Sankt Moritz

Winter sport in St. Moritz: all began with a bet

In the autumn of 1864 hotelier Johannes Badrutt made a bet with his English summer guest, claiming that the winter months in the Swiss Alps are much better than in England. The winter months in St. Moritz would be spoiled with lots of sunny days and magnificent snow landscapes. Johannes Badrutt invited his guest to come back in the winter, so that they could experience it for themselves. If they still weren't convinced, he promised to cover their travel expenses.

The English guest came to St. Moritz for Christmas and ended up staying until Easter. So the "winter tourism" was born and St. Moritz became over the years also a famous winter holiday destination.

Sankt Moritz

Welcome to the garden of the Inn

St. Moritz can originally thank its thermal sources for its fame, which have been known for nearly 3500 years and are mentioned for the first time historically in 1466 B.C. As early as in the Middle Ages, this location was visited during the summer by bathing guests. In 1519, Pope Leo X even declared complete absolution of every faithful bathing guest in St. Moritz.

The 80 kilometre long Engadine Hochtal valley is one of the highest inhabited valleys in Europe. Throughout the centuries, the valley was only able to be reached via passes, and goods were transported along narrow mule tracks with mules and horses. Since the expansion of the pass roads, the construction of the Rhaetian Railway (the Albula route between Chur – St. Moritz is a UNESCO world heritage site) and the Bernina Express, which continues up to Veltlin, the Upper Engadine is open to the world.

Besides the largest glacier in the Eastern Alps, Morteratsch, and Piz Bernina, the only four-thousander in the Eastern Alps, this is also the source of the Inn river, which is said to have given the valley its name. In fact, in the local language, Rhaetian, the original form of the word "Engadin" (Engiadina) means "garden of the Inn".

Enjoy the alpine summer in the Engadine. Read the book that you've been wanting to read for long. Discover the alpine work on a hike. Give yourself to the charm of the alpine springtime. Treat yourself to a break – you've deserved it.