Alps - Passes

The Alps have been crossed for war and commerce, and by pilgrims, students and tourists. Crossing routes by road, train or foot are known as passes, and usually consist of depressions in the mountains in which a valley leads from the plains and hilly pre-mountainous zones. In the medieval period hospices were established by religious orders at the summits of many of the main passes. The most important passes are the Brenner Pass, the Great St. Bernard Pass, the Tenda Pass, the Saint Gotthard Pass, the Semmering Pass, and the Stelvio Pass.

Crossing the Italian-Austrian border, the Brenner Pass separates the Ötztal Alps and Zillertal Alps and has been in use as a trading route since the 14th century. The lowest of the Alpine passes at 985 m (3,232 ft), the Semmering crosses from Lower Austria to Styria; since the 12th century when a hospice was built there it has seen continuous use. A railroad with a tunnel 1 mile (1.6 km) long was built along the route of the pass in the mid-19th century. With a summit of 2,469 m (8,100 ft), the Great St. Bernard Pass is one of the highest in the Alps, crossing the Italian-Swiss border east of the Pennine Alps along the flanks of Mont Blanc. The pass was used by Napolean Bonaparte to cross 40,000 troops in 1800. The Saint Gotthard Pass crosses from Central Switzerland to Ticino; in the late 19th century the 9 miles (14 km) long Saint Gotthard Tunnel was built connecting Lucerne in Switzerland, with Milan in Italy. At 2,756 m (9,042 ft), the Stelvio Pass in northern Italy is one of the highest of the Alpine passes; the road was built in the 1820s.