Gstaad

The emergence of Gstaad as a tourist destination is mainly due to the arrival of the Montreux-Oberland Bernois (M.O.B) railway line fervently championed by the local authorities. It has experienced growth envied by many resorts and today it is considered a stylish destination where political, sports, and cultural figures flock year-round.

A resort born from the train

The birth of Gstaad (1,000 metres) as a mountain resort can be attributed to one factor: the railway. It is the perfect example of how transportation can create a destination. Indeed, nothing suggested that this small farming village, home to just a hundred people, nestling in the Bernese Pre-Alps, would undergo such a transformation and become as famous as it is today. When the promoters of the Montreux-Oberland Bernois railway, the line running between Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva to Interlaken on the shores of Lake Brienz, planned its construction in the early 20th century, they did not initially include Gstaad in their plans. A stop at Gstaad meant a detour and required the construction of a bridge and a much steeper climb. For them, the cost of these additional works—amounting to several million francs at the time—seemed unjustifiable. However, intense pressure from local authorities, who felt overlooked, ultimately compelled the government of the Canton of Bern to convince the railway company to include Gstaad on its route.

The inauguration of Gstaad railway station in July 1905 marked the start of a tourism boom that still partly remains to be explained. As in many other mountain resorts, the combined strength of hoteliers, shopkeepers, and local residents (especially farmers) warrants recognition. They participated in developing the infrastructure that enabled Gstaad to achieve its aspirations: skating rinks, tennis courts, swimming pools, a ski jump, ski areas, ski lifts, and other amenities. The creation of a ski club in 1907 proved the interest of the local population and the first visitors in the up-and-coming activity of winter sports.  In 1913, a luxury hotel was built and in 1920, about a thousand beds were available for guests wishing to enjoy the peace and quiet in the summer months and the joys of skiing in the winter. The establishment of international schools, in particular Le Rosey, which opened its winter campus in 1916, further enhanced the resort’s elite reputation.

Ill. 1: The arrival of the train in Gstaad in December 1904: a village comprising a few chalets. The official inauguration took place in July 1905.

The importance of luxury in Gstaad

It was mainly after the end of the Second World War that the resort began to embrace a development focused above all on the high-society. In 1946, civilian use of the nearby military airfield in Saanen made it easier for a cosmopolitan clientèle to travel there. In 1947, Richard Nikolaus de Coudenhove-Kalergi established the European Parliamentary Union there. At the request of the Tourist Office’s director at the time, the celebrated violinist Yehudi Menuhin created a music festival in 1957 there, which further confirmed Gstaad’s global status and continues to attract loyal patrons every year. In terms of sport, a clay court tennis tournament, first organised in 1915, welcomes top players from around the world every summer. All these events, among many others, have helped make Gstaad a prestigious destination. In addition to hotels, the construction of residential chalets has been heavily promoted, attracting a host of celebrities from the worlds of cinema (Roger Moore, Roman Polanski), music (Johnny Hallyday, David Bowie, Madonna), and business (Gunther Sachs, Ernesto Bertarelli), a diverse mixture of stars who like to gather or show themselves there, illustrating how tourism and high-society have always flourished together in Gstaad.

Ill. 2: Today: a fashionable resort that celebrities enjoy visiting…

Laurent TISSOT

Bibliography

  • Dubler Anne-Marie, 2007, Gstaad, dans Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse (DHS), version du 06.03.2007, traduit de l’allemand. En ligne.
  • Steiger Rolf P. et Tschanz Hans-Ulrich, 2006, Gstaad und die Menuhins, Verlag, Benteli.