Splügen Gallery
The 312 meter long Splügen Gallery is located just below the top of the pass on the north side of the Splügen Pass in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.
As a testament to the importance of pass traffic and engineering in the first half of the 19th century, the gallery is listed in the inventory of historical traffic routes in Switzerland as an object of national importance and is therefore under federal protection. There is no comparable example of a protective gallery from the time of the first artificial roads in Switzerland.
history
The gallery was built in 1843 according to the plans of the Italian engineer Carlo Donegani (1775–1845) and the Graubünden engineer Richard La Nicca to protect the road from avalanches.
The construction of the gallery and the inn on the Swiss side was financed by Austria.
Road traffic ran through the gallery until the 1950s, when the Splügen Pass was closed in winter. The gallery was taken out of service and a new road was bypassed, but it was preserved as a testimony to historical street construction. The two porches that brought light and air into the interior of the gallery in winter were demolished.
Redevelopment
Over the years, the masonry of the gallery was damaged by ingress of water and frost; the binding agents in the mortar were broken down by the salts dissolved in the water. In order to prevent the threat of decay - parts of the masonry had already collapsed - the gallery was renovated from 2007 to 2011 with financial support from the federal government and the canton of Graubünden and with professional support from the Bündner Heimatschutz and can now be walked over its entire length . In its lower part it is used as an exhibition space; Boards and numerous photographs provide information about the history and repair of the structure.
On July 2, 2011, around 300 guests from Italy and Switzerland celebrated the completion of the restoration and the 10th anniversary of Via Spluga .
literature
- The gallery on the Splügenpass - brochure accompanying the exhibition at the north portal. Ed .: Preservation of monuments of the Canton of Graubünden.
Web links
- Detailed documentation of the restoration (PDF; 1.8 MB)
- Homeland Security GR
- Inventory of the historical traffic routes in Switzerland IVS
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 46 ° 30 '34.1 " N , 9 ° 19' 38.3" E ; CH1903: 744 944 / 152,652