Gornergrat Observatory

Due to high altitude of 3135m asl, the clean, dry air, and the favorable meteorological conditions, Gornergrat is an ideal site for astronomical observations. For a short time after 1950, when astronomical research in Switzerland was intensified, plans even existed to construct a national observatory. However, these plans were not pursued because in 1981 Switzerland joined the organization of the European Southern Observatory (ESO).

The astronomical observatories at Gornergrat were installed in the late 1960's in the two towers of the Kulm Hotel Gornergrat. The rooms are leased from the Burgergemeinde Zermatt which itself is a member of the Foundation HFSJG. The Gornergrat North includes a 7.5 m cupola and a laboratory. The Observatory Gornergrat South has been rented to the University of Cologne, Germany, since 1984. It includes a 7.5 m cupola, a computer room, a workshop, two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom. The instrument installed by the 'I. Physikalisches Institut der Universität zu Köln' is a high-tech 3 m radio telescope. Both observatories are open for guest researchers. In addition to the two observatories, the Physikalisches Institut of the University of Bern operates a laboratory container at the Belvedere terrace for measurements of solar neutrons. This apparatus has been installed in collaboration with the Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory of the Nagoya University, Japan, and is the European cornerstone of a worldwide network of solar neutron detectors.