The large monument at the Devil's Bridge in the Schöllenen Gorge below Andermatt, which is dedicated to the Russian General Alexander Suvorov, cannot be overlooked.
The Suvorov monument commemorates the fighting that took place in the Schöllenen Gorge on 25 September 1799. Russian troops under General Alexander Vasiljevic Suvorov fought against Napoleon's soldiers and finally defeated the French.
On September 15, 1799, Suvorov reached Monte Ceneri with 2000 men and defeated the French at the Gotthard Hospice on September 24, 1799. The French then filled the "Urnerloch" with rubble and blew up the Devil's Bridge. One day later Suvorov brought in wooden beams, tied them together with the officers' sashes, thus erecting an emergency bridge and forced the passage, but at great loss.
The monument was erected in 1899 by Russia in honour of Suvorov and the fallen soldiers. Russian President Dmitri Medwedew visited it on the occasion of his Swiss state visit on 22 September 2009.
The monument is easily reachable from Andermatt and is located right behind the Devil’s Bridge restaurant.
The Suvorov monument is freely accessible in the summer. Ideally, a visit to the monument is combined with the walking tour in the Schöllenen Gorge, during which one can experience the myth of Gotthard up close.
In the winter, the Suvorov monument is often iced over and covered with snow. Depending on snow quantity, access may be restricted.
