Susten Pass
Mountain pass in the Swiss Alps
Susten Pass (German: Sustenpass) (el. 2260 m.) is a mountain pass in the Swiss Alps. The pass road, built from 1938-1945, connects Innertkirchen in the canton of Bern with Wassen in the canton of Uri. A 300-metre long tunnel crosses the pass at 2,224 metres.
The pass is popular with tourists, especially for the views of the Stein Glacier on the south side.
The length and elevation of west/east climbs are respectively:
- Innertkirchen (west): 27km (1599m)
- Wassen (east): 17.7km (1308m)
01History
Documents prove the existence of a mule track over the pass since 17th century. While not a primary trade route, its strategic value grew as fortifications were built in the Meien Valley during the 1618 Villmerger Wars.
1798-1799: The pass was used as a key military corridor during the French Revolutionary Wars by the French to trap Austrian and Russian forces.
1811-1818: Following Napoleon's annexation of the Simplon Pass, Switzerland prioritized the Susten route. Construction to widen the mule track into a carriage road began, with the Feden-Meien section opening in 1818.
1938-1946: On the eve of World War II, the Swiss Federal Government, along with the cantons of Bern and Uri, agreed to fully modernize and pave the route for national defense and transport. The current 46-kilometer engineered road features 26 bridges and tunnels and officially opened in September 1946.
Because of its late, deliberate construction, the Susten Pass has wide sweeping curves rather than the tight switchbacks characteristic of older Alpine passes.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Susten Pass”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Picswiss BE-95-09 Sustenpass- Passhöhe.jpg by Roland Zumbühl (Picswiss), Arlesheim (Commons:Picswiss project), CC BY-SA 3.0
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