List of mountains of Switzerland named after people

This is a list of mountains and summits of Switzerland named after people. Only a few mountains were named after people, as it is not a common practice in Switzerland.[1] These mountains were often named after those who were the first to climb them, but also after distinguished Swiss personalities, such as Guillaume-Henri Dufour, Henry Dunant and Louis Agassiz.

The Unteraar Glacier basin is one of the most remote areas in Switzerland. Eight mountains were named there during an expedition led by Louis Agassiz in 1840 (click on the image to see annotations)

Most of the listed mountains are located in the Unteraar Glacier basin (8), on Monte Rosa (6), in the Mont Blanc massif (4) and in the Engelhörner massif (3).

List
Mountain[2] Height (m) Drop (m) Coordinates Range Canton(s) Namesake First ascent Notes
Agassizhorn 3946 199 46°32′48″N 08°06′52″E Bernese Alps Bern/Valais Louis Agassiz No Swiss pioneering biologist and geologist, summit in the Unteraar Glacier basin
Altmann 3462 77 46°31′55″N 08°09′51″E Bernese Alps Bern/Valais Johann Georg Altmann[3] No Swiss historian and naturalist, summit in the Unteraar Glacier basin
Piz Amalia 2918 68 46°40′51″N 10°19′51″E Sesvenna Alps Graubünden Catharina-Amalia No Dutch heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, unofficial name
Pointe Burnaby 4135 30 46°07′07″N 07°43′05″E Pennine Alps Valais Elizabeth Burnaby Yes British pioneer of mountaineering
Punta Carrel 3841 61 45°58′17″N 07°36′58″E Pennine Alps Valais Jean-Antoine Carrel No Italian mountain guide
Desorstock 2872 15 46°33′24″N 08°11′36″E Bernese Alps Bern Pierre Jean Édouard Desor No Swiss geologist ad naturalist, summit in the Unteraar Glacier basin
Dufourspitze 4634 2165 45°56′13″N 07°52′01″E Pennine Alps Valais Guillaume-Henri Dufour No Swiss general and author of the Dufour Map, main summit of Monte Rosa
Dunantspitze 4632 15 45°56′13″N 07°52′04″E Pennine Alps Valais Henry Dunant No Swiss philanthropist and founder of the Red Cross, summit on Monte Rosa
Escherhorn 3078 43 46°33′27″N 08°11′49″E Bernese Alps Bern Arnold Escher von der Linth No Swiss geologist and mountaineer, summit in the Unteraar Glacier basin
Aiguille Forbes 3489 44 45°58′24″N 07°00′37″E Mont Blanc massif Valais James David Forbes No British physicist and glaciologist
Gertrudspitze 2633 31 46°40′47″N 08°11′00″E Bernese Alps Bern Gertrude Bell Yes British writer and traveller
Punta Gnifetti (Signalkuppe) 4554 102 45°55′38″N 07°52′37″E Pennine Alps Valais Giovanni Gnifetti Yes Italian parish priest from Alagna Valsesia, summit on Monte Rosa
Grunerhorn 3431 21 46°32′29″N 08°10′53″E Bernese Alps Bern Gottlieb Sigmund Gruner No Swiss cartographer and geologist, summit in the Unteraar Glacier basin
Hugihorn 3647 82 46°34′22″N 08°08′49″E Bernese Alps Bern Franz Joseph Hugi No Swiss geologist and pioneer in winter mountaineering, summit in the Unteraar Glacier basin
Piz Jenatsch 3251 131 46°32′33″N 09°43′00″E Albula Alps Graubünden Jörg Jenatsch No Swiss political leader during the Thirty Years' War
Kingspitz 2621 111 46°40′32″N 08°10′35″E Bernese Alps Bern Seymour King Yes British banker and politician
Pointe Kurz 3680 174 45°56′18″N 07°02′08″E Mont Blanc massif Valais Marcel (Louis) Kurz Yes Swiss climber and topographer
Lüdwigshöhe 4341 58 45°55′02″N 07°51′44″E Pennine Alps Valais Ludwig von Welden Yes Austrian army topographer, summit on Monte Rosa
Pointe Morin 3590 46 45°56′37″N 07°02′12″E Mont Blanc massif Valais Jean-Antoine Morin Yes
Parrotspitze 4432 136 45°55′11″N 07°52′17″E Pennine Alps Valais Friedrich Parrot No German naturalist who attempted the ascent, summit on Monte Rosa
Pilatus 2128 585 46°58′26″N 08°14′28″E Emmental Alps Nidwalden/Obwalden Pontius Pilate No Roman prefect whose spirit was believed to haunt the mountain
Aiguille Purtscheller 3475 95 45°59′29″N 07°00′45″E Mont Blanc massif Valais Ludwig Purtscheller Yes Austrian mountaineer
Pic Tyndall 4241 15 45°58′30″N 07°39′16″E Pennine Alps Valais John Tyndall Yes British physicist, first ascent when attempting to climb the Matterhorn
Scheuchzerhorn 3456 116 46°32′38″N 08°11′24″E Bernese Alps Bern Johann Jakob Scheuchzer No Swiss paleontologist, summit in the Unteraar Glacier basin
Studerhorn 3634 226 46°31′58″N 08°08′52″E Bernese Alps Bern/Valais Gottlieb Samuel Studer No Swiss draughtsman and mountaineer, summit in the Unteraar Glacier basin
Ulrichshorn 3925 75 46°31′55″N 07°58′02″E Pennine Alps Valais Melchior Ulrich Yes Swiss mountain guide
Ulrichspitze 2637 50 46°40′44″N 08°11′02″E Bernese Alps Bern Ulrich Fuhrer Yes Swiss mountain guide
Zumsteinspitze 4563 110 45°55′55″N 07°52′17″E Pennine Alps Valais Joseph Zumstein Yes Italian topographer from Gressoney, summit on Monte Rosa

See also

References
  1. "Names - Swiss Mountains". Swissinfo. Archived from the original on 2008-03-18. Retrieved 2015-02-10.
  2. All mountain heights and prominences are from the 1:25,000 Swisstopo topographic maps.
  3. Paul Caminada, Pioniere der Alpentopographie: die Geschichte der Schweizer Kartenkunst, AS Verlag, 2003 (p. 106)
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