The road over this mountain was built in 1730 ... was built in 1730", writes pastor Urs Peter Strohmeier in his regional history of the canton of Solothurn about the Passwang road: "In many places it rises by more than 20 per cent and is indisputably the worst communication road in Switzerland ... It seems that ... the highest yokes and most inconvenient places have been deliberately chosen to carry it through." The pastor's harsh criticism was made in 1836 - at that time, so-called "Geleisestraßen" led over many Jura passes. Made of coarse cobblestones, with a deep gully to the left and right to prevent carts from skidding, these cart tracks usually ran in a direct line up the slope.
Today is completely different: the new railway line sweeps in wide curves through a picture-book green landscape. Just under two hours ago, we left the big city of Basel and plunged into the tranquil world of the Swiss Jura. The Jura stretches along the border with France in longitudinal, closely staggered waves. A mighty barrier that rises steeply from the Swiss Plateau. If you take a closer look, you will discover a few narrow and deep gorges that cut across the limestone barrier. But no river flows through the entire width of the folded carpet. As we roll out of the south portal of the Scheiteltunnel at Passwang, the jagged silhouette of the Western Alps appears on the horizon - not for the last time on our way to Geneva.
You can download the entire article as a PDF and these tours as GPS data below:
- Stage 1: Basel-Montfaucon
108 kilometres, 2,600 metres in altitude
- Stage 2: Montfaucon-L'Auberson (Saint Croix)
117 kilometres, 2,500 metres in altitude
- Stage 3: L'Auberson-Geneva
116 kilometres, 2,100 metres in altitude
GPS DATA: TOUR offers the tour data for free download. You can download the tracks in GPX format directly onto a GPS device or view them on your computer in Google Earth or Google Maps.
