Zermatt in the context of "Swiss Federal Statistical Office"

The Matterhorn is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, whose summit is 4,478 metres (14,692 ft) above sea level, making it one of the highest summits in the Alps and Europe. Sometimes referred to as the "Mountain of Mountains" (German: Berg der Berge), it has become an indelible emblem of the Alps and is claimed to be the most photographed mountain in the world. The Matterhorn has four faces, each roughly oriented toward one of the four cardinal points. Three of these (north, east, and west) are on the Swiss side of the border and watershed, while the south face lies on the Italian side. These four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, are separated by the Hörnli, Furggen, Zmutt, and Leone (Lion) ridges. The mountain overlooks the Swiss town of Zermatt, in the canton of Valais, to the northeast, and the Italian town of Breuil-Cervinia in the Aosta Valley to the south. Just east of the Matterhorn is Theodul Pass, the main passage between the two valleys on its north and south sides, which has been a trade route since the Roman era.

The Matterhorn was studied by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure in the late 18th century; this was followed by other renowned naturalists and artists, such as John Ruskin, in the 19th century. It remained unclimbed after most of the other great Alpine peaks had been attained and became the subject of an international competition for the summit. The first ascent of the Matterhorn was in 1865 from Zermatt by a party led by Edward Whymper, but during the descent, a sudden fall claimed the lives of four of the seven climbers. This disaster, later portrayed in several films, marked the end of the golden age of alpinism. The north face was not climbed until 1931 and is among the three biggest north faces of the Alps, known as "The Trilogy". The west face, the highest of the Matterhorn's four faces, was completely climbed only in 1962. It is estimated that over 500 alpinists have died on the Matterhorn, making it one of the deadliest peaks in the world.

The Weisshorn (German, lit. white peak/mountain) is a major peak of Switzerland and the Alps, culminating at 4,505 metres (14,780 feet) above sea level. It is part of the Pennine Alps and is located between the valleys of Anniviers and Zermatt in the canton of Valais. In the latter valley, the Weisshorn is one of the many 4000ers surrounding Zermatt, with Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn.

The Weisshorn was first climbed in 1861 from Randa by the Irish physicist John Tyndall, accompanied by the guides J.J. Bennen and Ulrich Wenger. Nowadays, the Weisshorn Hut is used on the normal route. The Weisshorn is considered by many mountaineers to be the most beautiful mountain in the Alps and Switzerland for its pyramidal shape and pure white slopes.

Glaciology (from Latin glacies 'frost, ice' and Ancient Greek λόγος (logos) 'subject matter'; lit. 'study of ice') is the scientific study of glaciers, or, more generally, ice and natural phenomena that involve ice.

Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, climatology, meteorology, hydrology, biology, and ecology. The impact of glaciers on people includes the fields of human geography and anthropology. The discoveries of water ice on the Moon, Mars, Europa and Pluto add an extraterrestrial component to the field, which is referred to as "astroglaciology".

Monte Viso or Monviso (Italian: [moɱˈviːzo]; Occitan: Vísol [ˈvizul]; Piedmontese: Brich ëd Viso [ˈbrik əd ˈvizʊ] or simply Viso) is the highest mountain of the Cottian Alps, located in Piedmont, Italy, close to the French border. Monte Viso is well known for its pyramid-like shape. Because it is higher than all its neighbouring peaks by about 500 m, it can be seen from a great distance, including from the Piedmontese plateau, the Langhe, the Theodulpass in the Zermatt ski area, the Col du Galibier and the summits of the Mont Blanc massif. On a very clear day, it can be seen from the spires of Milan Cathedral.

It has been suggested that Monte Viso could be one of the mountains which inspired the Paramount logo, even though the company has denied the claims. In Italy it is also known as il Re di Pietra ("the Stone King") because of its prominence within the western Italian Alps. It was declared a cross-border UNESCO biosphere reserve in 2013.The longest river of Italy, River Po, is born at the mountain's foot.

Theodul Pass, elevation 3,295 metres (10,810 ft), (German: Theodulpass, Italian: Colle del Teodulo, French: Col de Saint-Théodule, Walser German: Theoduljoch) is a high mountain pass across the eastern Pennine Alps, connecting Zermatt in the Swiss canton of Valais and Breuil-Cervinia in the Italian region of Aosta Valley. Theodul Pass is the lowest and the easiest pass between the valleys of Zermatt and Valtournanche.

The pass lies between the Matterhorn on the west and the Breithorn on the east and is overlooked by the Theodulhorn and Testa Grigia. The Rifugio del Teodulo (hut) is located just above the pass. The east side of the pass is covered by large glaciers part of the Theodul Glacier system and is part of a year-round ski area. On the Italian side, the pass can be reached from Breuil-Cervinia by a dead-end trail. On the Swiss side, trails go up from Trockener Steg and Gandegg Hut.

The first ascent of the Matterhorn was a mountaineering expedition of the Matterhorn made by Edward Whymper, Lord Francis Douglas, Charles Hudson, Douglas Hadow, Michel Croz, and two Zermatt guides, Peter Taugwalder and his son of the same name, on 14 July 1865. Douglas, Hudson, Hadow and Croz were killed on the descent when Hadow slipped and pulled the other three with him down the north face. Whymper and the Taugwalder guides, who survived, were later accused of having cut the rope below to ensure that they were not dragged down with the others, but the subsequent inquiry found no evidence of this and they were acquitted.

The ascent followed a long series of usually separate attempts by Edward Whymper and Jean-Antoine Carrel to reach the summit. Carrel's group had been 200 m below the summit on the Italian side when Croz and Whymper summited. The climbers from Valtournenche withdrew deflated, but three days later Carrel and Jean-Baptiste Bich reached the summit without incident. The Matterhorn was the last great Alpine peak to be climbed and its first ascent marked the end of the golden age of alpinism.

Banking in Switzerland dates to the early 18th century through Switzerland's merchant trade and over the centuries has grown into a complex and regulated international industry. Banking is seen as very emblematic of Switzerlandand the country has been one of the largest, if not largest, offshore financial centers and tax havens in the world since the mid-20th century, with a long history of banking secrecy, security and client confidentiality reaching back to the early 1700s. Starting as a way to protect wealthy European banking interests, Swiss banking secrecy was codified in 1934 with the passage of a landmark federal law, the Federal Act on Banks and Savings Banks. These laws were used to protect assets of persons being persecuted by Nazi authorities but have also been used by people and institutions seeking to illegally evade taxes, hide assets, or to commit other financial crime.

Controversial protection of foreign accounts and assets during World War II sparked a series of proposed financial regulations seeking to limit bank secrecy, but with little resulting action. Despite various international efforts to roll back banking secrecy laws in the country which were largely minimized or reverted by Swiss social and political forces, in 2017 Switzerland agreed to "automatic exchange of information" (AEOI) with foreign governments and their revenue services regarding information of depositors not resident in Switzerland. This constituted de facto the end of Swiss banking secrecy for depositors who were not Swiss residents. Furthermore, after Switzerland ratified the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act agreement with the United States, because of concerns regarding their tax liability (the U.S. taxes its citizens regardless of whether they are resident in the U.S. or not) some Swiss banks have gone so far as to close accounts held by US citizens, and to ban the opening of new accounts by US citizens and by dual US-Swiss citizens, including those deemed lawful permanent Swiss residents. Thus banking secrecy remains in force only for those residing in and solely taxable in Switzerland.

Randa is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It is located between the Weisshorn and the Dom in the Matter Valley. The village is accessible by road and rail, and it has a campsite which offers a taxi service to Zermatt, a car-free town. The Glacier Express train line also connects Randa to Zermatt.

The Matter Valley (German: Mattertal, or sometimes Nikolaital) is located in southwestern Switzerland, south of the Rhône valley in the canton of Valais. The village of Zermatt is the most important settlement of the valley, which is surrounded by many four-thousanders, including the Matterhorn.