Gstaad – Bernese Oberland

When the Montreux Oberland Bernois railway reached Gstaad via Château d’Oex in 1905, the poor but charming valley was connected to the railway network – the ultimate prerequisite for tourist development. In the winter of 1907/08, we can speak of a first season, which is why the locals begin to build hotels, before the Gstaad Palace follows in 1913 (still the epitome of sophistication today) – that also issues the first Gstaad posters..

However, this was, with two exceptions, not continued until 15 years later. Posters advertising Gstaad as an actual winter sports resort were not even commissioned by the tourist office until the early 1930s (obviously, the Saanenland was a latecomer compared to the Grisons hotspots such as St. Moritz or Davos) – with Alex Walter Diggelmann, born 1902 in the Bernese Oberlander, who had recently established himself as a commercial artist in Zurich; a representative of the new generation, in other words, who no longer had much in the way of Art Nouveau and whose fresh approach and dynamic motifs were ideal for the up-and-coming winter sports resort.

more about A. W. Diggelmann respectively maybe of interest as well:

Château d’Oex – Alpes Vaudoises

and

Wengen – Männlichen