Cycling in Switzerland
Splügen Pass trade route
Rheinwald
Splügen Pass trade route
The mule track from Thusis via Sils to Splügen was part of the Graubunden «Untere Strasse», transit route. It continues over the Splügenpass to Chiavenna and until 1818 this was the only way to cross the pass.
Until the beginning of the 19th century, the Untere Strasse qualified as a mule track or a road for modest carts. The use of freight wagons and coaches first became possible by the construction of the engineered road from Chur to Bellinzona (1818 to 1823). The new road had numerous civil engineering structures and – thanks to many hairpin bends – a slight and even gradient.
Just before the top of the pass you encounter an exceptional example of road building skill, the 312-metre-long avalanche gallery built in 1843. The marble bridge at the lower section of the Splügenpass was the result of the storm in 1834. The marble was quarried in the near vicinity.
The mule track, which is still preserved, was the only transit route until into the 19th century. There must have been intense activity in winter as more could be transported on sledges than on pack animals. The cobbled path reaches a width of over three metres in some parts. The path over the Splügenpass sometimes leads along slopes and is sometimes sunken. The mule track was renovated in the 1990s with funds donated by the Swiss Heritage Society.
Just before the top of the pass you encounter an exceptional example of road building skill, the 312-metre-long avalanche gallery built in 1843. The marble bridge at the lower section of the Splügenpass was the result of the storm in 1834. The marble was quarried in the near vicinity.
The mule track, which is still preserved, was the only transit route until into the 19th century. There must have been intense activity in winter as more could be transported on sledges than on pack animals. The cobbled path reaches a width of over three metres in some parts. The path over the Splügenpass sometimes leads along slopes and is sometimes sunken. The mule track was renovated in the 1990s with funds donated by the Swiss Heritage Society.
The mule track from Thusis via Sils to Splügen was part of the Graubunden «Untere Strasse», transit route. It continues over the Splügenpass to Chiavenna and until 1818 this was the only way to cross the pass.
Until the beginning of the 19th century, the Untere Strasse qualified as a mule track or a road for modest carts. The use of freight wagons and coaches first became possible by the construction of the engineered road from Chur to Bellinzona (1818 to 1823). The new road had numerous civil engineering structures and – thanks to many hairpin bends – a slight and even gradient.
Just before the top of the pass you encounter an exceptional example of road building skill, the 312-metre-long avalanche gallery built in 1843. The marble bridge at the lower section of the Splügenpass was the result of the storm in 1834. The marble was quarried in the near vicinity.
The mule track, which is still preserved, was the only transit route until into the 19th century. There must have been intense activity in winter as more could be transported on sledges than on pack animals. The cobbled path reaches a width of over three metres in some parts. The path over the Splügenpass sometimes leads along slopes and is sometimes sunken. The mule track was renovated in the 1990s with funds donated by the Swiss Heritage Society.
Just before the top of the pass you encounter an exceptional example of road building skill, the 312-metre-long avalanche gallery built in 1843. The marble bridge at the lower section of the Splügenpass was the result of the storm in 1834. The marble was quarried in the near vicinity.
The mule track, which is still preserved, was the only transit route until into the 19th century. There must have been intense activity in winter as more could be transported on sledges than on pack animals. The cobbled path reaches a width of over three metres in some parts. The path over the Splügenpass sometimes leads along slopes and is sometimes sunken. The mule track was renovated in the 1990s with funds donated by the Swiss Heritage Society.
