Mountaineer's Cemetery

The Mountaineer's Cemetery is located in the heart of Zermatt, Switzerland, near St. Mauritius Church. It commemorates climbers who lost their lives attempting to summit the nearby peaks, including the iconic Matterhorn. The cemetery features simple gravestones and plaques, offering a solemn reminder of the challenges and risks of alpine climbing in this renowned mountaineering destination.

The memorial has graves of around 50 men and women who have lost their lives on the Matterhorn, T_schhorn, Weisshorn, Liskamm, Obergabelhorn and on the Monte Rosa massif. Two rather happy tombstones though, are of father and son Peter Taugwalder, the mountain guides of Edward Whymper, the only 3 survivors of the 7 who scaled the Matterhorn on 18th July 1865, who died naturally later in their lives. The gravestone of the other mountain guide, Michel-Auguste Croz who perished on the descent, lies next to theirs. This cemetery, among a few others, is a reminder of the fatal dangers that exist along with the adrenaline and thrill of attempting to conquer these titanic mountains.