Gstaad

In 1905, village schoolteacher Robert Steffen began purchasing land above Gstaad for a grand hotel. The Gstaad Palace opened on December 8, 1913, with 250 beds in 165 rooms. In 1938, the Scherz family took over management; today Andrea Scherz runs it as one of Europe's last family-run grand hotels. The MOB railway had reached Gstaad on December 20, 1904 — Switzerland's first fully electric railway line — making tourism possible.

The Church of St. Mauritius in Saanen, first documented in 1228, contains remarkable 15th-century frescoes depicting the legend of St. Mauritius and the Theban Legion, rediscovered after being covered during the Reformation. In 1957, violinist Yehudi Menuhin founded a summer music festival, choosing the church for its intimate acoustics. Menuhin received honorary citizenship from Saanen in 1970. Today the festival spans over 50 concerts across seven weeks each summer.

The Saanen goat takes its name from the Saanen valley, bred there for several hundred years. It is a pure white, large dairy goat — the most widely distributed dairy goat breed worldwide, found in over 80 countries, often called the "Holstein of the dairy goat world." Average milk yield is 838 kg per lactation. The breed was first exported internationally in the 19th century.

The Peak Walk by Tissot, opened in October 2014 at Glacier 3000 near Gstaad, is a 107-meter-long, 80-centimeter-wide suspension bridge connecting two mountain summits — the only one of its kind in the world. From the bridge at 2,971 meters, visitors can see Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, and the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. Access is free for Glacier 3000 visitors.

Since the 1950s, Gstaad has enforced strict building regulations requiring all new construction to follow the traditional wooden chalet style — one of the strictest architectural codes in Switzerland. Only timber construction with wooden panelling in the regional style is permitted; modern glass-and-steel designs are banned. Traditional Bernese Oberland chalets feature widely projecting roofs, heavy timber planks, carved balconies, and flower-box facades. These regulations preserve Gstaad's village character despite intense development pressure.

The Montreux-Oberland Bernois (MOB) railway reached Gstaad on December 20, 1904, and Zweisimmen on July 6, 1905. It was Switzerland's first fully electric railway line. The connection transformed Gstaad from an isolated farming village into an accessible resort. Today the GoldenPass Express panoramic train runs through Gstaad on the Montreux–Interlaken route.

Elizabeth Taylor bought Chalet Ariel in Gstaad in 1962 and spent winters there with Richard Burton. Julie Andrews and Blake Edwards owned Chalet Fleur de Lys from 1971; Andrews was made honorary citizen of Saanen in 2014. Yehudi Menuhin received honorary citizenship in 1970. Roger Moore, David Niven, and Princess Grace of Monaco were regular visitors. In the 1960s, Time magazine named Gstaad "The Place."

The Saanen church contains 15th-century frescoes (painted around 1470) depicting the legend of St. Mauritius and the Theban Legion — a Roman legion from Upper Egypt whose soldiers refused to persecute Christians and were martyred. The frescoes were covered during the Reformation and rediscovered in the 20th century. The church serves as the principal venue for the Menuhin Festival, its medieval acoustics lending an incomparable atmosphere to chamber music.