St. Moritz lies on the southern slopes of theAlbula Alps below thePiz Nair (3,056 m or 10,026 ft) overlooking the flat and wide glaciated valley of the Upper Engadine and eponymous lake:Lake St. Moritz. It hosted theWinter Olympics in1928 and1948.
Votive offerings, swords, and needles from theBronze Age found at the base of the springs in St. Moritz indicate that theCelts had already discovered them. St. Moritz is first mentioned around 1137–39 asad sanctum Mauricium.[3] The village was named afterSaint Maurice, anearly Christian saint from southern Egypt said to have been martyred in the 3rd century byMaximian in Switzerland while serving as leader of theTheban Legion.
Pilgrims traveled to Saint Mauritius, often to the church of the springs, where they drank from the blessed, bubbling waters of the Mauritius springs in the hopes of being healed. In 1519, theMedici popeLeo X promised full absolution to anyone making a pilgrimage to the church of the springs. In the 16th century, the first scientific treatises about the St. Moritz mineral springs were written. In 1535,Paracelsus, the great practitioner of natural remedies, spent some time in St. Moritz.
St. Moritz in January 1931
Although it received some visitors during the summer, the origins of the winter resort only date back 161 years ago to September 1864, when St. Moritz hotel pioneerCaspar Badrutt made a wager with four British summer guests: they should return in winter and, if the village was not to their liking, then he would reimburse their travel costs. If they were to find St. Moritz attractive in winter, then he would invite them to stay as his guests for as long as they wished.[4] This marked not only the start of winter tourism in St. Moritz but also the start of winter tourism in the whole of the Alps. The first tourist office in Switzerland was established the same year in the village. St. Moritz developed rapidly in the late nineteenth century; the first electric light in Switzerland was installed in 1878 at theKulm Hotel, and the firstcurling tournament on the continent was held in 1880.[4] The first European Ice-Skating Championships were held at St. Moritz in 1882 and first golf tournament in the Alps held in 1889. The first bob run and bob race was held in 1890. By 1896, St. Moritz became the first village in the Alps to install electric trams and opened thePalace Hotel.[4] A horse race was held on snow in 1906, and on the frozen lake the following year. The first ski school in Switzerland was established in St. Moritz in1929.[4]
St. Moritz hosted the1928 Winter Olympics—the stadium still stands today—and again in1948. It has hosted over 20FIBT World Championships, fourFIS Alpine World Ski Championships (1934/1974/2003/2017) and over 40Engadin Skimarathons since 1969. It has also hosted many other events since, including some unlikely ones on the frozen lake in the 1970s and 1980s such as a golf tournament, (1979), a snow polo tournament (held every year in January since 1985) and Cricket on Ice (1989).[4] St. Moritz has also been the venue for many Sailing and Windsurfing World Championships.
Since the early 1980s St. Moritz is also promoted and known asTop of the World. The expression was registered as atrademark by the tourist office in 1987.
St. Moritz has an area (as of the 2004/09 survey) of 28.69 km2 (11.08 sq mi).[5] Of this area, about 26.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 20.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 9.0% is settled (buildings or roads) and 44.8% is unproductive land. In the 2004/09 survey a total of 160 ha (400 acres) or about 5.6% of the total area was covered with buildings, an increase of 23 ha (57 acres) over the 1985 amount. Over the same time period, the amount of recreational space in the municipality increased by 3 ha (7.4 acres) and is now about 1.15% of the total area. Of the agricultural land 149 ha (370 acres) is fields and grasslands, and 643 ha (1,590 acres) consists of alpine grazing areas. Since 1985 the amount of agricultural land has decreased by 37 ha (91 acres). Over the same time period the amount of forested land has increased by 33 ha (82 acres). Rivers and lakes cover 91 ha (220 acres) in the municipality.[6][7]
The highest summit in theEastern Alps isPiz Bernina at 4,048.6 m (13,283 ft), located 15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of the village.
Before 2017, the municipality was located in the Oberengadin sub-district of the Maloja district, after 2017 it was part of the Maloja Region. It consists of the settlements ofSt. Moritz-Dorf (elev. 1,830 m or 6,005 ft), Bad (1,775 m or 5,825 ft), Champfèr (1,825 m or 5,990 ft), and the village section of Suvretta.
Additionally, St. Moritz has hosted the FIBT World Championships (bobsleigh andskeleton racing) a record 21 times. Since 1985, it has hosted SnowPolo St. Moritz, a tournament featuring many of the world's finest team and played on a specially marked field on the frozen lake.[8]
St. Moritz is extremely popular in the summer months as analtitude training base for distance athletes, particularlycyclists,runners, andrace walkers. Its popularity extends to the altitude, weather, world classathletics track, and availability of paths and trails in the area.
In 1904, the oldest and world's last remaining natural bob run was opened. The 1.72 km (1.07 mi) ice channel – also known as the world's biggest"ice sculpture" – is built every winter from the ground up with only snow and water. The bob run hosted numerous world championships and was used in both Olympic Winter Games. In the early 1930s, some members of the bob club started taking guests along for taxi rides; today they run with slightly modified racing bobs.
In addition to the above sports, St. Moritz is also well known as a destination for sailing. It is the host venue for the annual St. Moritz Match Race held on lake St. Moritz. The St. Moritz Match Race event is part of the prestigiousWorld Match Racing Tour which covers three continents. The identical supplied (BLU-26) boats are raced two at a time in an on the water dogfight which tests the sailors and skippers to the limits of their physical abilities. Points accrued count towards the World Match Racing Tour and a place in the final event, with the overall winner taking the title ISAF World Match Racing Tour Champion.
The year-round population is 5,600, with some 3,000 seasonal employees supporting hotels and rental units with a total of 13,000 beds. TheKulm Hotel St. Moritz is a large luxury hotel in St. Moritz.
St. Moritz has asubarctic climate (Köppen: Dfc) due to its particularly high elevation near to thetree line. It has cool summers coupled with cold nights and very cold, snowy winters with highs around freezing and 254 cm (100 in) of average annual snowfall. The average temperature, about 2 °C (36 °F; measured in the nearby town ofSamedan), is extremely low compared to that of theSwiss Plateau. It is also significantly lower to that ofLa Brévine, traditionally considered the coldest inhabited place in Switzerland.
Climate data for St. Moritz (Samedan Airport), elevation 1,709 m (5,607 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1901–present)
St. Moritz has a population (as of 31 December 2020) of 4,945.[16] As of 2008[update], 38.0% of the population was made up of foreign nationals.[17] Over the 10 years up to 2009 the population decreased at a rate of 4.9%.[18]
As of 2000[update], the gender distribution of the population was 45.4% male and 54.6% female.[19] The age distribution, as of 2000[update], in St. Moritz is; 423 children or 7.6% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 502 teenagers or 9.0% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 960 people or 17.2% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 1,055 people or 18.9% are between 30 and 39, 864 people or 15.5% are between 40 and 49, and 820 people or 14.7% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 532 people or 9.5% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 289 people or 5.2% are between 70 and 79, there are 121 people or 2.2% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 23 people or 0.4% who are 90 and older.[17]
In 2014 there were 2,822 private households in St. Moritz with an average household size of 1.84 persons. Of the 884 inhabited buildings in the municipality, in 2000, about 29.1% were single family homes and 40.8% were multiple family buildings. Additionally, about 19.9% of the buildings were built before 1919, while 8.6% were built between 1991 and 2000.[20] In 2013 the rate of construction of new housing units per 1000 residents was 9.32. The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2015[update], was 3.18%.[7]
In the2015 federal election, the most popular party was theFDP with 31.0% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were theSVP (27.0%), the BDP (15.1%) and theCVP (11.0%). In the federal election, a total of 1,428 votes were cast, and thevoter turnout was 54.1%.[21]
In the2007 federal election, the most popular party was theSVP which received 34.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were theFDP (24.5%), theSP (22.4%), and theCVP (17%).[18]
In St. Moritz about 65.8% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatoryupper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or aFachhochschule).[18]
St. Moritz is a regional economic centre and a tourist community.[22] As of 2014[update], there were a total of 7,590 people employed in the municipality. Of these, a total of 24 people worked in 7 businesses in theprimary economic sector. Thesecondary sector employed 1,039 workers in 74 separate businesses. A minority (17.0%) of the secondary sector employees worked in very small businesses. There were 22 small businesses with a total of 533 employees and 3 mid sized businesses with a total of 329 employees. Finally, thetertiary sector provided 6,527 jobs in 768 businesses. In 2014 a total of 3,820 employees worked in 752 small companies (less than 50 employees). There were 14 mid sized businesses with 1,928 employees and 2 large businesses which employed 779 people (for an average size of 389.5).[23] TheBadrutt's Palace Hotel (Five Star) has a staff of 520 persons and is the biggest employer in St. Moritz.
In 2014 a total of 9.3% of the population received social assistance.[7]
In the second quarter of 2016 an average of 1,062 workers commuted from outside Switzerland to work in the municipality, representing a minority of the employees.[24]
In 2015 local hotels had a total of 599,734 overnight stays, of which 69.2% were international visitors.[25] In the same year there was one movie theater in the municipality with 267 seats.[26]
Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (58.8%), with Italian being second most common (21.8%), and Portuguese being third (6.6%).[18] Originally, the entire population spoke the Upper-Engadin Romansh dialect ofPuter. Due to increasing trade with the outside world, Romansh usage began to decline. In 1880, only 50.2% spoke Romansh as a first language. Romansh lost ground to both German and Italian. In 1900, 31% of the population spoke Italian as a first language, and in 1910, it was about the same. In the following years, the percentage of Romansh and Italian speakers both decreased against German speakers. In 1941, only 20% spoke Romansh, and in 1970 it was 8%. In 2000, only 4.7% of the population spoke Romansh.[27]
Ski scenes from James Bond moviesThe Spy Who Loved Me andA View to a Kill were filmed at St. Moritz although attributed to other locations in the dialogue.
Mentioned in the popular 1990 romantic thriller novelMemories of Midnight, bySidney Sheldon, as a ski-resort where the characters of Catherine Alexander and Kirk Reynolds go for vacation.
The place whereMaurizio Gucci hides from the Italian police, and meetsPaola Franchi, his future girlfriend (2021 movieHouse of Gucci, 2001 bookThe House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed, but also real-life events).
^"Climate Norm Value Tables".Climate diagrams and normals from Swiss measuring stations. Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss). Archived fromthe original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved23 January 2013.
^"Die Raumgliederungen der Schweiz 2016" (in German, French, Italian, and English). Neuchâtel, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Statistical Office. 17 February 2016.Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved14 December 2016.
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