Crossing the Viamala Gorge

The Viamala gorge must be crossed when travelling from Eastern Switzerland to Italy over the passes of Splügen or San Bernardino. The bad way, as suggests its name, was improved in different phases from the late middle-ages until nowadays. A great step to a more comfortable way was the erection of two bold masonry bridges by the bridge-builder Christian Wildener in 1739. Since then, the Viamala gorge became attractive for tourists, too. It was one of the key-points on the Grand-Tour from Germany to Italy through the alpine trails of Graubünden. Many painters and writers were impressed by the sublime scenery: A sudden crack in the globe, marked by burst rock, like a giant wound... was the statement of art historian Andrew Marbot. Later on, in 1903, in the centre of the gorge a series of stairways leading down to a platform close to the Hinterrhein river was opened to the public. Again, the dramatic descent into the narrow rocky crevice became an attraction for tourists. This passage crossed the gorge on a little bridge, which had decayed and needed to be replaced.

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