Yves Saint Bernard. Pass small St. Bernard. Vehicle restrictions

This is what the border between Switzerland and Italy looks like. Is it between the cities of Swiss Martigny and Italian Aosta? if you drive along the E-27 highway and do not turn into the tunnel.

About how we drove to this place, (from the Swiss side) described.
This is actually the Great St. Bernard Pass (Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard). It is located in the Alps, through which, since the time of the Roman Empire, the main route has passed, connecting the North of Italy with central Europe. The height of the pass is 2469 m above sea level. In 1905, a road was built through the pass, which is usually closed in winter, from October to May. Below the pass, at an altitude of 1915 m, there is a tunnel of the same name (Tunnel du Grand-Saint-Bernard), which was opened in 1964.
In 1050, Saint Bernard of Menton founded a monastery on the pass, with it a mountain shelter for travelers, who, like the pass, received his name. At the highest point of the pass there is a monument to him.

That's all, we get to Italy. This is what modern European borders look like:

By the way, the shooting time is June. That is, it is understandable why everything is closed here until May.

It was here that the monks of the shelter bred a breed of dogs called St. Bernards. They are trained from birth to save people during avalanches. And we even managed to see one individual. There she is walking in the lower right photo.
At that time, the St. Bernards were different in appearance from today. They were less massive and therefore distinguished by great mobility. The most famous St. Bernard was Barry (originally the breed was called "barry" - a corruption of the German Bären, "bears"), who saved the lives of forty people between 1800 and 1812. One day, Barry rescued a little boy and carried him to the monastery for 5 kilometers, through deep snow.

Also, since we had already left Switzerland, it was here that we decided to try the national dish of the Swiss shepherds - fondue. Only we forgot that it is prepared with alcohol. And since they hadn’t drunk anything stronger than coffee for three years this fondue, they decently cheered up and went for a walk in the shales in the snow.

Here is Saint Bernard:

There, on the pass, we met a participant in the famous races 24 hours of Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans). It is the oldest automobile endurance race in existence and has been held annually since 1923 near the city of Le Mans in France. Teams are forced to strike a balance between speed and reliability of cars that must last for 24 hours without mechanical damage, as well as rational use of consumables such as fuel, tires and brake pads.
The competition is held in June. In 24 hours, cars usually manage to travel more than 5,000 kilometers. The current record - 5410 kilometers - was set in 2010. Perhaps this participant was just cooling his engine:

And after this place, beautiful Italian serpentines begin:

We go and admire the mountains and the road:

Mountain waterfalls everywhere

And picturesque pictures with sheep:

And this is the entrance to the tunnel from Italy, if we are going from Aosta to Switzerland. In winter, of course, you should wrap yourself in it, but in the warm season I recommend a ride through the passes:

So, one of the mandatory passes in my program has been visited. I also want to definitely visit Fourkapass and the St. Gotthard Pass. They were on my travel program in Switzerland in 2011, but due to snow (it was in October) they were blocked. And we had to use the tunnels.


More road pictures:

01.06.2012 - 15:49

St. Bernard is a living symbol and legend of the Alpine mountains. He is good-natured, strong, affectionate, devoted to his master and very fond of small children - not without reciprocity. The amazing history of the wonderful St. Bernard breed is rooted in ancient times ...

mountain monks

Two thousand years ago, the Roman legions crossed the Alps. On the only pass connecting Italy with modern Switzerland, at an altitude of 2500 meters above sea level, Caesar's soldiers erected a temple in honor of Jupiter, the lord of gods and people.

Time did not spare the Romans, the formidable empire ceased to exist, and the Alpine temple, like most of the monuments of that era, turned into ruins.

In 1050, a wandering monk named Bernard, a native of the French city of Menton, built a monastery on the site of a destroyed Roman temple, which later received a slightly altered name in honor of its founder - the monastery of St. Bernard. The monks who settled on the snow-covered pass set themselves an honorable but difficult task - to find travelers lost in the mountains and, if necessary, provide them with shelter and food. Invaluable assistance in this hard work to the monks was provided by huge and surprisingly docile assistants, who for a long time were called Great Swiss dogs, avalanche, shepherd or even holy dogs. Its modern name - St. Bernards, after the name of the monastery, the Swiss Kennel Club appropriated the breed of Alpine rescuers only in 1880.

No one really knows where this ancient breed came from. There is an assumption that the pets of the monks are the descendants of the Tibetan mastiffs, who arrived on the ships of merchants from distant Asia to the Holy Roman Empire. It is no longer possible to know how and why exactly these dogs ended up in the monastery after a thousand years. Unfortunately, all the ancient records of the activities of the monks and their shaggy assistants were destroyed by a fire that broke out in the monastery at the end of the 16th century.

In the earliest surviving document of the monastery, dated 1703, it is indicated that the cook of the monastery made a team that can be harnessed to a dog and used to help in the kitchen. The records of 1787 say that "avalanche dogs successfully repelled the attack of the robbers." These documents indicate that at the beginning of the 18th century, the St. Bernards already lived in the monastery and were considered full members of the monastery.

Rescuers from God

But, undoubtedly, the main and invaluable quality of the Alpine St. Bernards, for which they were actually called avalanche dogs for a long time, was the ability to search for people covered with snow or lost in a snowstorm in the mountains.

It seemed that nature itself adapted these dogs for such a dangerous and noble work. Well-developed paw pads allowed the monastery dogs to move quickly over the crust, without falling through the belly into the snowdrifts. Thick, but short wool did not get wet and was not covered with icicles, but at the same time it perfectly saved from hypothermia. In the conditions of snow-capped mountains, when the air temperature rises slightly above zero for only a couple of months a year, four-legged rescuers could scour the pass for days on end in search of lost travelers.

Another remarkable property of St. Bernards is their exceptionally sharp scent compared to other breeds. The Irish writer and traveler Oliver Goldsmith, who once visited the hospitable monks, noted: “They have a breed of noble dogs, whose exceptional mind often allows them to save a traveler in trouble. Although a dying person is often buried under ten or even twenty feet of snow, thanks to the subtlety of the scent of these dogs, which allows them to detect the location of a person, there is a chance to save him.

The formation of the breed

Undoubtedly, the monks made every effort to further develop the natural abilities of their pets. A dozen and a half one-year-old dogs were selected for training, and all preparation for a difficult service at the pass lasted two years.

Examinations were held at the end of the studies. The monks simply gave the dogs that did not pass the selection to passing travelers or residents of the valley. In the process of working with dogs, it was noticed that St. Bernards not only look for those covered with snow, but also with some kind of sixth sense predict avalanches in advance, hundreds of meters away they smell a person in the most pitch snowstorm.

All these qualities have been successfully developed and passed down from generation to generation. So, gradually, a breed of professional alpine rescuers appeared, the most famous of which was a dog named Barry, who was born in the monastery in 1800 and died, one can safely say "in the line of duty" in the fourteenth year of his life.

Legend of the Swiss Alps

The winter of 1812 was especially cruel. When another snowstorm subsided, the monks, accompanied by several dogs, went out to the pass in search of the victims, and then there were enough of them. Defeated by the Russian troops, the soldiers of the Napoleonic army, who deserted from their units, sought to hide from retribution in sunny Italy.

Barry, who had already saved exactly forty travelers from certain death over the past ten years, quickly attacked the trail of another poor fellow buried in a snowdrift. The dog began to break the snow and soon the body of the French warrior was on the surface. The soldier showed no signs of life and the dog began to lick him with his tongue and warm him with his breath. And then a tragedy happened, the deserter came to his senses, saw a huge dog in the immediate vicinity, got scared, took out a knife and stuck it in his savior ...

Barry was strong enough to crawl to the monastery. A manufacturer from Bern, who was visiting the monks, took the unfortunate dog with him and took him to a veterinary clinic. For two years, people treated the brave dog, but age and the inflicted wound took their toll. Barry died in 1814.

Saint Bernard was buried in a Parisian cemetery. A bronze monument was erected to him, depicting Barry himself, carrying on his back a boy whom he had once pulled out from under a snow landslide. On the monument there is an inscription: “The valiant Barry saved forty people from death in his life. During the rescue of the forty-first - he died.

Since then, in the monastery kennel, one of the dogs has always received the nickname "Barry" - in his honor. In total, for the entire existence of the monastery nursery, its “graduates” rescued about two thousand people from trouble.

Monastery today

By the middle of the 20th century, the monastic kennel of search dogs had lost its practical significance. Through the famous alpine pass, which is now called “Great St. Bernard”, a multi-lane highway was built, and for those who are in a hurry, a tunnel was laid in the neighborhood, significantly shortening the path from Switzerland to Italy. The monastery itself is a tourist attraction, but its revenues have plummeted. Previously, the monks lived by receiving donations from people saved by dogs, but over the past fifty years, the St. Bernards have not had a chance to excel in this field. The shaggy rescuers were replaced by teams of professional rescuers equipped with helicopters and other modern equipment.

Two years ago, the rector of the monastery, Father Ilario, announced that the St. Bernard kennel that had existed for four hundred years was closed due to financial problems - keeping dogs is very expensive, and the monks literally have nothing to feed the animals. This news plunged all dog breeders of the world into a real shock.

As a result, in early 2005, the Swiss St. Bernard Club organized a charitable foundation called "Barry from St. Bernard" to preserve the famous breed. The owner of a private bank, a fan of the St. Bernards, immediately transferred three and a half million dollars to the fund. With this money, the nursery will continue to exist. In 2006, a museum is planned to open at the monastery, where you can learn a lot of interesting things about the legendary exploits of these wonderful dogs.

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Than any other there:

This is the highest point in the pass. Great St. Bernard(English Great St. Bernard Pass, French Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard, Italian Colle del Gran San Bernardo) is a highway in the Alps that connects the Swiss city of Martigny and the Italian city of Aosta. The official height is 2469 meters above sea level and it is the third highest pass in Switzerland.

We came to Martigny specifically to ride along this pass. We passed this city six months ago, and also through the Forclaz pass (Сol de la Forclaz, I will write about it later), but then we went further in the opposite direction along the Rhone valley towards Lugano. Before the trip Lenka learned that in this city there is a museum of St. Bernards. Taxied here, Lenka walked around the museum, I'm somehow indifferent to dogs. If you are interested - ask her about the museum in this post, she will answer:
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After visiting the museum, we drove towards the pass along foothill highways. See what's there:
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It would be great to walk on top of the dam. We already did this in . But it was already getting dark, and it gets dark early in the mountains, so we drove on. After a couple of kilometers the road was divided into two parts. One led to the pass, and the other to the tunnel of the same name, opened in 1964 and almost 6 kilometers long. The pass is open only from May to October, the rest of the time you should go through the tunnel. Well, let's go to the pass:
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The history of this pass begins as far back as the 12th year BC, when Emperor Augustus ordered a road to be laid here. Prior to this, the Roman legionaries who served here overcame the mountains with great difficulty. In the Middle Ages, robbers settled on the pass, but they were expelled by local residents, led by a priest named ... yes, Bernard, who was elevated to the status of a saint and named the pass in his honor.
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Another significant event: in May 1800, a 40,000-strong army led by Napoleon passed through this pass in the same direction.
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Mentions of this are often found on the pass in the form of such “Napoleon hats”, as well as in paintings, commemorative inscriptions and other things:
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Check out the roads. There are no roadsides, fences are only in corners, one wrong turn and the car will fall down a steep cliff :)
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I always wanted to take a picture like this. But passing cars interfered. At that time, there were few cars on the pass, and I did this:
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And, as with every pass in Switzerland, a designated place, meaning that we are at the highest point of the pass:
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Navigation in the car, as it were, confirms the fact that we are at an altitude of more than 2470 meters above sea level:
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And here it is - the most famous view associated with the Great St. Bernard Pass:
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And here is the view from the other side. You can set a goal to climb to the very top, as I did. But I only got to the middle, there is no trodden path, and in my sneakers it was risky to climb such stones:
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But even from the middle of the height one could see such a picture (we came from there):
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A wider view. The lake of the same name is frozen for more than 250 days a year. And the thickness of the fallen snow in winter can reach 10 meters. The temperature can drop to -30 degrees Celsius.
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Here, in 1049, St. Bernard founded a monastery, and with him a mountain shelter for visitors to the monastery, shepherds and tourists. The monastery and the orphanage burned several times. However, they have survived to this day. And monks still live here.
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And one souvenir shop:
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The most popular character on the pass is undoubtedly the St. Bernard dog. The first mention of them dates back to 1690, and even then they were in the service of a person, ready to help with the necessary medicines and water around their necks:
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We make the final shots, taking advantage of the fact that the sun has disappeared behind the mountain and drive on. Another interesting fact: between the light and dark houses is the border of Switzerland and Italy:
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Closer, filmed by his wife on the go. The border can be crossed quite calmly, without even stopping. This is remarkable, because when entering the territory of Switzerland, they usually stop, check documents and ask standard questions (Switzerland is in Schengen, but not in the European Union):
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And now, we are in Italy, descending from the pass towards Aosta:
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Italian side of the pass:
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Our hotel La Roche. At the reception there was a grandmother who spoke French and Italian, and did not know a word in English and German. For a long time we tried to understand each other, but in the end we understood:
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Actually, I have an idea - to take a ride

In the Western Alps there are two passes named after St. Bernard - Petit Saint Bernard and Grand Saint Bernard. The first is located on the border of France with Italy, the second - on the border of Italy and Switzerland. On both passes, Saint Bernard founded a shelter for travelers.

The Petit St. Bernard Pass is located in the Graian Alps, its height exceeds 2100 meters above sea level, and a highway passes through the pass, connecting the valleys of two rivers - the French Isère and the Italian Dora-Baltea. It is known that the road through the pass existed in the time of Julius Caesar and connected the two cities, on the site of which modern Milan and Vienne are now located.

The future Saint Bernard was born in the Savoyard castle of Menton in the first half of the 10th century. After studying in Paris, he returned to his native place and was supposed to marry, as his father wanted, but Bernard fled on the eve of the wedding and found shelter in a Benedictine monastery. He devoted his life to serving God and preached Christianity.

Bernard founded the first shelter in 962 on a pass that lies on the Italian-Swiss border. Through this pass also passed the road along which pilgrims followed to Rome. Since the 12th century, this pass, previously called Mont Jou, has been called Great Saint Bernard. A shelter on the border of France and Italy was founded by him later, already at the beginning of the 11th century. Saint Bernard himself is revered as the patron saint of skiers, climbers and mountain hikers.

On each pass, in the shelters founded by Bernard, from the first half of the 12th century, Augustinian monks lived, who also kept dogs at these monasteries and bred the St. Bernard breed. The first dogs appeared at shelters in the second half of the 17th century. St. Bernards were first used as watchdogs, but in the 18th century people paid attention to their subtle flair and ability to find a person under snowy rubble. The most famous St. Bernard rescuer named Barry lived in the early 19th century at a shelter on the Great St. Bernard Pass and saved 41 people.

The Little St. Bernard Pass, in addition to the shelter, has a couple of ancient sights. One of them is the remains of an ancient structure in the form of a stone ring with a diameter of more than 70 meters. The construction dates back to the VIII-V centuries BC. Another structure that stood on this pass in antiquity is a Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter.

The Great St. Bernhard Pass (Gt. St. Bernhard Pass) is the third highest alpine road in Switzerland. It connects Martigny in the canton of Valais in Switzerland with Aosta in the Valle d'Aosta region in Italy.

The pass itself is located in Switzerland, in the canton of Valais, very close to Italy. It is located on the main watershed that separates the Rhone basin from the Po basin.

a brief description of

Location

Alpine road through Gt. St. Bernhard Pass runs between the cities of Bourg Saint Pierre and Aosta (Italy). The length of the road is about 46 km.

The distance from Geneva is about 160 km (2 hours 30 minutes), from Milan - 220 km (2 hours 40 minutes).

There are no major cities nearby.

Road

A bit of history

Artifacts found on the northern side of the pass prove that it was used as early as the "Bronze Age". And this makes it one of the oldest alpine passes. The road through the pass was widened for the passage of chariots during the reign of Emperor Claudius (54 AD). Compared to other passes also used by the Romans, there were no deep gorges and sheer cliffs that made crossing difficult.

During Roman times, at the top of the pass stood a temple dedicated to Poeninus (a Celtic god). In 1050, Bernhard von Menthon, archdeacon of Aosta, built a hospice nearby to protect travelers. The counts and dukes of Savoy generously supported the hospice and it was eventually transferred to the Augustinian order. The Augustinians supported it for hundreds of years.

The development of international trade in the 13th century led to the development and economic prosperity of villages and towns along the route. Taxes and tolls were collected at certain points along the route until 1808.

The pass has also been of great military and strategic importance since the 17th century. Napoleon crossed the pass in 1800 with over 30,000 soldiers to start the battle in Lombardy. In 1906, the border between Switzerland and Italy was finally regulated.

The canton of Valais began building the road over the pass in 1839, and the Swiss side was completed in 1893. The road from the Italian side was completed only in 1905. The idea of ​​tunneling under the Col de Menouve, which could be opened in summer and winter, already arose in the 19th century and the government of the Canton of Valais authorized the construction of the tunnel in 1938.

The first underground tunnel in Europe was opened on April 13, 1964. The opening of the tunnel reduced the importance of the road through the pass. The most famous "face" of the Great Bernard Pass is a St. Bernard with a keg of schnapps tied around his neck.

Working hours

The Great St. Bernard Pass is open from mid-May to mid-October. Dates may change depending on weather conditions.

Webcam on the Great St. Bernard Pass

The camera is located near the tunnel through the pass.

Fare

Road trip for everyone - free.

Vehicle restrictions

Attractions

The main attraction is the road itself and the surrounding nature.

You can stay overnight at the Albergo Italia hotel.

Description of the road

From the north, in Switzerland, the route to the pass goes along the river La Drance d "Entremont, and then enters the wild and deserted Val d" Entremont ("valley between the mountains").

On the south side, the route follows the steep slopes of the upper part of the Torrent du Grand St. Bernard before turning east and following the river. Reaching La Buthier at the bottom of Valpellin, it turns south again. In the Val d'Aosta, the road becomes part of a motorway connecting the tunnel under Mont Blanc in the west and the Po basin in the southeast.

In the video below you can see a section of the road through Great Saint Bernard Pass.