Switzerland's Hidden Wealth: The Gotthard and Alpine Trade

Long before banking secrecy and the Reduit defined Switzerland, its wealth came from a mountain pass. This episode of The Story of Switzerland traces how the Gotthard route — carved through granite in the 13th century — transformed a loose confederation of farming cantons into a crossroads of European commerce. Lucas and Luna explore the engineering of the Devil's Bridge, the legend of the Schöllenen Gorge, the rise of Uri as a transit power, and how the Habsburgs lost control of the Alps. They also discuss the darker legacy of the Gotthard: how its tunnels were built by forced labor in the 19th century, and how the pass became a symbol of Swiss independence. From mule trains to the Gotthard Base Tunnel, this is the story of how geography made Switzerland. #Gotthard #SchöllenenGorge #DevilsBridge #Uri #Habsburg #AlpineTrade #SwissPasses #Teufelsbrücke #MuleTrains #GotthardBaseTunnel #SanktGotthard #MedievalEngineering #ForcedLabor #AlpineFortress #SwissHistory #History #FexingoHistory #Podcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo