Gornergrat
{{short description|Mountain in Switzerland}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Gornergrat
| translation = Gorner Ridge
| language = German
| highest = unnamed
| topo = Swiss Federal Office of Topography swisstopo
| photo = Gornergrat.jpg
| photo_size = 285
| photo_caption = Summit of Gornergrat with observatory
| elevation_m = 3135
| elevation_ref =
| prominence_m = 50
| prominence_ref = Retrieved from the Swisstopo topographic maps and Google Earth. The key col is located east of the summit at 3,085 metres.
| parent_peak = Monte Rosa
| map = Switzerland
| map_caption = Location in Switzerland
| location = Valais
| country = Switzerland
| range = Pennine Alps
| coordinates = {{coord|45|59|00|N|07|47|05|E|type:mountain_region:CH-VS_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| range_coordinates =
| coordinates_ref =
}}
The Gornergrat ({{langx|en|Gorner Ridge}}; {{convert|3135|m|abbr=on}}) is a rocky ridge of the Pennine Alps, overlooking the Gorner Glacier south-east of Zermatt in Switzerland. It can be reached from Zermatt by the Gornergrat rack railway (GGB), the highest open-air railway in Europe. Between the Gornergrat railway station ({{convert|3090|m|abbr=on}}) and the summit is the Kulm Hotel ({{convert|3120|m|abbr=on}}). In the late 1960s two astronomical observatories were installed in the two towers of the Kulmhotel Gornergrat. The project [https://stellarium-gornergrat.ch/ “Stellarium Gornergrat”] is hosted in the Gornergrat South Observatory.
Overview
It is located about three kilometers east of Zermatt in the Swiss canton of Valais. The Gornergrat is located between the Gornergletscher and Findelgletscher and offers panoramic views of 29 mountains above 4,000 m (13,123 ft), whose highest are Dufourspitze (in the large Monte Rosa massif), Liskamm, Matterhorn, Dom and Weisshorn.
This is the last stop of the Gornergrat train, opened in 1898, which climbs almost {{convert|1500|m|abbr=on}} through Riffelalp and Riffelberg. At the terminus on the south-western tip of the ridge is a hotel. The station forms part of the Zermatt ski area. From 1958 to 2007[http://www.seilbahn-nostalgie.ch/stockhorn.html Stockhorn lifts on Seilbahn Nostalgie (in German)][http://www.funimag.com/photoblog/index.php/20090914/les-telepheriques-meurent-aussi End of Gornergrat tram service - Funimag.com] there was a cable car from Gornergrat over the Hohtälli ({{convert|3275|m|abbr=on}}) to the Stockhorn ({{convert|3405|m|abbr=on}}) which, until the construction of the Klein Matterhorn cable car, was the highest mountain station in Zermatt.
At the west side of the Gorner Ridge, nearby the Rotenboden railway station is the peak Riffelhorn ({{convert|2928|m|abbr=on}}).
Observatory
The observatory at the summit of Gornergrat was built on top of the Kulmhotel Gornergrat in the late 1960' and is most notably equipped with a 600 mm telescope built by Officina Stellare.{{Cite web |title=Stellarium Gornergrat - Public astronomical observatory |url=https://www.hfsjg.ch/en/gornergrat-2/stellarium-gornergrat-3/ |access-date=2023-02-27 |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |title=Infrastructure - |url=https://www.hfsjg.ch/en/gornergrat-2/infrastructure/ |access-date=2023-02-27 |language=en-GB}} It was the location of the Gornergrat Infrared Telescope (North tower; until 2005) and of KOSMA (South tower; until 2010).
{{wide image|Aerial panorama of the Gornergrat 170622.jpg|400px|Aerial panorama of the Gornergrat}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category-inline|Gornergrat}}
{{Matter Valley}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Mountains of the Alps
Category:Alpine three-thousanders
Category:Tourist attractions in Switzerland
Category:Articles containing video clips
Category:Mountains of Switzerland
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