Gotthard Pass

Geschichte

The Gotthard Pass or St. Gotthard Pass is a mountain pass in the Alps, connecting northern to southern Switzerland. The pass lies between Airolo in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, and Göschenen in the German-speaking canton of Uri, and connects further Bellinzona to Lucerne. The region of the Gotthard is an important north-south axis in Europe and is crossed by three major traffic tunnels, all world longest at the time of their construction: the Gotthard Rail Tunnel, the Gotthard Road Tunnel and the Gotthard Base Tunnel.
Though the pass was locally known in antiquity, it was not generally used until the early 13th century because it involved fording the turbulent Reuss, swollen with snowmelt during the early summer, in the narrow steep-sided Schöllenen Gorge, below Andermatt. As early as 1236, it was dedicated to the Roman Catholic Saint Gotthard of Hildesheim.