Betten

Bettmeralp with Bettmerhorn

Beds until 31 December 2013, a municipality in the district of East Raron in the German-speaking part of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. On January 1, 2014, the municipality merged with Martisberg the new community Bettmeralp.

Geography

The municipality consists of the villages and village egga in beds on a terrace of the Rhône valley at 1200 m altitude and the Bettmeralp in the Aletsch region at 1950 m altitude. This can only be achieved via a cable car (or on foot). The holiday village is situated in the area since 2002 a UNESCO World Heritage Site declared mountain Jungfrau-Aletsch -Bietschhorn.

History

1243, the village was first mentioned as Bettan. The village beds burned in 1676 and 1853 almost completely. Around 1930 began the tourism, 1951, the cable car from the main road 19 was built in the valley to the beds, on the 1972 occurred a serious accident with 12 fatalities. 1974, a second, much larger railway was built in addition directly to the bettmeralp, followed in 1985 by a road to beds. The economic center of gravity shifting due to the increasing tourism to Bettmeralp.