Some elements on SRF.ch only work with JavaScript activated.
Contents
When the weather report mentions cloudless conditions, most people think of sunshine. However, this is not true for everyone in the winter months. In some communities the sun no longer rises for several weeks or even months.
It’s that time again in Oberterzen/SG: The sun said goodbye for two months today. And it’s not alone. There are particularly long sunless periods in the Alps, especially in narrow, east-west facing valleys. There the flat winter sun cannot shine over the mountains. For example, in Bergell in the canton of Graubünden. In Vicosoprano you cannot see the sun from mid-November to the end of January. Another well-known example is Bosco Gurin in Ticino. There, too, you have to go without sun for more than two and a half months.
Legend:
The steep mountain sides in Bergell block the sun for around two and a half months.
Arno Mainetti
Admittedly, very few people live in such mountain villages. But there are also shadow holes in more densely populated areas. Examples of this are Glis/VS near Brig, part of Hergiswil/NW on Lake Lucerne (2.5 months each) or Cadenazzo/TI (2 months). You have to go without sun for a particularly long time in Emmetten/NW: at the foot of the Schattigenstock (with the appropriate name) the sun stays away from October 30th to February 13th. That’s almost three and a half months.
Finally, this: In the municipality of Nesslau/SG in Toggenburg there is a ditch called “Schattenloch” that lives up to its name. The sun said goodbye there on October 17th and will not be visible again until February 26th. But the shadow hole is not inhabited.
SRF1, 11/21/23, 2:23 p.m
Most read articles
Scroll left
Scroll right
Social login
For registration we need additional information about you.
* #socialRegistrationForm * * firstName * * lastName * * emailAddress * * displayName * * mobile * * addressCity *
*/socialRegistrationForm *