Zermatt

Zermatt
Municipality
June 2022 view from Moosstrasse
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Zermatt
Zermatt Location within Switzerland Zermatt Location within Canton of Valais
Coordinates: 46°01′N 7°45′E
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Valais
District	Visp
Government
• Mayor	Romy Biner-Hauser
Area
• Total	242.67 km2 (93.70 sq mi)
Elevation	1,608 m (5,276 ft)
Population  (December 2007)
• Total	5,786
• Density	23.84/km2 (61.75/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal code	3920
SFOS number	6300
ISO 3166 code	CH-VS
Localities	Blatten, Findeln, Gornergrat, Ried, Schwarzsee, Z'mutt
Surrounded by	Alagna Valsesia (IT-VC), Ayas (IT-AO), Ayer, Bionaz (IT-AO), Evolène, Gressoney-La-Trinité (IT-AO), Macugnaga (IT-VB), Randa, Saas-Almagell, Täsch, Valtournenche (IT-AO)
Twin towns	Alfano (Italy)
Website	gemeinde.zermatt.ch

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Zermatt (German: [tsɛʁˈmat] ^ⓘ, Swiss Standard German: [tsɛrˈmat]; Highest Alemannic: Zärmatt) is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

It lies at the upper end of Mattertal at an elevation of 1,620 m (5,310 ft), at the foot of Switzerland's highest peaks. It lies about 10 km (6.2 mi) from the over 3,292 m (10,801 ft) high Theodul Pass bordering Italy. Zermatt is the southernmost commune of the German Sprachraum.

Zermatt is famed as a mountaineering and ski resort of the Swiss Alps. Until the mid-19th century, it was predominantly an agricultural community; the first and tragic ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 was followed by a rush on the mountains surrounding the village, leading to the construction of many tourist facilities. The year-round population (as of December 2020) is 5,820, though there may be several times as many tourists in Zermatt at any one time. Much of the local economy is based on tourism, with about half of the jobs in town in hotels or restaurants and just under half of all apartments are vacation apartments. Just over one-third of the permanent population was born in the town, while another third moved to Zermatt from outside Switzerland.