Lauterbrunnen () is a village and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The municipality comprises the other villages of Wengen, Mürren, Gimmelwald, Stechelberg, and Isenfluh, as well as several other hamlets. The population of the village of Lauterbrunnen is less than that of Wengen, but larger than that of the others.

The municipality comprises the Lauterbrunnen Valley (), located at the foot of the Bernese Alps. It is notably overlooked by the Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau and many other high peaks. The valley, drained by the White Lütschine, comprises the Soustal, the Sefinental and the upper Lauterbrunnen Valley with Untersteinberg. The valley includes several glaciers. Together with the adjacent valley of Grindelwald, the Lauterbrunnen Valley forms part of the Jungfrau Region of the Bernese Oberland, between Interlaken and the main crest of the Bernese Alps.

Similarly to Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen has become a major tourist destination. It is connected to Interlaken by the Bernese Oberland Railway and is the start of the Wengernalp Railway, leading to Kleine Scheidegg. The latter resort is the start of the Jungfrau Railway, the highest railway in Europe and a gateway to the Jungfrau-Aletsch protected area.

Toponymy

Lauterbrunnen was first mentioned in 1240 as "in claro fonte", a Romance language place name meaning "clear spring". By 1253, it was known to German speakers as Liuterbrunnon; the town had an alternate spelling of Luterbrunnen by 1268.

In May 2024, it was reported the local authority had initiated a working group to explore solutions for over-tourism, drawing inspiration from Venice's trial entry fee for day trippers. One proposed measure is the introduction of a 5 to 10 Swiss franc entry fee, applicable to visitors arriving by car for the day, excluding those with pre-booked accommodations or arriving by public transport.

Geography

thumb|right|View of the valley from the [[Männlichen]]

Lauterbrunnen lies at the bottom of a U-shaped valley that extends south and then south-westwards from the village to meet the Lauterbrunnen Wall. The Lauterbrunnen Valley (Lauterbrunnental) is one of the deepest in the Alpine chain when compared with the height of the mountains that rise directly on either side. It is a true cleft, rarely more than one kilometer in width, between limestone precipices, sometimes quite perpendicular and everywhere of extreme steepness. In places the cliff walls are up to high. It is to this form that the valley owes the numerous waterfalls from which it derives its name. The streams descending from the adjoining mountains and, on reaching the verge of the rocky walls of the valley, form cascades so high that they are almost lost in spray before they reach the level of the valley. The most famous of these is Staubbach Falls, less than one kilometer from the village of Lauterbrunnen. The high Staubbach is the highest free-falling waterfall in Switzerland. Also near Lauterbrunnen is the highest waterfall in Switzerland, the Mürrenbach Fall.

Of the municipal area, or 22.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 17.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 1.4% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.7% is either rivers or lakes and or 58.0% is unproductive land. Of the built-up area, housing and buildings make up 0.7% and transportation infrastructure make up 0.5%. Of the forested land, 13.6% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.0% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 3.5% is pastures and 18.9% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 10.3% is unproductive vegetation, 31.3% is too rocky for vegetation and 16.3% of the land is covered by glaciers.

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per fess Argent a Semi Ibex rampant couped Sable and Vert three Piles wavy issuant from base of the first. The three stripes represent three famous waterfalls around the village.

Demographics

thumb|The Lauterbrunnen Valley: The village of Lauterbrunnen, the [[Staubbach Falls, and the Lauterbrunnen Wall in cloud (background)]]

thumb|Lauterbrunnen Valley view from cable car

The village Lauterbrunnen has a population () of . , 22.6% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has shrunk by 8.9%. Migration accounted for 6.5 percentage points of the decrease, while births and deaths accounted for 3.1.

Most of the population speaks German as their first language (, 2,483 or 85.2%). Portuguese is the second most common (143 or 4.9%) and Croatian is the third (59 or 2.0%). There are 42 people who speak French, 40 who speak Italian and 5 who speak Romansh.

, there were 453 households that consist of only one person and 61 households with five or more people. , a total of 1,090 apartments (40.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 1,414 apartments (52.4%) were seasonally occupied and 196 apartments (7.3%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 4.3 new units per 1000 residents.

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Heritage sites of national significance

thumb|Trachsellauenen Silver Mine

The cableway between Stechelberg and Schilthorn and the Trachsellauenen silver mine, which was active in the medieval to early modern periods, are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The village of Gimmelwald and the Kleine Scheidegg region are both part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

Politics

In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the Swiss People's Party (SVP) which received 29.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP) (21.5%), the Social Democratic Party (SP) (14.6%) and the FDP.The Liberals (14.3%). In the federal election, a total of 733 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 43.0%.

Economy

, Lauterbrunnen had an unemployment rate of 1.9%. , there were a total of 1,908 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 147 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 55 businesses involved in this sector. 223 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 35 businesses in this sector. 1,538 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 195 businesses in this sector.

, there were 360 workers who commuted into the municipality and 252 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.4 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. Of the working population, 12.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 12.3% used a private car. This narrow valley is surrounded by steep rock faces and features 13 legal jump points. Many consider it a mecca for BASE jumpers. Approximately 20,000 jumps are recorded annually, which is about four times the number recorded in the early 2000s and twice as much as in the 2010s. In 2023, 600 BASE jumpers from various countries visited Lauterbrunnen to engage in this extreme sport.

Wingsuit BASE jumping is an extreme sport with a high fatality rate. In Lauterbrunnen, the average is three fatalities per year. The first fatal accident occurred in 1994, claiming the life of BASE jumper and alpinist Xaver Bongard, who had introduced the sport to the valley in 1989 after being introduced to it by Will Oxx in Yosemite. Since then, and as of July 2024, 68 BASE jumpers have died in the Lauterbrunnen Valley. In 2021, the parish of Lauterbrunnen unveiled a memorial in its cemetery, dedicated to BASE jumpers and mountaineers who lost their lives in the pursuit of adventure in the valley.

BASE jumping is legal in Switzerland. In Lauterbrunnen, authorities require BASE jumpers to purchase a landing card from the Swiss BASE Association, although unlike skydiving, no license is required.

Religion

thumb|upright|Lauterbrunnen village church

From the , 513 or 17.6% were Roman Catholic, while 1,973 or 67.7% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 34 members of an Orthodox church (or about 1.17% of the population), and there were 47 individuals (or about 1.61% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There was 1 individual who was Jewish, and 28 (or about 0.96% of the population) who were Muslim. There were 3 individuals who were Buddhist and 2 individuals who belonged to another church. 144 (or about 4.94% of the population) belonged to no church, were agnostic or atheist, and 187 individuals (or about 6.42% of the population) did not answer the question.

Transport

right|thumb|[[Lauterbrunnen railway station]]

Lauterbrunnen railway station, in the centre of Lauterbrunnen village, is served by trains of the Berner Oberland Bahn, which run to Interlaken, and by trains of the Wengernalpbahn, which run to Wengen, Kleine Scheidegg and on to Grindelwald; at Kleine Scheidegg connection can be made with the Jungfraubahn, which ascends inside the Eiger to the Jungfraujoch. The lower terminal of the Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren, a cable car and connecting train, is adjacent to the main station and provides service to Mürren.

Besides Lauterbrunnen station, there are nine other railway stations within the municipality of Lauterbrunnen. These are Wengwald, Wengen, Allmend, Wengernalp and Kleine Scheidegg on the Wengernalpbahn, Eigergletscher on the Jungfraubahn, and Grütschalp, Winteregg and Mürren on the Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren.

Education

In Lauterbrunnen about 1,155 or (39.6%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 230 or (7.9%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). Of the 230 who completed tertiary schooling, 60.0% were Swiss men, 20.9% were Swiss women, 10.0% were non-Swiss men and 9.1% were non-Swiss women.

During the 2010-11 school year, there were a total of 247 students attending classes in Lauterbrunnen. There were 3 kindergarten classes with a total of 36 students in the municipality. Of the kindergarten students, 16.7% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 16.7% have a different mother language than the classroom language. The municipality had 8 primary classes and 125 students. Of the primary students, 19.2% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 20.8% have a different mother language than the classroom language. During the same year, there were 3 lower secondary classes with a total of 65 students. There were 10.8% who were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 10.8% have a different mother language than the classroom language. The remainder of the students attend a private or special school.

, there were 5 students in Lauterbrunnen who came from another municipality, while 45 residents attended schools outside the municipality.

Cultural references

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's poem "Gesang der Geister über den Wassern" ("Song of the Spirits over the Waters") was written while he stayed at the parish house near the Staubbach Falls waterfall in Lauterbrunnen.

J. R. R. Tolkien hiked from Interlaken to the Lauterbrunnen Valley while on a trip to the Continent in 1911. The landscape of the valley later provided the concept and pictorial model for his sketches and watercolours of the fictitious valley of Rivendell, the dwelling place of Elrond Half-elven and his people.

Lauterbrunnen featured in several scenes from the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service, including a car chase in which Bond (played for the only time by George Lazenby) was driven away from henchmen of Ernst Stavro Blofeld by his girlfriend Tracy di Vicenzo in a dramatic pursuit which culminated in them shaking off the pursuers in a stock car race. The 360 degree revolving restaurant Piz Gloria which crowns the Schilthorn peak was used to film Blofeld's hideout. In the movie Bond escapes from it by skiing down the mountain to reach the village of Mürren at its base.

The location features in the Forza Motorsport series of games, with a fictional track by the name of 'Bernese Alps' incorporated into the mountainside.

References

  • Truemmelbachfaelle