Principal passes of the Alps

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This article lists the principal mountain passes and tunnels in the Alps, and gives a history of transport across the Alps.

Contents

[edit] Road passes

[edit] Main chain

From west to east:

name location countries elevation (m)
Colle di Cadibona Savona to Ceva Italy 436
Colle di Melogno Finale Ligure to Ceva Italy 1028
Colle San Bernardo Albenga to Garessio Italy 957
Colle di Nava Imperia to Ormea Italy 934
Col de Tende Tende to Cuneo France, Italy 1870
Maddalena Pass/Col de Larche Barcelonnette to Cuneo France, Italy 1996
Col Agnel Queyras to Sampeyre France, Italy 2744
Col de Montgenèvre Briançon to Susa France, Italy 1854
Col du Mont Cenis Modane to Susa France, Italy 2084
Little St Bernard Pass Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Courmayeur France, Italy 2188
Great St Bernard Pass Martigny to Aosta Switzerland, Italy 2469
Simplon Pass Brig to Domodossola Switzerland 2005
Furka Pass Brig to Andermatt Switzerland 2429
Grimsel Pass Brig to Meiringen Switzerland 2164
Julier Pass Thusis to St.Moritz Switzerland 2284
Flüela Pass Davos to Susch Switzerland 2383
Albula Pass Bergün to La Punt Switzerland 2312
Nufenen Pass Brig to Airolo Switzerland 2478
St Gotthard Pass Andermatt to Airolo Switzerland 2108
Lukmanier Pass Disentis to Biasca Switzerland 1916
San Bernardino Pass Splügen to Bellinzona Switzerland 2065
Splügen Pass Splügen to Chiavenna Switzerland 2113
Maloja Pass St. Moritz to Chiavenna Switzerland 1815
Bernina Pass Pontresina to Tirano Switzerland 2323
Fuorn Pass Zernez to Val Müstair Switzerland 2149
Umbrail Pass Val Müstair to Bormio Switzerland, Italy 2501
Resia Pass Nauders to Merano Austria, Italy 1507
Timmelsjoch Ötztal valley to Merano Austria, Italy 2509
Brenner Pass Innsbruck to Brixen Austria, Italy 1370
Großglockner-Hochalpenstraße Zell am See to Lienz Austria 2505
Radstädter Tauern Pass Radstadt to Mauterndorf Austria 1739
Schoberpass Liezen to Leoben Austria 849
Präbichl Eisenerz to Leoben Austria 1204
Aflenzer Seeberg Mariazell to Bruck an der Mur Austria 1254
Semmering Gloggnitz to Mürzzuschlag Austria 965

[edit] Other passes

Detailed lists of passes are given by Alpine subdivision, see the following articles:

  • Western Alps

Stelvio Italy drive to 2792m but possible to go to 3100 with mountainbike

[edit] Road tunnels

Main chain, from west to east:

name location countries length (km)
Tunnel de Tende Tende to Cuneo France, Italy 3.2
Fréjus Road Tunnel Modane to Susa France, Italy 12.9
Mont Blanc Tunnel Chamonix to Courmayeur France, Italy 11.6
Great St Bernard Tunnel Martigny to Aosta Switzerland, Italy 5.9
St. Gotthard Tunnel Göschenen to Airolo Switzerland 17
San Bernardino (road tunnel) Splügen to Bellinzona Switzerland 7.7
Felbertauern tunnel Mittersill to Lienz Austria 5.3
Tauern Road Tunnel Eben im Pongau to Sankt Michael im Lungau Austria 6.4

[edit] Railroad passes and tunnels

Main chain, from west to east:

name type location countries length (km) elevation (m)
Colle di Cadibona pass Savona to Ceva Italy 436
Tunnel de Tende tunnel Tende to Cuneo France, Italy 8.1
Fréjus Rail Tunnel tunnel Modane to Susa France, Italy 13.7
Simplon tunnel tunnel Brig to Domodossola Switzerland, Italy 19.8
Oberalp Pass pass Andermatt to Disentis Switzerland 2044
Gotthard Rail Tunnel tunnel Göschenen to Airolo Switzerland 15
Bernina Pass pass Pontresina to Tirano Switzerland 2323
Brenner Pass pass Innsbruck to Brixen-Bressanone Austria, Italy 1370
Tauern tunnel tunnel Bad Gastein to Obervellach Austria 8.6
Schoberpass pass Liezen to Leoben Austria 849
Präbichl pass Eisenerz to Leoben Austria 1204
Semmering pass Gloggnitz to Mürzzuschlag Austria 965

[edit] History

 This article is largely based on an article in the out-of-copyright 11th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, which was produced in 1911. It should be brought up to date to reflect subsequent history or scholarship (including the references, if any). When you have completed the review, replace this notice with a simple note on this article's talk page. Thanks!

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Places where the Alps were crossed are called passes, and are points at which the alpine chain sinks to form depressions, up to which deep-cut valleys lead from the plains & hilly pre-mountainous zones. The oldest names for such passes are Mont (still retained in cases of Mont Cenis and Monte Moro), for it was many ages before this term was applied to mountains themselves, which with a few very rare exceptions (e.g. Monte Viso was known to the Romans as Vesulus) were for a long time disregarded.

Native inhabitants of the Alps were naturally the first to use the passes. The passes first became known to the outside world when the Romans crossed them to raid or conquer the region beyond. Romans, once having found an "easy" way across the chain, did not trouble to seek for harder and more devious routes. Hence, passes that can be shown as certainly known to them are relatively few in number: they are, in topographical order from west to east, the Col de l'Argentiere, the Col de Montgenèvre, the two St Bernard passes (Little St Bernard Pass and Great St. Bernard Pass), the Splügen Pass, the Septimer Pass, the Brenner Pass, the Plocken pass, the Pontebba pass (or Saifnitz pass), the Radstädter Tauern pass and the Solkscharte pass or Sölk Pass.

Of these the Montgenèvre and the Brenner were the most frequented. In the Central Alps only two passes (the Splügen and the Septimer) were certainly known to the Romans. In fact the central portion of the Alps was by far the least Romanised region until the early Middle Ages. Thus the Simplon is first definitely mentioned in 1235, the St Gotthard in 1236, the Lukmanier in 965, the San Bernardino in 941; of course they may have been known before, but authentic history is silent as regards them till the dates specified. Even the Mont Cenis (from the 15th to the 19th century the favourite pass for travellers going from France to Italy) is first heard of only in 756.

In the 13th century many hitherto unknown passes came into prominence, even some of the easy glacier passes. In the Western and Central Alps there is only one ridge to cross, to which access is gained by a deep-cut valley, though often it would be shorter to cross a second pass in order to reach the plains, e.g. the Montgenèvre, that is most directly reached by the Col du Lautaret; and the Simplon, which is best reached by one of the lower passes over the western portion of the Bernese Oberland chain. On the other hand, in the Eastern Alps, it is generally necessary to cross three distinct ridges between the northern and southern plains, the Central ridge being the highest and most difficult to cross. Thus the passes which crossed a single ridge, and did not involve too great a detour through a long valley of approach, became the most important and the most popular, e.g. the Mont Cenis, the Great St Bernard, the St Gotthard, the Septimer and the Brenner.

As time went on the Alpine passes were improved to make travel easier. A few passes (e.g. the Semmering, the Brenner, the Col de Tende and the Arlberg) had carriage roads constructed before 1800, while those over the Umbrail and the Great St Bernard were not completed till the early years of the 20th century. Most of the carriage roads across the great alpine passes were thus constructed in the first half of the 19th century, largely due to the Napoleon's need for such roads as modes of military transport. As late as 1905, the highest pass over the main chain that had a carriage road was the Great St Bernard (8111 feet), but three still higher passes over side ridges have roads -- the Stelvio (9055 feet), the Col du Galibier (8721 feet), in the Dauphiné Alps, and the Umbrail Pass (8242 feet).

Railway lines, like the Brenner and the Pontebba lines, were added to speed travel through the passes and tunnels supplemented passes at the Col de Tenda, the Mont Cenis, the Simplon and the St Gotthard.

[edit] See also

[edit] Bibliography

  • Pyatt, E. C. The Passage of the Alps: From Hannibal to the Motorway. London: Robert Hale, 1984.

Coordinates: 47°36′12″N, 11°38′08″E