When was Zermatt founded?

In the early 19th century the Matterhorn was considered unclimbable. Which of course attracted a lot of attention from mountaineers. Zermatt’s first Hotel opened in 1838 to support increasing interest in the area’s climbing potential. Edward Whymper’s successful summit in 1865 bought the area fame and so began its journey to become one of the world’s most wealthy tourist locations. Before this, it was just a quiet farming town with little documenting it before the 13th century. Today, there is still a charming historic centre to the village, as well as some grand 19th century hotels. For more information, you can visit the Zermatt museum in the centre of the village.