marco lavooi

Abandoned Hotel Belvédère was an iconic Swiss hotel on the edge of the Rhone Glacier. It was built in 1882 by young hotelier Josef Seiler in one of the hairpin bends of the Furka Pass, one of the snowiest regions in Switzerland. The panoramic location attracted a pampered clientele who sometimes stayed for weeks during the summers. The hotel industry in Switzerland boomed at the turn of the 20th century, and Hotel Belvédère's popularity increased with the opening of new railway lines. However, from the 1960s, the number of guests at the hotel and other Alpine hotels decreased due to faster and more powerful cars. The once two- or three-day trip through the pass became a one-day round trip, and guests no longer stayed overnight. The hotel closed a couple of years ago and will likely never reopen.