49. Waterfall going up St. Gotthard Pass, Switzerland - 18 Sept 1900 | Glass Plates
Glass plate 49 is a portrait photo of a waterfall along St. Gotthard Pass.
I have yet to identify where exactly it was taken, but due to erosion and the modern road passing through, this might be one of the more challenging to rediscover and, as of yet, my online research has failed to find a clear match.
Whatever the case, the waterfall is pouring into the Reuss river that has carved the dramatic Schöllenen Gorge through St. Gotthard Pass.
Why “St. Gotthard” Pass?
The pass is named after Gotthard of Hildesheim (960-1036), a German bishop and patron saint of travelling merchants, childhood sickness, childbirth pains, and gout. Due to his association with travelling merchants, sanctuaries were built on major routes in the alps venerating him. It is believed that at some point around 1230 the Dukes of Bavaria built a hospice dedicated to him for travellers to rest the night in along the pass.
It is now often shortened to Gotthard Pass.
A Bridge Too Far
This third box of glass plates has exhibited central Switzerland’s timeless beauty in each photo. It is always sad when we reach the end of a journey, but at least there is an interesting piece of folklore to tell as we travel from a saint to the Devil.
Our next and final photo is a snapshot taken from Devil’s Bridge…
References
‘Monument of William Tell’, Switzerland Mobility <https://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/hiking-in-switzerland/services/places-of-interest/sehenswuerdigkeit-018.html>
1900 Glass Plates: This project explores a series of glass plates from the year 1900 with the eventual goal of travelling the same route as the photographer. It will be a varied journey that will stretch from simple blog posts examining each photo to videos and more. This project is in collaboration with photographer Aleksandar Nenad Zecevic, who’ll be restoring the photographs to bring out details dimmed by time. More to follow.
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