the move for more than nine hours a day. In 1779 he marches with the Weimar Duke Carl August in a single day from the Gotthard Pass all the way down to Amsteg.
Coordinate: 46.632991, 8.595129
As a passionate collector, Goethe took many minerals from the region home with him. If you walk a few more metres along the village street, you will come to a shop where crystals and minerals can be purchased today. However, we turn into Kirchgasse opposite the valley museum, in front of the town hall. This leads us to the baroque village church of Andermatt. Passing the church on the left, we find a small private self-service cheese depot at the Haus Sonnmatt. We now follow the Bäzweg leading to the left, pass under the bypass road and the railway line, and soon make our way out of the village and to the Reuss. After the bridge, we turn left onto the hiking path to Hospental.
Coordinate: 46.633188, 8.595084
Since his visit, Goethe has been captivated by the green Ursern Valley, which opened up unexpectedly before him after the forbidding Schöllenen Gorge. He also drew the view of Andermatt from the north. In "Poetry and Truth" he writes about the sight that presented itself to him: "The moderately appearing river wound its way gently through a flat valley, enclosed by mountains yet sufficiently wide and inviting for habitation; above the neat little place of Urseren (= Andermatt) and its church, which stood before us on level ground, rose a small fir forest, held sacred because it protected those settled at its foot from snow avalanches rolling down from above." In the meantime, there is once again more forest in the Ursern Valley. And much else has also changed in Andermatt since Goethe's time. The transport industry and the later military use are now a thing of the past. Instead, tourist development is now advancing rapidly with the new part of the village, Reussen, to the north of the railway station. Also new is the ecologically designed golf course, alongside which we now walk. Goethe still found a cow pasture here. On the way to Hospental, he noted the following observations in his diary in 1797: "Mica schist appeared on all sides, jade in a wall. Sledges carrying cheeses through the mud, small streams for irrigation, excessive fertilisation of the meadows. Granite with much feldspar, but still inclining toward the foliated." The "jade" that Goethe picked out of the wall here for his mineral collection refers to serpentine. This dark green rock is still quarried today above Hospental. Gotthard serpentine has been used locally for centuries, often also for church furnishings in the Valais and in the canton of Uri. Before the bridge, we follow the hiking path to the right, which leads via Hospental to the Gotthard Pass.
Coordinate: 46.636807, 8.585553
From Andermatt, we reach a bridge leading to Hospental Station in about an hour, following the Reuss and crossing a hill. Walking up the station road, after 100 metres we reach the Gotthard road, along which we turn right past the historic inn "St. Gotthard" to reach two further bridges.
Coordinate: 46.621594, 8.570248
In the inn "St. Gotthard", to the right of the bridge in the picture, General Suvorov stayed overnight in 1799 during his campaign against the French. At that time, all pass traffic was routed across the narrow bridge. In the 19th century, a new bridge for vehicles was built right next to it. The two bridges span the Gotthard Reuss, which merges with the Furka Reuss below the village. The particular location of the place at the crossroads of the north-south and east-west routes meant that Goethe passed through Hospental on all three of his walks to the Gotthard, and in 1797 also spent the night in the village. His inn at the time, the "Goldener Löwen", is today recalled only by a modern sign on the village street. Hospental has retained its historical character to this day. In the Middle Ages there was a hospitium here, that is, a pilgrim's inn – which gave the place its name. On a rock stands the "Langobardenturm", the remains of a castle complex from the 13th century. Along the village street we reach the Chapel of St. Karl at the upper end of the village.
Coordinate: 46.619274, 8.568915
At the Chapel of St. Karl there is an information board about the Goethe Trail. The motto above the portal of the baroque building points to the particular geographical location of Hospental. The longing for the south becomes tangible at this spot: only one last obstacle remains to be overcome, and the pass summit is reached in three hours! Travelling with Duke Carl August, Goethe had to contend with snow and ice here in November 1779. The Weimar Duke writes: "Breakfasted in Hospental. Up to the Gotthard, in the company of some 60 mules, much ice, several fell." What equipment did Goethe and his travelling companions have with them here? Their shoes and boots have thick leather soles. For the descent, they have nails hammered into the soles to prevent slipping. Before the ascent, take a moment to sit inside the chapel and listen to the famous verses of Mignon: "Do you know the land where the lemon trees bloom?" and Goethe's description of it. You can hear Mignon's song here. Mignon is a character from Goethe's novel "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship". She is a girl who grows up on the shores of the central Lago Maggiore and is stolen from her parents there. She comes to Germany with a troupe of travelling performers. The famous song, which expresses Mignon's homesickness for the south, describes the route over the Gotthard in the third stanza. We cross the road and follow the hiking path in the direction of the Gotthard Pass.
Coordinate: 46.617744, 8.566637
Above Hospental, a steep stretch of path must be overcome. Here the hiking trail follows the road that, from 1835, opened the pass crossing for stagecoaches. The granite kerbstones with engraved kilometre numbers are a reminder of this era.
Coordinate: 46.617694, 8.568903
The ascent from the Ursern Valley now lies behind us; we have arrived in the flatter Gamsboden. Goethe experienced this area in varying weather conditions and states of mind. As a 25-year-old young author, he dramatically sees a "dragon valley" before him here; in foul weather, the grey-green granite landscape appeared to him as a wasteland, "like the valley of death." In 1779, however, Goethe experiences the busy pass traffic over the Gotthard in cold but fine weather: "A large procession of mules brought the whole area to life with their bells. It is a sound that stirs all mountain memories." Yet while hiking, the animals can also be a nuisance: "They keep an uneven pace," he complains. "If one stops to look at something, they get ahead of you again, and one is burdened by the deafening sound of their bells and by their loads jutting out broadly to the side." In 1797, as an accomplished geologist, he is also interested in the view of the opposite mountain range, which he observes during the descent. Goethe writes: "On the way down we particularly noticed jagged peaks behind Realp, which arise when the uppermost ends of certain granite walls weather away while others remain standing."
Coordinate: 46.60992, 8.571966
The mule track, partially restored by the army, passes by the ventilation shaft of the Gotthard Road Tunnel, which opened in 1980. Slightly above it, on a bend in the road, lies the restaurant "Mätteli". There is also a postbus stop here, the only one between Hospental and the Gotthard Pass. This means the hike can be ended here if needed, or a stop can be made along the way.
Coordinate: 46.595868, 8.564092
The wild scenery during the final ascent to the pass awakens old fantasies in the young poet about the dragons that dwelt in the Alps: "Bare rocks, as if moss-covered, blanketed with snow, gusts of wind in fits and starts, clouds drifting in and past, the sound of waterfalls, the tinkling of pack horses in the highest desolation … Here it costs the imagination little effort to picture dragons' nests in the crevices." The waterfalls along the path also make a deep impression on Goethe. In 1797 he is able to enjoy the natural scenery beneath a blue autumn sky: "The path leads up along the Reuss, which continually plunges down over rocks, and the waterfalls here form the most beautiful shapes." A magnificent example can be seen just to the east of our path, where the Guspisbach flows down over a steep drop into the valley. In the Lauterbrunnen valley in 1779, at the sight of the Staubbach, Goethe wrote a poem that symbolically links human life with the cycle of water. You will hear it at this point...
Coordinate: 46.590937, 8.560881
The narrow pass at Brüggloch visually closes off the valley before us. This is also where the cantonal border lies; we are now entering the territory of the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino. Between the old and the new motorway, the hiking trail gradually approaches the top of the pass.
Coordinate: 46.581642, 8.558971
Many a hiker believed themselves to be very close to their destination after the ascent through the Brüggloch. Yet more than three kilometres across the high plateau still remain to be covered before reaching the hospice. Always follow the white-red-white markings. In early summer, one is rewarded for one's endurance by a sea of alpine flowers that enliven the treeless valley with their colourful splendour. Also impressive are the mighty rocks along the path, smoothed by glaciers during the Ice Age. Did you know that Goethe, in the early 19th century, was one of the first natural scientists to postulate an Ice Age? This theory corresponded to his conviction that "great, softly speaking nature" had managed without violent upheavals in geological phenomena. Lean against one of these rocks and listen to how Mephisto, in the second part of Goethe's "Faust", negotiates his hell-influenced views on mountain formation with the sceptical Faust: You can hear Mephisto here in the second part of Faust
Coordinate: 46.577402, 8.559109
Soon you will reach the spot where a sign indicates the summit of the Gotthard Pass at 2,106 metres above sea level. To the left of it, our route continues for a few more minutes, until the entrance to the "Sasso San Gottardo" comes into view between two small lakes on the left.
Coordinate: 46.559047, 8.562018
You have made it and climbed to the 2,106-metre-high pass, congratulations! The Gotthard becomes the high point and turning point of Goethe's wanderings through Switzerland on all three of his journeys. He attested to the great significance of this place for him in his notes on "Dichtung und Wahrheit": "The Gotthard itself: Wondrous impression of this mountain range, which transforms into a fixed idea that I have never been able to shake." Due to erroneous measurements, the Gotthard massif is still considered in the 18th century to be the highest elevation in the Alps. Goethe is happy to believe this, for from here the rivers Rhine, Rhône, Reuss and Ticino flow in four cardinal directions. Later he corrects this assumption and writes: "The Gotthard is admittedly not the highest mountain range in Switzerland … yet it asserts the rank of a royal mountain range above all others, because the greatest mountain chains converge at it and lean upon it." Goethe, "Briefe aus der Schweiz", 2nd part, 1808 The Gotthard massif is indeed a central mountain range of Switzerland, indeed of the Alps. It separates the north and the south of Europe. The European main watershed runs through here. With the Gotthard Pass at 2,106 m above sea level, it also offers a short connection between north and south – which Goethe, however, never crosses. Before you let the themed trail come to a close with a walk to original locations on the Gotthard Pass, we now recommend a visit to the Museum Sasso San Gottardo. Deep inside the mountain, surrounded by Goethe's "primordial rock" granite, is the first permanent exhibition about Goethe in Switzerland and the only one in the world underground. You will also find a small cafeteria in the tunnel. The permanent exhibition on Goethe's Swiss travels deep inside the mountain is open daily from June to mid-October. Two books dedicated to Goethe's Swiss travels are also available for purchase here: 1. Goethe am Gotthard, 2022. Available in the Sasso San Gotthard museum shop 2. Goethes Schweizer Reisen, 2023. Available from us with a coloured slipcase A tour of the pass will now take you to the two locations where Goethe was inspired to draw in 1775.
Coordinate: 46.558477, 8.566059
A little to the south of Sasso San Gottardo lies the hospice, where there is usually a great deal of activity during the travel season. In the Alte Sust next to the hospice, a building from 1834, the «Museo Nazionale del San Gottardo» displays evidence from the long history of transit traffic over the pass. Here is the «Gotthard Passhöhe» stop for the PostAuto line Andermatt – Airolo. From Airolo, the train also provides a quick connection back to Göschenen in the north.
Coordinate: 46.555425, 8.56789
In 1775, Goethe drew the Old Hospice. Only four years later, he returns to this place with Duke Carl August, after they have crossed the deeply snow-covered Furka Pass. Upon arriving at the top, Goethe rejoices on 13 November 1779: "At last we have happily reached the summit of our journey! Here, it is decided, we wish to stand still and turn back towards the fatherland." The pass is still open throughout the entire winter at that time. No simple matter for the hospitable Capuchins at the hospice, as Goethe learns. One of them has just "climbed up from Airolo along the very slippery path against the wind; his beard had frozen, and it took quite a while before he could collect himself." During the third stay at the hospice, in 1797, Goethe only remains at the top for a meal and returns to Hospental on the same day. The provisions for the travellers are plentiful. Goethe's secretary Ludwig Geist has written down what the friar serves them upon arrival: First "a few bottles of red Italian wine alongside a good piece of Swiss cheese." After this "breakfast," lunch is immediately brought to the table, comprising the following dishes: 1. A good rice soup, in which a knackwurst was found. 2. Followed by salt meat with a good sauce along with mustard. 3. Fish, both roasted in breadcrumbs and with vinegar and lemons. 4. Roast chamois. 5. Dessert, consisting of good Swiss cheese and cider. With the experienced cook of the hospice, Goethe also speaks about the minerals she trades in. Secretary Geist adds: "This cook made use of the hours she could spend outside her kitchen by climbing around on the Gotthard mountain and collecting stones, so that she was indeed able to show us a charming collection of stones. When foreign travellers now come to this mountain (which happens very often), she tries to enter into a trade with them, and thus she earns, alongside her kitchen work, still a great deal of money from it."
Coordinate: 46.555281, 8.567258
Where did Goethe's drawing "Scheideblick nach Italien" come into being? One can find the exact spot by descending a little to the south from the pass summit to the Totenkapelle. The hiking path leads past the hospice and the historic octagonal horse stable. In the "Capella dei Morti," the chapel of the dead, the bodies of unknown travellers who had lost their lives on the pass route were formerly kept. Now follow the narrow path that leads to the right above the chapel up to the ridge. After about 150 metres, beside a shallow pond, you will discover a small commemorative plaque. The Association of Swiss Teachers of German had it placed there, at the spot where Goethe once sat, around the year 2000. During his first stay on the Gotthard, Goethe decides on 22 June 1775 to turn back. The drawing that comes into being here he himself calls "Scheideblick nach Italien" ("Parting glance towards Italy"). Of the unfinished sheet he later writes in "Dichtung und Wahrheit": "I had settled down on the footpath that led down into Italy and was drawing, in the manner of dilettantes, what could not be drawn and what could even less yield a picture: the nearest mountain peaks, whose sides the melting snow revealed with white furrows and black ridges; yet through this fruitless endeavour that image has remained indelibly fixed in my memory." At this spot one can rest and consider the question of why Goethe did not cross the Gotthard in 1775. There were probably two reasons at the time: on the one hand, he did not yet feel inwardly ready for a journey to Italy; and on the other hand, his love for his fiancée, the 17-year-old banker's daughter Lili Schönemann, drew him back to Frankfurt. Yet the families of the two young people were opposed to a union. After his return from Switzerland they broke off the engagement, and Goethe moved to Weimar in November 1775, which became the centre of his life. He did not reach Italy until 1786. He then travelled south over the Brenner Pass, however, and returned two years later via the Splügen Pass.
Coordinate: 46.552532, 8.569025
You have now accompanied Goethe all the way to the Gotthard Pass. And where does your path lead now? Do you follow Goethe's example? He said: "One travels not to arrive, but to travel." More Goethe trails through Europe are to come soon. You have walked one of the first of its kind here. More information about this and about Goethe's presence in Switzerland can be found at: All the best – and perhaps until we meet again!
Coordinate: 46.554863, 8.566559