Winter in Matt and on the Weissenberge
The Weissenberge lie on a terrace on the southern slope of the Gulderstock, about 500 metres above Matt. A cable car connects them with Matt; the two places also appear as starting and ending points for various routes. This makes it possible to plan a trip around your preferred focus: winter activities on the Weissenberge, hiking routes between the two places, and cultural history in Matt.
There are ski touring routes on the Weissenberge. The Weissenberge–Matt toboggan run follows the Chrauchtal Gorge, starting at the Weissenberge mountain station and ending at the Matt valley station. Seasonal operating conditions may vary; check them when planning your trip. This is especially useful if you would like to combine tobogganing with other winter activities.
The Schiben winter circular hike is listed as taking one and a half hours; it passes through the quiet, unspoilt winter landscape of the Weissenberge. A snowshoe tour runs from Matt via the Waldibach to the Weissenberge and is 3.5 kilometres long. The details offer different points of reference for planning: a duration for the circular hike and a distance for the snowshoe tour.
Hikes by route type
The Weissenberge–Matt forest nature trail combines exercise with knowledge about nature. Information boards share interesting facts about native trees and shrubs, as well as their blossoms, fruits, seeds and wood. The trail is two kilometres long; walking time alone is about one hour. The central circular routes on the Weissenberge are suitable for pushchairs. This suitability applies to the central circular routes, not necessarily to all the tours mentioned.
Another circular hike passes through Matt, the Weissenberge, the Fittern Käsepass Alp, Vorderegg and the Krauchtal before returning to Matt. The Stäfeli Trail has a different endpoint: it leads from the well-preserved Walser settlement of Weissenberge to the Stäfeli ski hut. The routes therefore differ in their layout—a loop back to Matt or a one-way route to the ski hut.
Village history and regional culture
In 1273, the Matt Church was elevated from a chapel to a parish church. The present-day building probably dates from 1497 and has a significant late Gothic wooden ceiling. These are two distinct historical details: its elevation to parish church status and the probable date of the present-day building.
SchybenflĂĽĂĽgen is also part of local tradition and is depicted in the municipal coat of arms. On Carnival night, burning, square wooden discs are flung down into the valley from a mountainside using long hazel poles. The way the tradition is performed, the discs used and the hazel poles give it a distinctive character, different from the evidence of churches and buildings.
A medieval deserted alpine settlement designated B is located in the Fuggtäli in Matt. The Brummbachhaus is classified as a Category A cultural asset. Egg, Riseten and the Krauchtal are also part of the region’s agricultural history: these areas have been used for agriculture since the Middle Ages, with corresponding entries in the Säckingen Urbarium of 1350. There are three alpine dairies in the Krauchtal, two of which make cheese.
From a circular hike to a bike tour
The Chrauchtal–Engi bike tour starts in Matt and climbs through the Chrauchtal along the Chrauchbach to the Vorderegg Alp. It then descends into the valley to Engi. This makes it different from the circular hike, which returns to Matt via Vorderegg and the Krauchtal: the bike tour ends in Engi, while the hike ends back in Matt. These different starting and ending points offer a practical reference for planning your day if you want to coordinate activities with your accommodation plans.
Discover more destinations: Glarus Süd, Engi, Näfels, Glarus, Mollis, Elm, Niederurnen, Mühlehorn.
Back to the main travel overview: Glarus.
