About St Moritz
History of St Moritz
The resort of St Moritz is located at an altitude of 1856 m in the Upper Engadine (Switzerland) and the sun shines here 322 days a year. It was thanks to him that the winter resort was born here in 1864. And since 1930 the sun has become the emblem of St Moritz.
The progenitor of winter alpine tourism is the Swiss hotelier Johannes Badrutt (German: Johannes Badrutt). In 1864, he bet his British guests that they could sunbathe in the winter without outerwear. In case of a loss, the hotelier promised to pay guests for accommodation and all travel expenses.
In December, the British tourists returned to the hotel. Warmly dressed in fur clothes, they overcame the mountain pass of Julier. However, upon arrival in St. Moritz, a warm sun awaited them! And so it was that with Mr. Badrutt's victory in the dispute, winter tourism in St. Moritz was born. Since then, St Moritz has hosted the Olympic Games twice, in 1928 and 1948. The Alpine Skiing World Championships were held here in 1934, 1974, 2003 and 2017. And also every year the stages of the World Cup in Alpine skiing are held.
St. Moritz was often ahead of its time - for example, the first electric lighting appeared here in 1878 at Christmas, the first golf tournament in the Alps also took place here, and one of the first ski lifts in Switzerland also began operating in this resort in 1935 .
St. Moritz is world famous for its unique atmosphere: modern Alpine lifestyle is complemented by first-class slope restaurants that can surprise even experienced gourmets, top-class hotels, as well as amazing entertainment and holidays.
There are also such sights as the leaning tower, the remains of the Mauritian church of the 16th century, the Segantini Museum. Via Serlas, with a wide variety of boutiques and shops, will delight you with excellent shopping, and just around the corner there are shops with goods from local producers, for example, with the famous Engadine walnut pie.
St. Moritz in winter
For lovers of winter sports, there are 350 km of slopes with the most modern infrastructure. Corviglia - the "home" mountain of St. Moritz - has the steepest slope in Switzerland - Piz Nair with a slope of 100%.
St Moritz is considered the birthplace of bobsleigh and major luge competitions are held here. A distinctive feature of the local route is that it is absolutely natural and is formed anew every year. You can also ride a toboggan on an icy hill.
In addition, there are 150 km of prepared winter hiking trails and 200 km of cross-country skiing trails. There is a fun park for snowboarders, a curling area and infrastructure for high-altitude training.
St. Moritz in summer
St. Moritz is not just a winter resort. Here you can come to relax in the summer. Mighty mountains, intoxicating fresh air and a cold mountain lake are ready to provide you with a first-class vacation.
A traditional decoration of a holiday in St. Moritz is a romantic carriage ride around the lake, through the Statz forest or around the city. There are 17 climbing centers in the Upper Engadine with obstacles of various difficulty levels.
By the way, the thermal springs of St. Moritz were discovered three thousand years ago, so St. Moritz has long been a popular summer spa destination.
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