Hospice du Grand-Saint-Bernard

Bourg-Saint-Pierre

The Romans called this crossing the Summus Poeninus and the pass Mons Iovis, mount of Jupiter, from which the medieval name Mont-Joux would come; an imperial road climbed to it, with its cuttings hewn in the rock, and a sanctuary crowned the summit. The crossing is short but deadly: 2,469 metres, avalanches, a fog that comes down within the hour, and, in the 10th century, bands who robbed travellers — the monastery established lower down, at Bourg-Saint-Pierre, was ruined about 940 in the Saracen raids that also reached Agaune. About 1050, an archdeacon of Aosta named Bernard had a guest house and a church dedicated to Saint Nicholas, patron of travellers, built at the summit itself; the hospice appears in the records in 1125, and regular canons have lodged there ever since anyone who presents himself, without condition. Sigeric's notebook, in 990, notes on either side of the pass the halts of Sce Remei and Petrescastel, Saint-Rhémy and Bourg-Saint-Pierre. The house later bred the great mountain dogs that bear its name, attested in 1709 as guard dogs before being trained to search for those lost in the snow.

Wikipédia — Hospice du Grand-Saint-Bernard ↗

Getting there : By the pass road from Martigny and Bourg-Saint-Pierre: open from June to October depending on the snow, closed the rest of the year, when it is reached on touring skis or through the tunnel and then on foot. The hospice still takes in travellers for the night and for meals, by reservation; the church, the museum and the kennels may be visited in season. Bring warm clothes even in August: it freezes at the pass for part of the summer.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound