- Story 1

You are located in the “new” post office building, which was built in 1934 to meet the changing needs of the postbus era. Three counters, several employees and a large safe were available to visitors during the summer months.

 

An entire building for what we carry in our pockets today: we send selfies from Gletsch to show the world that we were there; and we can also make a few payments and buy tickets for our onward journey.

 

Selfies used to look different: the postcard was introduced in Switzerland in 1870. This early form of a “short message service with a picture” quickly became popular and was a great success. In 1936, Ruedi Hürlimann proudly reported to Zurich that he had reached Gletsch on his Condor motorcycle.

 

There was a choice between two “bazaars” where you could buy postcards with wonderful views of the hotel and the glacier. Stamps were available at the post office counter and if you sent them straight from there, the postcard would then bear the rare “Gletsch - Glacier du Rhône” postmark with the current date. To Paris, for example, this cost 10 centimes in 1907: “Affectueux et meilleurs souvenirs de Jeanne et Frank”

 

This small building was the communication hub of Gletsch with connections all over the world.