A historic village on the pass route - Amsteg
Intro
The village of Amsteg in Canton Uri owes its existence to its location on the Gotthard Pass route. First came the “Säumer”, the pack-animal drivers, who stopped here before negotiating the pass. Then a proper road was built, followed by the railway, a motorway and – the most recent milestone – the new Gotthard rail link.
The ribbon village of Amsteg lies in the last flat section of the Reusstal valley before it rises towards the Gotthard massif. Its location on the old Gotthard route was crucial to Amsteg's development. Until the end of the eighteenth century, the village was a staging-post for the “Säumer”. Following improvements to the Gotthard route in around 1820, Amsteg became a popular resting point before the ascent to the Gotthard Pass. Benefiting from the rise of tourism and mountaineering in the nineteenth century, the village soon expanded, with inns, houses and artisans' businesses springing up along the new road.
However, the opening of the Gotthard Railway in 1882 brought the boom to an abrupt end. As Amsteg was not provided with a railway station, the bulk of traffic along the valley – now travelling by rail – bypassed the village. The increase in car traffic after the Second World War triggered a resurgence in income from tourists. But since the motorway opened in 1980, Amsteg has again been freed from through traffic.
The dominant building in the landscape is the SBB hydropower plant. This was built in 1922 when the Erstfeld–Bellinzona railway line was being electrified and a power station was needed on each side of the Alps. The one in Amsteg was to become Switzerland's biggest. While most of the plant was relocated into the mountainside in the 1990s, the prominent, 400-metre-long pipes descending into the valley remain as witnesses to the past.
Trip tip
The "Hotel Stern und Post" in Amsteg played host to Goethe on his journeys through Switzerland. Standing high above Amsteg is the Zwing-Uri castle ruin. Those undeterred by traffic noise can follow the Trans Swiss Trail along the valley floor. Those seeking peace and quiet, on the other hand, can head up the largely unspoilt Maderanertal valley to the idyllic Golzernsee.
ISOS
ISOS is the Federal Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites of national importance. The inventory is maintained by the Federal Office of Culture (FOC) and lists the most significant settlements in Switzerland. Today, some 1,200 places are included in the inventory, from hamlets right through to cities. The inventory provides information on the development and identity of the settlements listed in it, thereby contributing to the preservation of architectural diversity in Switzerland and promoting both sustainable planning and a high-quality Baukultur.
