The Matterhorn's first ascent in 1865 and how Zermatt's Matterhorn Museum tells it

The first ascent in brief

The Matterhorn was first climbed on 14 July 1865 by a party of seven who set out from the Swiss side, and four of them died on the descent. The Historical Dictionary of Switzerland describes the climb as the end of a race between two groups, one trying the mountain from Italy by the south-west ridge and one from Switzerland by the north-east ridge, and says the Swiss-side party reached the summit first.[2] Zermatt Tourism names the route as the Hörnli ridge, today's standard Swiss route, and also calls the climb a head-to-head race with an Italian roped party.[1]

The mountain stands on the Swiss-Italian border, with Zermatt at its northern foot and Breuil-Cervinia in the Valtournenche on its southern side, according to the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, which gives its height as 4,478 metres.[2]

Who was on the rope

The Historical Dictionary of Switzerland lists the seven: four Englishmen, Edward Whymper, Francis Douglas, Robert Hadow and Charles Hudson, "led by Michel Croz of Chamonix", together with Peter Taugwalder of Zermatt and his son.[2] Zermatt Tourism's ascent page names fewer of them in its route sentence, saying the Hörnli ridge "was the route chosen by both Edward Whymper and Peter Taugwalder (Senior and Junior)"; Croz appears on that page only among the four who died.[1] XTOUR does not read either wording as a statement about who led the climb beyond what each says.

The fall on the descent

Zermatt Tourism says that on the way down the four climbers at the front of the party, Michel Croz, Douglas Robert Hadow, Charles Hudson and Francis Douglas, fell to their deaths down the north face. XTOUR's reading, putting that together with the dictionary's list of the seven, is that Whymper and the two Taugwalders were the survivors.[2][1] The dictionary adds that the deaths led to a judicial inquiry into the cause of the accident.[2]

Neither of these sources sets out what that inquiry found or how the rope came to part, and XTOUR does not fill that gap. The dictionary's own reading list includes a 1990 book by H. Taugwalder and M. Jaggi titled "Der Wahrheit näher" (Closer to the truth).[2] XTOUR has not read that book.

After 1865

The ascent did not end the story of the mountain's firsts. Zermatt Tourism says Lucy Walker became the first woman to reach the summit a little under six years later.[1] The Historical Dictionary of Switzerland says the peak became a national symbol in the 20th century and was used to advertise countless consumer goods, chocolate and credit cards among them, and lists plans that were never carried out: a road up the mountain in 1859, a railway in 1892 and floodlighting in 1988.[2]

Alpinism as a practice is on UNESCO's list: the organisation's page for Switzerland shows it inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2019.[5] The wider Swiss listings are covered in what UNESCO lists as Switzerland's intangible heritage.

What the Matterhorn Museum shows

The Matterhorn Museum – Zermatlantis is an underground history museum at Kirchplatz in Zermatt, which Zermatt Tourism's listing says opened in 2006. Its story is the village as much as the mountain: the listing describes Zermatt's change "from a village of mountain farmers to a world-famous alpine resort", told through original houses and interiors.[4]

For 1865, the centrepiece is a physical object. Zermatt Tourism's museum page says visitors can see "the broken rope from the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865", and its listing calls the snapped rope an original and names among the highlights the effects of the climbers who died.[3] The listing also describes a multimedia room showing excerpts from Luis Trenker's film "Der Berg ruft" ("The mountain calls"), shot in Zermatt in 1937 and 1938 and including scenes of the fall, and a relief of the Matterhorn with the climbing routes picked out in light.[4]

The museum reaches further back than alpinism. Its listing names a Neolithic stone axe and the remains of a mercenary from about the 16th century, whom the museum page calls "Theo" and describes as a man who failed to make the crossing of the Theodul Pass.[3][4]

Visiting the museum

Zermatt Tourism's listing gives daily and seasonal opening periods, including a closure from 1 to 19 November 2026, and lists admission prices. The same listing has a section headed "We accept / Admission free of charge" that names the Swiss Museum Pass, the Swiss Travel Pass, Swiss Flexi Pass and Swiss Youth Pass alongside Raiffeisen bank cards, without saying which entries give free entry and which are accepted forms of payment; XTOUR does not resolve that, so a pass holder should check with the museum. The listing also says an audio guide is available in German, English, French and Japanese, and that dogs are not allowed.[4] XTOUR does not restate the hours or prices as its own and does not assess accessibility.

Zermatt Tourism's ascent page is written for climbers and recommends going with a local mountain guide.[1] XTOUR gives no climbing advice. The Gornergrat railway above Zermatt has its own guide, Zermatt and the Gornergrat railway.