Leukerbad

Leukerbad (Loèche-les-Bains, Walliser German: Leiggerbad, although locally known as Baadu) is a municipality in the district of Leuk in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. The story of Leukerbad dates back to the 4th century B.C. Graves and ceramics attest the presence of habitation in Leukerbad. From the 5th century, the pass of the Gemmi, a unique link between the cantons of Valais and Bern, has been in use. In 1229, Leukerbad is mentioned for the first time and called "Boez". French was the locally spoken language at that time. In 1315, the commune becomes independent and the oldest known document about Leukerbad already mentions the baths. In 1501, the Bishop and Cardinal Matthäus Schiner acquires the rights for the baths and speaks highly of the health resort during his visits; the thermal tourism develops. By that time, German (Walser German, brought by the Walser migrations) is spoken locally. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, several major avalanches hit the village but the inhabitants rebuilt it each time. During the early history of tourism in Switzerland, a number of notable guests visited Leukerbad, including Isabelle de Charrière (1776 and 1777), Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1779), Guy de Maupassant (1877) and Mark Twain (1878). In 1908, the Company “Chemin de Fer Electric Leukerbad” was founded but the road quickly dominated the access to the village and the trains stopped in 1967. The cable-car to the top of Gemmi Pass was built in 1957 and the one to Torrent Alp in 1970-72. Beginning in the 1980s, the municipality under president Otto G. Loretan began to undertake massive investments into infrastructure. In 1980, the community's thermal centre, The Burgerbad, was opened. The sports centre followed in 1990 and the thermal centre Alpentherme in 1993. In 1998, Leukerbad offered for the first time a "fixed-rope climbing" (Via ferrata/Klettersteig) route of the Daubenhorn, which is currently the longest in Switzerland.