Crossing the Alps

The Project
The routes for mail crossing the Alps from Northern Italy to France, Switzerland and Austria (and hence the rest of Europe) changed dramatically in the decades prior to the formation of the General Postal Union in 1875.  One option, of course, was to bypass ground service entirely and take French or Italian steamers down the coast.  However, the benefits of rail service was becoming clear, providing superior speed in the delivery of the mails.

The difficulty for the postal historian is in determining which route an item might have traveled based on the markings a cover might exhibit.  This becomes even more difficult given the rapid change from 1850 to 1875 in the available transportation services.  This project is an attempt to identify available routes via passes and the subsequent rail lines and tunnels as well as their effective use dates for easier reference.

Last Update: 1/22/18

Mail Crossing the Alps 1850-1875
The map below gives me a better appreciation for the problem of transportation and mail carriage when the Alps are in the way.  You can begin to get some idea as to where an opportunity to cross might be given this representation.

Possible future project - highlight the passes on this map for reference.

Splugen Pass
Carriage Road - Construction 1818-1823
Road Expansion - 1843

Note, the convention between the Netherlands and Italy appears to have allowed for routes via France or via Switzerland but NOT via Austria.  Therefore, the Brenner Pass would not have been used for this item in 1867.  However, this could be a different story when Lombardy-Venetia was under Austrian control.

verso of cover shown on page above

In this case, we get a little help with two railway postmarks.  The first indicates the Swiss Traveling Post Office on the Chur to St Gallen line processed the mail from Italy to the Netherlands.  At the time of this letter, the only reason for this marking would be the route via Splugen.  This is further confirmed by a Wurttemburg TPO marking that would have been applied as this item left Switzerland at Basel.

Mont Cenis Pass and the Modane Tunnel
Carriage Road via the Mont Cenis Pass - Construction 1803-1810
Mont Cenis Railway 1868 - 1871
Modane/Mt Cenis Tunnel - Construction 1857-Dec 1870
                                          - Opened Sep 17, 1871

Route:

• Chambery
• Mont Melian
• St Jean de Maurienne
• St Michel
• Modane
• Susa
• Turin (Torino)

verso of cover above, note Modane-Torino Ambulante marking for that stretch of Italian railway.

With the Modane tunnel complete and open for business, this letter was able to take advantage of what had become a relatively quick and simple transit of the alps between Italy and France.  This is particularly striking given the fact that Marseilles was a busy port that was the origin for many mail packet steamers, some of which would certainly stop at Naples.  Just the decade before, packet ship may well have been the best mode of mail transport between these two cities.  However, it is clear that water conveyance had no chance to match the two day transit this piece needed to reach its destination. 

St Gothard's Pass
New Carriage Road - circa 1830
Devil's Bridge (Teufelsbrucke)- 1833
Railway - construction 1872-1882

Route:

• Zurich
• Schwyz
• Fluelen
• Wassen
• Goschenen
• Airolo
• Faido
• Bodio
• Biasca
• Bellinzona
• Lugano or Lake Maggiaro?
• Maroggia?
• Chiasso?
• Como
• Milano

Perhaps the easiest way to explore the different routes across the alps is to find mails that traveled between Italy and Switzerland or Italy and France.  The postal markings often give us a few clues as to where an item may have traveled.

Which way?  Splugen or St Gothard?

The above item clearly made it to Como in Italy.  With an 1870 date, it is entirely possible the St Gothard Pass could have been taken instead of the Splugen Pass.  The key is locating where Burgdorf is in Switzerland.

Note Milano-Como "Ambulant" marking showing rail service up to Como.

Given Bergdorf's location just northeast of Bern, it seems logical that it would take the carriage route via the St Gothard's Pass to Lucerne and from there to Burgdorf.  The lack of Swiss rail markings seems to support this as well, though it is far from conclusive.

Carl Blechen's Building the Devil's Bridge (1833) - "Die Teufelsbrücke"

The Devil's Bridge that is the subject of this painting would be over the Reuss River in Schollenen Gorge. 

Simplon Pass
Carriage Road - construction 1801-1805
Route:

• Swiss rail to Brig
• Domo d'ossola
• Sion
• Arona to Italian rail

need to find the source again

Mary Shelley wrote, in her work "Rambles in Germany and Italy, in 1840, 1842 and 1843" that the Simplon Pass had "... a majestic simplicity that inspired awe; the naked bones of a gigantic world were here."

Brenner Pass
Carriage road - 1777
Railway - construction 1853 - 1867
Route:

• Innsbruck
• Bozen
• Bolzano

References:



Project Status
Early Stages

Data has been collected but is not added to this post.  Additional data needs to be gathered.