St Moritz

Chic St. Moritz boasts healing waters and hard-core skiers

St. Moritz is the ne plus ultra of winter glamour -- a haven for German and Italian aristocracy and the jet-setters who come in February and March. Long a favorite travel destination of movie stars, it also attracts internationally prominent politicians, financiers, and artists. St. Moritz, then, may well be the most fashionable resort not only in Switzerland, but in the whole world.

On the southern side of the Alps in the Upper Engadine, at an altitude of 5,904 ft., St. Moritz was originally known for its mineral springs, likely discovered by the Celts some 3,000 years ago. From Roman times through the Middle Ages, visitors came here in summer to experience the spring waters’ curative powers, first referred to as a spring by the Swiss-born alchemist and physician known as Paracelsus.

It was not until 1834 that the first winter guest stayed in the area. The earliest skiers appeared on the Upper Engadine scene in 1859 (the natives thought they were nutty), and in 1864, a pension owner, Johannes Badrutt, brought a group of English people to St. Moritz to spend the winter, starting what has grown into a flood of tourism.

© 2009, Wiley Publishing, Inc.