Historical

The holiday region of Gstaad has a long and venerable history. The local people proudly make deliberate efforts to maintain their traditions and the Alpine authenticity of the region. The rigours of life high in the mountains are just as much a part of the local culture as the traditional crafts and customs. 

The crane (French: la grue), the heraldic animal of the Counts of Gruyères, now adorns the coat of arms of the municipality of Saanen, to which Gstaad also belongs. This is an immediate indication of the region’s historic roots, which are very much alive to this day. 

First tourist association founded 1906: travellers began raving about the charm of this valley as early as the 18th century. From the 19th century onward, the region increasingly became a travel destination. The completion of the Montreux-Oberland railway in 1905 connected Gstaad with the outside world and laid the groundwork for the development of tourism. The region’s first tourist associations were founded in Gstaad and Saanen in 1906. 

Hotel boom: a decade of hotel construction ensued. The Gstaad Palace, Gstaad’s unmistakable landmark, opened in December 1913. The golden years of the 1920s saw the infrastructure, which had been ravaged by the war, returned to new glory: the Kurpark, Kursaal, golf course and tennis courts were all built during this period. In 1934, the region’s first funicular toboggan lift opened on the Wispile. The ‘telesiège’ on the Wasserngrat opened in 1946, becoming the first chair lift to also run in summer. 

Growth: Oswald von Siebenthal became Gstaad’s first health resort director in 1942 – in the middle of World War II. To date, there have been eight successors to the role, although only four of them have lasted longer than five years. One of the big players in the development of Gstaad as a tourist destination was Paul Valentin, who shaped the fortunes of the town for a quarter of a century, from 1952 to 1982. Up until the 1980s, the region’s economy enjoyed unparalleled, incessant growth. 

A shining example: today, Gstaad Saanenland Tourism is the successor organisation to the two tourist associations of Gstaad and Saanen. This once-impoverished mountain valley has become a major tourist draw with international status. Gstaad Saanenland Tourism provides the destination with a unified profile and enjoys Swiss-wide renown as a model example of a tourism organisation. 

Early on, the residents of Saanenland realised that transporting people up into the mountains was good business. The first mountain railway was built on the Wispile in 1935. Today, there are more than 50 lifts on 12 mountains, predominantly operated under the joint management of Bergbahnen Destination Gstaad AG. 

1907/08: Gstaad’s first winter sports season gets underway. 

1934: the first ‘funi’, a forerunner of the cable car, is built on the Wispile. This is replaced in 1944 by a ski lift using the same lines. 

January 1938: Gstaad’s local mountain, the Eggli, gets its own funicular. 

August 1945: Gstaad invests in the region’s tourism potential by building Switzerland’s first chair lift. 

April 1946: the first visitors soar up to the Wasserngrat on the chair lift. 

1954: the first gondola lift in Saanenland is installed on the Eggli. 

Early 1960s: the cable car starts running to Glacier 3000 (Les Diablerets). This was replaced in 2001 by an impressive gondola lift. The futuristic design of the valley and mountain stations was the brainchild of renowned Swiss architect Mario Botta. 

1970s and 80s: the regions’ mountain railways and ski lifts are now thriving, with 20 routes in operation from Zweisimmen to Gstaad. 

Late March 2004: with retroactive effect from 1 May 2003, 12 mountain railways – Bergbahnen Saanenland-Simmental AG, Eggli Gondelbahn AG, Luftseilbahnen Gstaad-Höhi Wispile AG, Rellerli Luftseilbahn Schönried AG and Skilifte und Sesselbahn Schönried-Horneggli AG – merged to form Bergbahnen Destination Gstaad AG. They were joined by Sesselbahn Chalberhöni Pra Cluen AG, Téléphérique Rougemont Videmanette S.A. and Skilift Hühnerspiel GmbH on 24 May (with retroactive effect from the end of 2003). To date, BDG is the only mountain railway company with a trans-regional presence. It crosses a language and cantonal border and covers the territory of seven different municipalities. Together with the remaining companies Glacier 3000, Wasserngrat and Télé Château-d’Oex, it operates 62 railway systems and lifts under the GSTAAD MOUNTAIN RIDES brand. The marketing is handled by Gstaad Saanenland Tourism. 

2008: BDG AG sets its course for the decade up to 2018. Among the various development scenarios examined, the ‘concentration’ concept proves to be the most expedient, envisaging investment of CHF 160 million. 

13 December 2008: the four-person Chaltebrunne–Saanerslochgrat and Chaltebrunne–Parwensattel chair lifts go into operation, having taken just seven months from submission of the planning application to opening. 

July 2009: at its assembly of delegates, the Association of the Mountain Railways of Gstaad and the Surrounding Areas (Vereinigung der Bergbahnen von Gstaad und Umgebung, VBG) fare association opts to operate henceforth as Gstaad Mountain Rides (GMR). 

18 December 2010: opening of the new four-seater Chalberhöni–Vorderes Eggli chair lift. This starts from the same place as the Les Gouilles chair lift and ascends to the highest point on the front face of the Eggli. 

23 December 2010: opening of the newly constructed Rougemont–La Videmanette gondola lift. 

Winter 2015/16: the largest upgrading project in the Swiss mountain railway sector is successfully implemented. Following a capital reduction of 85% and a replenishment of equity capital to the tune of CHF 25 million, the majority of BDG’s capital is now in private hands. 

Summer 2016: the existing snowmaking infrastructure (pumping stations, water extraction, etc.) is modernised in the east and west sectors. Snowmaking equipment is also installed on the Rossfälli–Chalberhöni route, ensuring that slopes from Saanen/Gstaad to Rougemont will now have continuous snow cover. Four restaurants are renovated and restored to newfound splendour, with most of them undertaking this work themselves. 

Winter 2016/17: the SNOWsat snow depth measuring system is installed on BDG snow groomers. This GPS-based system ensures even more effective and resource-efficient piste preparation. 

Summer 2017: the existing snowmaking infrastructure in the Hornberg-Saanersloch-Horneggli-Chübeli-Büelti area of the east sector is upgraded with the latest technology. Over 80 new snow guns significantly enhance the efficiency of the snowmaking equipment, especially in the threshold temperature range. Benefits include a reduction in the time taken to cover the area with snow. The Horneggli restaurant is renovated inside and out by its own team. 

September 2017: the Swiss Federal Office of Transport (BAV) grants planning permission for the construction of the Saanenmöser–Saanerslochgrat gondola lift. Due to time constraints, construction begins immediately on the mountain station and the route (clearance, route foundations, service lines). The work is completed on schedule in late November/early December and the construction site is closed over the winter. 

December 2018: the new Saanenmöser–Saanersloch gondola lift goes into operation in winter 2018/19. The lift takes visitors up to the ski area and the Saanerslochgrat quickly and conveniently, while the spacious cabins and large ground-level entrance zones make for a much more comfortable experience. This is the first gondola lift from Swiss manufacturer Garaventa-Doppelmayr to feature the ‘D-line’ design, with a one-of-a-kind roof structure. 

Summer 2019: summer programmes on the Wispile and Rinderberg make the destination even more appealing, especially for younger visitors and families. The new playgrounds beside cosy mountain restaurants invite visitors to explore, play and spend time relaxing. Further developments are planned to create immersive attractions for people of all ages. 

December 2019: since December 2019, the holiday destination of Gstaad has offered snow sports enthusiasts and nature lovers new panoramic gondolas for rides up the local mountain, Eggli. The elegant Porsche-designed lift offers unique comfort with its innovative suspension system and spacious interiors. The new system was the first ten-person panoramic gondola lift in the Design range by the Porsche Design Studio. The new cabins combine modern technology with style and comfort, and mark a real departure from conventional cabins in terms of technology and aesthetic appeal. 

The story of Gstaad’s mountain railways offers up all sorts of fascinating historical details. 

Saanenland was home to Switzerland’s very first cable cars: innovative local residents set up the ‘funi’ very early in the 20th century with the aim of making it easier to go skiing. These cable-pulled sleigh-like vehicles could carry tourists up into the mountains to the ski slopes. You can see an example of a ‘funi’ lift in front of the Saanenmöser playground. People from Saanenland went on to build these lifts elsewhere, including in Davos, Graubünden. 

The longest chair lift in Switzerland was located in the rural community of Chalberhöni and carried skiers up towards the Wildenmannegg/Videmanette ski area. This chair lift, built by Küpfer in Steffisburg, extended to Pra Cluen/Rouffisvorsass and was 2,215 m long. The four-seater chair lift built by Garaventa in 2007 for CHF 9.6 million was even longer than its predecessor. With a length of 2,764 m and a capacity of 1,500 people per hour, it probably still holds the record. 

The first ski house in Switzerland was also established in the village of Saanenmöser in the Saanen municipal area. Bern Ski Club acquired the property in 1899 and built a ski house there in 1908. This is the first purpose-built building of its kind in Switzerland. 

Saanenland was home to Switzerland’s very first fully electric railway. The Montreux Oberland Bernois Railway (MOB) brought the first holidaymakers to the destination of Gstaad, thus ushering in the tourist boom. It remains hugely popular to this day and runs back and forth between Montreux and Zweisimmen. The line reached Gstaad on 20 December 1904 and Zweisimmen on 6 July 1905. 

The Rellerli lift at Schönried was the first gondola lift in Switzerland to have a curve in its route. Thun-based company Habegger constructed the 2,065-m-long system in 1982. 

The first covered triple chair lift in Switzerland was built on the Horneggli in Schönried in 1984 by Thun-based firm VonRoll Habegger. It opened on 15 December 1984 and was dubbed ‘the Space Chair’. The system transported 950 people an hour. 

Switzerland’s first mountain railway fare association was also set up in Saanenland in 1944/1945, bringing together a number of individual mountain railway companies. 

A far-reaching merger of various Swiss mountain railway companies took place with the founding of Bergbahnen Destination Gstaad AG, with retroactive effect from 1 May 2003, when ten independent companies merged into one. The new organisation extends over two cantons, three administrative districts and seven municipalities, straddling the German-French language border.