Grindelwald, Canton of Bern, Switzerland

Heritage sites of national significance | Economy | Transport | Winter sports

🇨🇭 Grindelwald is a village and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Berne. In addition to the village of Grindelwald, the municipality also includes the settlements of Alpiglen, Burglauenen, Grund, Itramen, Mühlebach, Schwendi, Tschingelberg and Wargistal.

Grindelwald village is located at 1,034 m (3,392 ft) above sea level. Mentioned for the first time in 1146, it has become a major tourist destination of both Switzerland and the Alps since the golden age of alpinism in the 19th century. It is notably overlooked by the section of the Bernese Alps from the Wetterhorn to the Eiger, making up a huge natural barrier. Together with the adjacent valley of Lauterbrunnen, the valley of Grindelwald forms part of the Jungfrau Region of the Bernese Oberland, between Interlaken and the main crest of the Bernese Alps.

Similarly to Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald is connected to Interlaken by the Bernese Oberland Railway and is the start of the Wengernalp Railway, leading to Kleine Scheidegg. The latter resort is the start of the Jungfrau Railway, the highest railway in Europe and a gateway to the Jungfrau-Aletsch protected area.

Heritage sites of national significance The Jungfraubahn, a mountain railway up the Jungfrau mountain, is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The land around the Kleine Scheidegg is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites. Both Jungfraubahn and Kleine Scheidegg are shared between the municipalities of Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen.

Economy The principal commercial artery of Grindelwald is the Dorfstrasse, which is the prolongation of the Grindelwaldstrasse, the main access road of the village.

As of  2011, Grindelwald had an unemployment rate of 1.48%. As of 2008, there were a total of 2,714 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 334 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 130 businesses involved in this sector. 393 people were employed in the secondary sector, and there were 51 businesses in this sector. 1,987 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 229 businesses in this sector. There were 2,403 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 45.4% of the workforce.

In 2008 there were a total of 2,265 full-time equivalent jobs. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 165, of which 159 were in agriculture and seven were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 365 of which 42 or (11.5%) were in manufacturing, six or (1.6%) were in mining and 292 (80.0%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 1,735. In the tertiary sector; 241 or 13.9% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 193 or 11.1% were in the movement and storage of goods, 1,022 or 58.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 27 or 1.6% were the insurance or financial industry, 45 or 2.6% were technical professionals or scientists, 46 or 2.7% were in education and 58 or 3.3% were in health care.

In 2000, there were 432 workers who commuted into the municipality and 265 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.6 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. Of the working population, 9.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 36.2% used a private car.

Transport Grindelwald railway station, in the centre of Grindelwald village, is served by trains of the Berner Oberland Bahn (BOB), which run to Interlaken, and by trains of the Wengernalpbahn (WAB), which run to Kleine Scheidegg and on to Wengen and Lauterbrunnen. At Kleine Scheidegg, a connection can be made with the Jungfraubahn, which ascends inside the Eiger to the Jungfraujoch.

Besides Grindelwald station, there are eight other railway stations within the municipality of Grindelwald. These are Burglauenen, Grindelwald Terminal, and Schwendi on the BOB; Grindelwald Grund, Brandegg and Alpiglen on the WAB; and Eigerwand and Eismeer on the Jungfraubahn.

The Gondelbahn Grindelwald-Männlichen connects Grindelwald with the Männlichen and with onward travel on the Luftseilbahn Wengen-Männlichen offers an alternative route to Wengen. The recently built Eiger Express, connects directly Grindelwald to Eigergletscher, on the Jungfraubahn. Both Männlichen and Eiger Express cable transport start at the Grindelwald Terminal.

Both mountain locations of First and Pfingstegg are also accessible by cable transport. In addition, during the summer season, buses run from Grindelwald to Meiringen via the Grosse Scheidegg, at nearly 2,000 metres above sea level.

Winter sports Long famed as a winter tourist destination with slopes for beginners, intermediates and the challenges of the Eiger glacier for the experienced, there are activities for the non-skiers, from tobogganing to groomed winter hiking tracks. It is the usual starting point for ascents of the Eiger and the Wetterhorn. Nowadays Grindelwald is also a popular summer activity resort with many miles of hiking trails across the Alps.

The first person to ski there was Englishman, Gerald Fox (who lived at Tone Dale House) who put his skis on in his hotel bedroom in 1881 and walked out through the hotel bar to the slopes wearing them.

Europe/Zurich/Canton_of_Bern 
<b>Europe/Zurich/Canton_of_Bern</b>
Image: Adobe Stock nikitamaykov #328015145

Grindelwald has a population of over 4,138 people. Grindelwald also forms part of the wider Interlaken-Oberhasli District which has a population of over 48,763 people. It is also a part of the larger Bern Canton.

Twin Towns - Sister Cities Grindelwald has links with:

🇯🇵 Matsumoto, Japan
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