Editing Alps (section)

== History ==
{{main|History of the Alps}}

=== Prehistory ===
[[File:Scena di duello R6 - Foppe - Nadro (Foto Luca Giarelli).jpg|thumb|[[Petroglyphs]], [[Rock Drawings in Valcamonica]], Italy, which was recognized by [[UNESCO]] in 1979 and was Italy's first recognized [[World Heritage Site]]]]
[[File:Otzi-Quinson.jpg|thumb|Reconstruction of [[Ötzi]] mummy as shown in [[Alpes-de-Haute-Provence]], France. The original mummy and his remains and personal belongings are on exhibit at the [[South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology]] in [[Bolzano]], [[South Tyrol]], Italy.]]

When the ice melted after the [[Würm glaciation]], [[Paleolithic]] settlements were established along the lake shores and in cave systems. Evidence of human habitation has been found in caves near the [[Vercors Cave System]], close to Grenoble and Echirolles. In [[Austria]], the [[Mondsee (lake)|Mondsee lake]] shows evidence of houses built on piles. Standing stones have been found in the Alpine areas of [[France]] and [[Italy]]. About 200,000 drawings and etchings have been documented, and are known as the [[Rock Drawings in Valcamonica]].<ref name="Beattie25ff">Beattie, (2006), 25</ref>

A mummy of a [[Neolithic]] human, known as [[Ötzi]], was discovered on the [[Similaun]]. His clothing lets modern people assume that he was an alpine farmer, while the location and manner of his death suggests that Ötzi was traveling.<ref name="Beattie21ff">Beattie, (2006), 21</ref> Analysis of the [[mitochondrial DNA]] of Ötzi, has shown that he belongs to the K1 [[subclade]].<ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822%2808%2901254-2 |title=Luca Ermini et al., "Complete Mitochondrial Genome Sequence of the Tyrolean Iceman," Current Biology, vol. 18, no. 21 (30 October 2008), pp. 1687–1693 |journal=Current Biology |date=November 2008 |volume=18 |issue=21 |pages=1687–1693 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2008.09.028 |access-date=August 6, 2012 |archive-date=June 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612013201/http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(08)01254-2 |url-status=live |last1=Ermini |first1=Luca |last2=Olivieri |first2=Cristina |last3=Rizzi |first3=Ermanno |last4=Corti |first4=Giorgio |last5=Bonnal |first5=Raoul |last6=Soares |first6=Pedro |last7=Luciani |first7=Stefania |last8=Marota |first8=Isolina |last9=De Bellis |first9=Gianluca |last10=Richards |first10=Martin B. |last11=Rollo |first11=Franco }}</ref> His remains and personal belongings are on exhibit at the [[South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology]] in [[Bolzano]], [[South Tyrol]], Italy.

From the 13th to the 6th century BC much of the Alps was settled by the [[Germanic peoples]], [[Lombards]], [[Alemanni]], [[Bavarii]], and [[Franks]].<ref>Beattie, (2006), 31, 34</ref> [[Celt]] tribes settled in modern-day [[Switzerland]] between 1500 and 1000 BC. The [[Raeti]] lived in the eastern regions, while the west was occupied by the [[Helvetii]] and the [[Allobroges]] settled in the Rhône valley and in [[Savoy]]. The [[Ligures]] and [[Adriatic Veneti]] lived in [[Northwest Italy]] and [[Triveneto]] respectively. The Celts mined [[salt]] in areas such as [[Salzburg]], where evidence was found of the [[Hallstatt culture]].<ref name="Beattie25ff" /> By the 6th century BC the [[La Tène culture]] was well established in the region,<ref>Fleming (2000), 2</ref> and became known for high quality [[Celtic art]].<ref>Shoumatoff (2001), 131</ref>

Between 430 and 400 BC prolonged warfare in the Alps resulted in the devastation of agricultural land and human settlements, ultimately triggering the [[enslavement]] of men, women, and children, goods had to be imported as a result. The [[Etruscan civilization]] responded to raids by the [[Massalia]] and acquired absolute control over the Alpine trade routes. Aggressors in modern-day Italy were dealt with and an alliance was formed with the Celts. The grip of the Etruscan settlements broke down, as the Roman political system expanded, so as to take control over Alpine trade routes that connected human settlements in the Alps with settlements in the [[Mediterranean]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Iron Age Slaving and Enslavement in Northwest Europe |author1=Karim Mata |publisher=Archaeopress Publishing Limited |year=2019 |isbn=9781789694192 |page=18}}</ref>

During the [[Second Punic War]] in 218 BC, the [[Carthage]] general [[Hannibal]] initiated one of the most celebrated achievements of any military force in ancient warfare, recorded as [[Hannibal crossing the Alps]].<ref name="Lancel">Lancel, Serge, (1999), 71</ref> The [[Roman people]] built roads along the Alpine mountain passes, which continued to be used through the medieval period. Roman road markers can still be found on the Alpine mountain passes.<ref>Prevas (2001), 68–69</ref>

During the [[Gallic Wars]] in 58 BC [[Julius Caesar]] defeated the [[Helvetii]]. The [[Rhaetian people|Rhaetian]] continued to resist but their territory was eventually conquered when the Romans crossed the [[Danube]] valley and defeated the [[Brigantes]].<ref name="Beattie27ff">Beattie, (2006), 27</ref> The Romans built settlements in the Alps. In towns such as [[Aosta]], [[Martigny]], [[Lausanne]], and [[Partenkirchen]] remains of villas, arenas, and temples have been discovered.<ref>Beattie, (2006), 28–31</ref>

=== Christianity, feudalism, and Napoleonic wars ===
[[File:Vasily Surikov - Suvorov Crossing the Alps in 1799 - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''[[Suvorov crossing the Alps]]'', by [[Vasily Surikov]]]]
[[File:Edouard Castres-Bonaparte au St-Bernard IMG 3221.jpg|thumb|right|Napoleon passing the Great St Bernard Pass, by [[Edouard Castres]]]]
Christianity was established in the Alps by the [[Roman people]]. Monasteries and churches were constructed, even at high Alpine altitudes. The [[Franks]] expanded their [[Carolingian Empire]], while the [[Baiuvarii]] introduced [[feudalism]] in the eastern Alps. The construction of castles in the Alps supported the growing number of dukedoms and kingdoms. Castello del Buonconsiglio in [[Trento]], still has intricate frescoes, and excellent examples of [[Gothic art]]. The [[Château de Chillon]] is preserved as an example of medieval architecture.<ref>Beattie, (2006), 32, 34, 37, 43</ref> There are several important alpine saints and one such one is [[Saint Maurice]].<ref>Mershman, Francis. "St. Maurice", The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 10. New York City: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 6 March 2013</ref> Much of the medieval period was a time of power struggles between competing dynasties such as the [[House of Savoy]], the [[Visconti of Milan]], and the [[House of Habsburg]].<ref>Beattie, (2006), 41, 46, 48</ref>

The [[Great St Bernard Hospice]], built in the 9th or 10th centuries, at the summit of the [[Great Saint Bernard Pass]] was a shelter for humans and destination for pilgrims.<ref>Beattie, (2006), 73, 75–76</ref> In 1291, to protect themselves from incursions by the House of Habsburg, four Alpine [[cantons]] drew up the [[Federal Charter of 1291]], which is considered to be a declaration of independence from neighboring kingdoms. After a series of battles fought in the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, more cantons joined the confederacy and by the 16th century, [[Switzerland]] was established as a [[sovereign state]].<ref>Beattie, (2006), 56, 66</ref>

In the Alps, the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] fallout resulted in a 1713 [[treaty]], part of the [[Peace of Utrecht]], which relocated the Western Alps border along the watersheds. Historically, the Alps were used to determine the borders of political and administrative gangs, but the Peace of Utrecht was the first significant body of treaty that considered geographical conditions. The Alps were carved up and borders were agreed, so that [[enclave]]s in the Alps could be eliminated.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Alps: An Environmental History |author1=Jon Mathieu |publisher=Polity Press |year=2019 |isbn=9781509527748 |page=}}</ref>

During the [[Napoleonic Wars]] in the late 18th century and early 19th century, [[Napoleon]] annexed territory formerly controlled by the House of Habsburg, and the House of Savoy. In 1798, the [[Helvetic Republic]] was established, two years later an army across the [[Great St Bernard Pass]].<ref>Shoumatoff (2001), 182–183</ref> In 1799 the Russian imperial military engaged the revolutionary French army in the Alps, this episode has been recorded as significant achievement in [[mountain warfare]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=At War's Summit |author1=Alexander Statiev |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2018 |isbn=9781108684170 |page=12}}</ref> In October 1799 the troops commanded by [[Alexander Suvorov]] were surrounded in the Alps by much larger French troops. The Russian troops broke out, mauled the French troops, and retreated through the [[Panix Pass]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Battlefield Emotions 1500-1800: Practices, Experience, Imagination |editor1=Cornelis van der Haven |editor2=Erika Kuijpers |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |year=2016 |isbn=9781137564900 |page=96}}</ref>

After the fall of Napoleon, many alpine countries developed heavy protections to prevent further invasion. Thus, [[Savoy]] built a series of fortifications to protect the major alpine passes, such as the [[col du Mont-Cenis]], which was crossed by [[Charlemagne]] to obliterate the [[Lombards]].

In the 19th century, the monasteries built in the Alps to shelter humans became tourist destinations. The [[Benedictine]]s had built monasteries in [[Lucerne]], and [[Oberammergau]]. The [[Cistercian]]s built their temple at [[Lake Constance]]. Meanwhile, the [[Augustinians]] maintained abbeys in [[Savoy]] and one in [[Interlaken]].<ref>Beattie, (2006), 69-70</ref>

=== Exploration ===
{{main|Exploration of the High Alps}}
[[File:Massif du Mont-Blanc 06.jpg|thumb|[[Mont Blanc massif]]]]

[[Radiocarbon dating|Radiocarbon]]-dated charcoal placed around 50,000 years ago was found in the ''Drachloch'' (Dragon's Hole) cave above the village of Vattis in the [[canton of St. Gallen]], proving that the high peaks were visited by prehistoric people. Seven bear skulls from the cave may have been buried by the same prehistoric people.<ref>Shoumatoff (2001), 108</ref> The peaks, however, were mostly ignored except for a few notable examples, and long left to the exclusive attention of the people of the adjoining valleys.{{sfn|Coolidge|Lake|Knox|1911|p=748}}<ref name="Shoumatoff188ff">Shoumatoff (2001), 188–191</ref> The mountain peaks were seen as terrifying, the abode of dragons and demons, to the point that people blindfolded themselves to cross the Alpine passes.<ref>Fleming (2000), 6</ref> The glaciers remained a mystery and many still believed the highest areas to be inhabited by dragons.<ref>Fleming (2000), 12</ref>

[[Charles VII of France]] ordered his [[chamberlain (office)|chamberlain]] to climb [[Mont Aiguille]] in 1356. The knight reached the summit of [[Rocciamelone]] where he left a bronze triptych of three crosses, a feat which he conducted with the use of ladders to traverse the ice.<ref>Fleming (2000), 5</ref> In 1492, Antoine de Ville climbed Mont Aiguille, without reaching the summit, an experience he described as "horrifying and terrifying."<ref name="Shoumatoff188ff" /> [[Leonardo da Vinci]] was fascinated by variations of light in the higher altitudes, and climbed a mountain—scholars are uncertain which one; some believe it may have been [[Monte Rosa]]. From his description of a "blue like that of a gentian" sky it is thought that he reached a significantly high altitude.<ref>qtd in Shoumatoff (2001), 193</ref> In the 18th century four [[Chamonix]] men almost made the summit of Mont Blanc but were overcome by altitude sickness and snowblindness.<ref>Shoumatoff (2001), 192–194</ref>

[[File:Descent from Mont-Blanc in 1787.jpg|thumb|[[Horace Bénédict de Saussure]] shown in, Descent from Mont-Blanc, by [[Christian von Mechel]]]]
[[Conrad Gessner]] was the first naturalist to ascend the mountains in the 16th century, to study them, writing that in the mountains he found the "theatre of the Lord".<ref>Fleming (2000), 8</ref> By the 19th century more naturalists began to arrive to explore, study and conquer the high peaks.<ref name="Fleming vii">Fleming (2000), vii</ref> Two men who first explored the regions of ice and snow were [[Horace-Bénédict de Saussure]] (1740–1799) in the Pennine Alps,<ref>Fleming (2000), 27</ref> and the Benedictine monk of [[Disentis]] [[Placidus a Spescha]] (1752–1833).<ref name="Fleming vii" /> Born in Geneva, Saussure was enamoured with the mountains from an early age; he left a law career to become a naturalist and spent many years trekking through the Bernese Oberland, the Savoy, the Piedmont and Valais, studying the glaciers and geology, as he became an early proponent of the theory of rock upheaval.<ref>Fleming (2000), 12–13, 30, 27</ref> Saussure, in 1787, was a member of the third ascent of Mont Blanc—today the summits of all the peaks have been climbed.<ref name = "Shoumatoff197ff"/>

=== The Romantics and Alpinists ===
[[File:Caspar David Friedrich 032.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Wanderer above the Sea of Fog]] by [[Caspar David Friedrich]]]]
[[Albrecht von Haller]]'s poem ''Die Alpen'', published in 1732 described the mountains as an area of mythical purity.<ref>Beattie, (2006), 121–123</ref> [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] presented the Alps as a place of allure and beauty, in his novel ''[[Julie, or the New Heloise]]'', published in 1761. Later the first wave of [[Romanticism]] such as [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]], and [[J. M. W. Turner]] came to admire the Alpine scenery;<ref>''Goethe en Suisse et dans les Alpes: Voyages de 1775, 1779 et 1797''</ref> [[William Wordsworth|Wordsworth]] visited the area in 1790, writing of his experiences in ''[[The Prelude]]'' (1799). Schiller later wrote the play ''[[William Tell (play)|William Tell]]'' (1804), which tells the story of the legendary Swiss marksman [[William Tell]] as part of the greater Swiss struggle for independence from the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg Empire]] in the early 14th century. At the end of the [[Napoleonic Wars]], the Alpine countries began to see an influx of poets, artists, and musicians,<ref name="Fleming 2000, 83">Fleming (2000), 83</ref> as visitors came to experience the [[Sublime (philosophy)|sublime]] effects of monumental nature.<ref>Beattie, (2006), 125–126</ref>

In 1816, [[Lord Byron|Byron]], [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]] and his wife [[Mary Shelley]] visited Geneva and all three were inspired by the scenery in their writings.<ref name="Fleming 2000, 83"/> During these visits Shelley wrote the poem "[[Mont Blanc (poem)|Mont Blanc]]", Byron wrote "[[The Prisoner of Chillon]]" and the dramatic poem ''[[Manfred]]'', and Mary Shelley, who found the scenery overwhelming, conceived the idea for the novel ''[[Frankenstein]]'' in her villa on the shores of Lake Geneva amid a thunderstorm. When [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge|Coleridge]] travelled to [[Chamonix]], he declaimed, in defiance of Shelley, who had signed himself "Atheos" in the guestbook of the Hotel de Londres near Montenvers,<ref>Geoffrey Hartman, [https://archive.today/20130415150259/http://litthe.oxfordjournals.org/content/24/1/4.full "Gods, Ghosts, and Shelley's 'Atheos'"], ''Literature and Theology'', Volume 24, Issue 1, pp. 4–18</ref> "Who would be, who could be an atheist in this valley of wonders".<ref>Beattie, (2006), 127–133</ref>

By the mid-19th century scientists began to arrive en masse to study the geology and ecology of the region.<ref>Beattie, (2006), 139</ref>

From the beginning of the 19th century, the tourism and mountaineering development of the Alps began. In the early years of the "[[golden age of alpinism]]" initially scientific activities were mixed with sport, for example by the physicist [[John Tyndall]], with the first ascent of the Matterhorn by [[Edward Whymper]] being the highlight. In the later years, the "[[silver age of alpinism]]", the focus was on mountain sports and climbing. The first president of the [[Alpine Club (UK)|Alpine Club]], [[John Ball (naturalist)|John Ball]], is considered the discoverer of the Dolomites, which for decades were the focus of climbers like [[Paul Grohmann]], [[Michael Innerkofler]] and [[Angelo Dibona]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Cliffhanger at the top of the world |author=Fleming, Fergus |date=November 3, 2000 |journal=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2000/nov/04/historybooks.books |access-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414090959/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2000/nov/04/historybooks.books |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Gilles Modica "1865: the Golden Age of Mountaineering" (2016), pp 10.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dolomythos.com/de/lexikon/besteigung-berge.asp |title=Die Besteigung der Berge - Die Dolomitgipfel werden erobert (German: The ascent of the mountains - the dolomite peaks are conquered) |access-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-date=November 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124230906/https://www.dolomythos.com/de/lexikon/besteigung-berge.asp |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== The Nazis ===
[[File:Ghent altarpiece at Altaussee.jpg|thumb|left|The Nazis hid looted art in salt mines at [[Altaussee]], such as the [[Early Netherlandish art|Early Netherlandish]] ''[[Ghent Altarpiece]]'' which sustained significant damage.]]

In autumn 1932, [[Adolf Hitler]] commissioned the first of a series of refurbishments, which eventually turned a mountain cottage, later named [[Berghof (residence)|Berghof]], into a fortified [[citadel]]. This domestic, but representative, fortification had two small bedrooms, and a full bathroom, planned by the Munich architect and NSDAP member [[Josef Neumaier]]. Guests, such as [[Rudolf Hess]], stayed over, sleeping in tents or over the garage.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Hitler at Home |author1=Despina Stratigakos |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2015 |isbn=9780300187601 |page=}}</ref>

The Alps, Adolf Hitler, and improbable powerful organizations have been subject to [[crime fiction]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Nazis on the Run: How Hitler's Henchmen Fled Justice |author1=Gerald Steinacher |publisher=OUP Oxford |year=2011 |isbn=9780191653766 |page=xvi}}</ref> The Alps acted as a geographical barrier to [[Italy]], and the Alps for centuries were permeated with established smuggling routes, known as ''green line''. After World War II, members of the [[Schutzstaffel]] that feared prosecution as [[war criminal]]s, known in modern English only as ''SS'', disappeared into a crowd of [[refugee]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Nazis on the Run: How Hitler's Henchmen Fled Justice |author1=Gerald Steinacher |publisher=OUP Oxford |year=2011 |isbn=9780191653766 |page=3}}</ref> Massive numbers of refugees entered Italy illegally, by navigating the Alps.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Nazis on the Run: How Hitler's Henchmen Fled Justice |author1=Gerald Steinacher |publisher=OUP Oxford |year=2011 |isbn=9780191653766 |page=15}}</ref>

=== Undocumented migrants ===
[[Smugglers]] of humans claim that crossing the Alps is less dangerous, or deadly, than traveling 355&nbsp;km on water between [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] and [[Lampedusa]] with a [[tramp ship]] (''carretta del mare'') or a [[dinghy]]. Undocumented migrants, visa overstayers, false tourists, asylum seekers, and other clandestine humans, lose their lives crossing the Alps. The exact number of smuggled humans who die a brutal death in the Alps can only be estimated.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The History of Migration in Europe: Perspectives from Economics, Politics and Sociology |editor1=Francesca Fauri |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2014 |isbn=9781317678281 |page=}}</ref>