Switzerland: Canton Of Valais - Road From Lugano To St. Moritz
Mar 24, 2021 15:06:59 #
I apologize for the confusing title of my last post which implied that the trip was over. Also, these posts are a bit out of order but nonetheless I hope the majestic Alpine scenery makes it worth viewing. This post is actually a "prequel" to the journey on The Glacier Express. We traveled through this beautiful part of Switzerland from our stay in Lake Lugano on our way to the next stop in St. Moritz.
Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the south-western part of the country. It is near the valley of the Rhone River from its springs to Lake Geneva, that separates Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhone valley. It is also one of most well-watered parts, having large amounts of snow and rain up on the highest peaks in Switzerland. It is perhaps best known worldwide for the Matterhorn.
The canton of Valais is in the south of Switzerland. To its south is Italy, to the southwest France. To the north the canton there are the Swiss cantons of Vaud and Bern; the cantons of Uri and Ticino lie to its east. The wide, icy Rhone valley dominates the area. There are many side valleys off the main valley. At the head of the Mattertal valley is Zermatt, a pretty tourist village dominated by views of the Matterhorn (4,478 m). Fifty of the mountains are more than 4,000m high, with the highest, Monte Rosa, that reaches to 4,638m (15,217 ft), and there are many glaciers.
The Rhône drains the main valley from east to west up to Martigny, Switzerland, then in a right angle north to its mouth in the Lake Geneva. After the small town of Saint-Maurice, the northern banks of the river belong to the canton of Vaud. The main valley is between the Bernese Alps in the north and the Pennine Alps in the south. Only about half of the total area is considered productive.
A BRIEF HISTORY
The Romans called the area Vallis Poenina ("Upper Rhône Valley").
In 888, Valais became a part of the kingdom of Jurane Burgundy.
King Rudolph III of Burgundy gave the area to the Bishop of Sion in 999, and made him Count of the Valais. The count-bishops had to defend their area against the dukes of Savoy.
in 1474 was the Battle of Planta, a place near the capitale Sion. The Bishop of Sion and the people of the Sieben Zenden, beat the Duke of Savoy. The Battle of Planta is a part of the Burgundy War. After this battle, the bishop conquered the area until Lake Geneva.
Valais did not follow the Protestant Reformation.
On March 12, 1529, Valais became an associate member (Zugewandter Ort) of the Swiss Confederation.
In 1628 the Valais became a republic, the République des Sept Dizains / Republik der Sieben Zenden but the bishop remained in power until Napoleon's troops invaded the Valais and created the République du Valais on March 16, 1798 but on May 1, 1798, the Valais became part of the Helvetic Republic and became independent again in 1802 as the Rhodanic Republic.
In 1810, the Rhodanic Republic was made a part of France, and was called the Simplon Department.
Valais became independent again in 1813 and on August 4, 1815 decided to join the Swiss confederation as a canton (state).
In 1845, the Valais joined the Catholic separatist league (Sonderbund), but never fought federal troops when other members of the league started fighting in 1847.
Wine production and tourism are some of the main industries of the canton. The Matterhorn near Zermatt is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Swiss mountains, as is its sister valley immediately east Saas Fee. Other parts of the mountains of the canton farther west are popular as well, such as the more French speaking resorts near Verbier and the Evolene & Arolla region. The resorts on the north side of the main Rhone river valley are popular, looking out southwards towards the Peninne Alps and still part of the southern slope of the Bernese Alps, such as the family oriented resort of Crans-Montana. The resorts in the Goms region are slightly less known, yet also receive attention during the summer hiking season and the winter ski season.
Apart from tourism, agriculture is still important, particularly cattle breeding in the mountains and dairy farming in the plains. The wine industry of the canton is the largest in Switzerland. There are also a large number orchards in the area, and saffron is also gathered here.
The most industrial western region of the canton is called Chablais. The area is very important for the economy. There are a lot of factories, the most important are the subsidiaries of Novartis and Syngenta, in Monthey. In the town of Collombey, there is an oil refinery.
Near Visp there is a large plant of aluminium manufacturing. Other metal products and chemicals are produced around Visp and Sierre.
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valais
For a more detailed description of the area see:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valais
I hope you enjoy these images of this beautiful region which were all taken through the tour bus windows with a Nikon D7200 and Nikkor 18-300 lens.
Mark
Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the south-western part of the country. It is near the valley of the Rhone River from its springs to Lake Geneva, that separates Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhone valley. It is also one of most well-watered parts, having large amounts of snow and rain up on the highest peaks in Switzerland. It is perhaps best known worldwide for the Matterhorn.
The canton of Valais is in the south of Switzerland. To its south is Italy, to the southwest France. To the north the canton there are the Swiss cantons of Vaud and Bern; the cantons of Uri and Ticino lie to its east. The wide, icy Rhone valley dominates the area. There are many side valleys off the main valley. At the head of the Mattertal valley is Zermatt, a pretty tourist village dominated by views of the Matterhorn (4,478 m). Fifty of the mountains are more than 4,000m high, with the highest, Monte Rosa, that reaches to 4,638m (15,217 ft), and there are many glaciers.
The Rhône drains the main valley from east to west up to Martigny, Switzerland, then in a right angle north to its mouth in the Lake Geneva. After the small town of Saint-Maurice, the northern banks of the river belong to the canton of Vaud. The main valley is between the Bernese Alps in the north and the Pennine Alps in the south. Only about half of the total area is considered productive.
A BRIEF HISTORY
The Romans called the area Vallis Poenina ("Upper Rhône Valley").
In 888, Valais became a part of the kingdom of Jurane Burgundy.
King Rudolph III of Burgundy gave the area to the Bishop of Sion in 999, and made him Count of the Valais. The count-bishops had to defend their area against the dukes of Savoy.
in 1474 was the Battle of Planta, a place near the capitale Sion. The Bishop of Sion and the people of the Sieben Zenden, beat the Duke of Savoy. The Battle of Planta is a part of the Burgundy War. After this battle, the bishop conquered the area until Lake Geneva.
Valais did not follow the Protestant Reformation.
On March 12, 1529, Valais became an associate member (Zugewandter Ort) of the Swiss Confederation.
In 1628 the Valais became a republic, the République des Sept Dizains / Republik der Sieben Zenden but the bishop remained in power until Napoleon's troops invaded the Valais and created the République du Valais on March 16, 1798 but on May 1, 1798, the Valais became part of the Helvetic Republic and became independent again in 1802 as the Rhodanic Republic.
In 1810, the Rhodanic Republic was made a part of France, and was called the Simplon Department.
Valais became independent again in 1813 and on August 4, 1815 decided to join the Swiss confederation as a canton (state).
In 1845, the Valais joined the Catholic separatist league (Sonderbund), but never fought federal troops when other members of the league started fighting in 1847.
Wine production and tourism are some of the main industries of the canton. The Matterhorn near Zermatt is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Swiss mountains, as is its sister valley immediately east Saas Fee. Other parts of the mountains of the canton farther west are popular as well, such as the more French speaking resorts near Verbier and the Evolene & Arolla region. The resorts on the north side of the main Rhone river valley are popular, looking out southwards towards the Peninne Alps and still part of the southern slope of the Bernese Alps, such as the family oriented resort of Crans-Montana. The resorts in the Goms region are slightly less known, yet also receive attention during the summer hiking season and the winter ski season.
Apart from tourism, agriculture is still important, particularly cattle breeding in the mountains and dairy farming in the plains. The wine industry of the canton is the largest in Switzerland. There are also a large number orchards in the area, and saffron is also gathered here.
The most industrial western region of the canton is called Chablais. The area is very important for the economy. There are a lot of factories, the most important are the subsidiaries of Novartis and Syngenta, in Monthey. In the town of Collombey, there is an oil refinery.
Near Visp there is a large plant of aluminium manufacturing. Other metal products and chemicals are produced around Visp and Sierre.
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valais
For a more detailed description of the area see:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valais
I hope you enjoy these images of this beautiful region which were all taken through the tour bus windows with a Nikon D7200 and Nikkor 18-300 lens.
Mark
Leaving Lake Lugano
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The Rhone Valley
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Valère Basilica dominating the Rhône Valley. By the 12th century, the bishops of Sion began building churches and castles in Sion to represent their power and administer their estates.
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Mar 24, 2021 15:09:26 #
Mar 24, 2021 15:11:03 #
Mar 24, 2021 15:15:16 #
kpmac wrote:
Awesome set, Mark. And thanks for the great narrative.
Thanks so much for looking and taking the time to read the narrative Ken.
Mar 24, 2021 15:46:23 #
Mar 24, 2021 15:59:09 #
Looks like you had a grand tour of Switzerland and captured and shared some awesome sets with us, Mark. Thanks for the ride.
Mar 24, 2021 16:06:29 #
My wife and I organized a tour of Europe in 1970 (50+ years ago!!). I departed from the tour to go up to Jungfraujoch as my father had done in 1927! Great trip. Took LOTS of slides: No digital in those days. As a Presbyterian minister I also explored Geneva where the "father" of our branch of the church, John Calvin, preached.
Mar 24, 2021 16:20:49 #
A great history lesson and a series that reflects the majesty of Switzerland. Well done.
Mar 24, 2021 17:10:41 #
Mar 24, 2021 17:54:42 #
smilenangler wrote:
Wow, thanks again...
You're most welcome angler. Thanks for commenting.
Mar 24, 2021 17:55:42 #
John from gpwmi wrote:
Looks like you had a grand tour of Switzerland and captured and shared some awesome sets with us, Mark. Thanks for the ride.
You're most welcome John. Thank you for coming along and for your always kind comments.
Mar 24, 2021 17:57:59 #
revhen wrote:
My wife and I organized a tour of Europe in 1970 (50+ years ago!!). I departed from the tour to go up to Jungfraujoch as my father had done in 1927! Great trip. Took LOTS of slides: No digital in those days. As a Presbyterian minister I also explored Geneva where the "father" of our branch of the church, John Calvin, preached.
Thanks so much for your interesting history revhen and for your kind words. I'm glad the Switzerland posts brought back good memories for you.
Mar 24, 2021 17:59:46 #
Cwilson341 wrote:
A great history lesson and a series that reflects the majesty of Switzerland. Well done.
Thank you so much Carol. I appreciate that you took the time to read the narrative.
Mar 24, 2021 18:00:14 #
Mar 25, 2021 06:29:56 #
You have a gift for understatement, Mark. "I hope the majestic Alpine scenery makes it worth viewing." Mission accomplished.
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