Zermatt

Zermatt is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office.

It lies at the upper end of Mattertal at an elevation of 1,620 m, at the foot of Switzerland's highest peaks. It lies about 10 km from the over 3,292 m high Theodul Pass bordering Italy. Zermatt is the southernmost commune of the German Sprachraum.

Zermatt is famed as a mountaineering and ski resort of the Swiss Alps. Until the mid-19th century, it was predominantly an agricultural community; the first and tragic ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 was followed by a rush on the mountains surrounding the village, leading to the…