Splügenpass

The Splügen Pass was demonstrably already committed in the early historical period. Also in the Roman period there are indications of this, e.B. the Itinerarium Antonini, a Roman road map around 300 AD. The rather close connections between the dioceses of Chur and Como ran over the Splügen Pass. As early as 1396, considerable customs revenues are documented at Splügen. The expansion of the Viamala Gorge promoted its upswing. The movement of goods took place almost exclusively with mules, which often meant reloading.

Transit traffic was an important part of the thriving economy. As late as 1798, the Austrian Field Marshal von Bellegarde wrote: "The largest train of goods from Milan to Germany goes over this pass, but mostly on horses and mules." Between 1818 and 1823, at the same time as the San Bernardino, a first road was built that was passable for freight wagons and stagecoaches, which in large parts still corresponds to the course of that time. Thereafter, the volume of freight and international passenger traffic over the Splügen grew many times over and reached its zenith around the mid-1850s.

The opening of the Alpine railways (Brenner in 1867, Mont Cenis in 1872) already reduced transit traffic over the Splügen. The opening of the Gotthard Railway in 1882 brought Graubünden transit traffic to a virtual standstill. A large wave of emigration was a direct consequence. The decades-long efforts for a Splügenbahn were ultimately unsuccessful. The construction of the national road with car tunnel on the San Bernardino opened up new perspectives. The Splügen Pass has been closed in winter since the 2nd World War.

viaSpluga

The two-thousand-year history of transit can be experienced today on the cultural and long-distance hiking trail viaSpluga from Thusis to Chiavenna. For more information, see here. 

summer

Depending on the snow conditions, the pass road will be opened in May and closed again in November. Current information can be found here.

winter

The Splügen Pass is closed in winter. In summer, depending on the snow conditions, usually

There is a bus connection between Chiavenna and Splügen via the Splügen Pass. Here you can find the timetable 2021.

Plan your journey with the Google Route Planner.

There are free parking spaces available at the top of the pass but also in Montespluga.