The Swiss National Park
Over 100 years of pure wilderness
In 2014 the Swiss National Park celebrated its 100 year existence. Established in 1914, its founding pioneers aimed to develop an entirely natural area, scientifically observed. After 100 years, the Swiss National Park is well established by locals and visitors to gain an insight into European wilderness. The aim of its founding members, pioneers in the protection of the natural environment, was to ensure that a piece of Switzerland’s mountain landscape be left to develop entirely naturally, and furthermore that any changes should be the subject of scientific observation and research. This experiment is recognised today as a highly important ‘field laboratory’ and an environmental protection icon. Extending over 170 km2, the Swiss National Park is the largest protected area in Switzerland and the country’s only National Park.
The National Park is well known for its extraordinary variety of alpine animals, such as chamois, deer and marmots. A host of alpine plants provide a colourful sight as visitors make their way through the Park. There is a wide choice of paths, with differing degrees of difficulty.
Typical mountain forests in the region consist of spruce, larch, cembra pine and mountain pine. Within the National Park the situation is a little different: due to clear cutting in former times, large areas of forest were demolished, and today the landscape is dominated by pioneer mountain pine forests, often referred to as the «Pass dal Fuorn» forests. Above, in the alpine meadow zone we find plants that favour the lower altitudes as well as arcto-alpine species that prefer the upper alpine zone. According to soil types, localised climate conditions, exposure and altitude, highly different mixtures of species, described as plant associations, develop in proximity. The composition of these associations is a dynamic process, within which an optimal equilibrium can develop between soil, climate and flora.
In the upper alpine zones the mighty forces of erosion are predominant. The sparse vegetation is unable to hold back the soil. Blocks of rock, broken up by the tremendous force of freezing water, crash down towards the valley floor, forming gigantic slopes of scree.
In 2014 the Swiss National Park celebrated its 100 year existence. Established in 1914, its founding pioneers aimed to develop an entirely natural area, scientifically observed. After 100 years, the Swiss National Park is well established by locals and visitors to gain an insight into European wilderness. The aim of its founding members, pioneers in the protection of the natural environment, was to ensure that a piece of Switzerland’s mountain landscape be left to develop entirely naturally, and furthermore that any changes should be the subject of scientific observation and research. This experiment is recognised today as a highly important ‘field laboratory’ and an environmental protection icon. Extending over 170 km2, the Swiss National Park is the largest protected area in Switzerland and the country’s only National Park.
The National Park is well known for its extraordinary variety of alpine animals, such as chamois, deer and marmots. A host of alpine plants provide a colourful sight as visitors make their way through the Park. There is a wide choice of paths, with differing degrees of difficulty.
Typical mountain forests in the region consist of spruce, larch, cembra pine and mountain pine. Within the National Park the situation is a little different: due to clear cutting in former times, large areas of forest were demolished, and today the landscape is dominated by pioneer mountain pine forests, often referred to as the «Pass dal Fuorn» forests. Above, in the alpine meadow zone we find plants that favour the lower altitudes as well as arcto-alpine species that prefer the upper alpine zone. According to soil types, localised climate conditions, exposure and altitude, highly different mixtures of species, described as plant associations, develop in proximity. The composition of these associations is a dynamic process, within which an optimal equilibrium can develop between soil, climate and flora.
In the upper alpine zones the mighty forces of erosion are predominant. The sparse vegetation is unable to hold back the soil. Blocks of rock, broken up by the tremendous force of freezing water, crash down towards the valley floor, forming gigantic slopes of scree.