The Jungfraujoch: History of the High-Altitude Research Station, 1922–1952

The Jungfraujoch: History of the High-Altitude Research Station, 1922–1952

von Leander Diener

This book traces the history of the Jungfraujoch research station, established in 1931 at one of the most remarkable scientific sites in the world. Conceived as part of the Jungfraujoch railroad project, the station embodied the ambition to conduct research at the highest altitude in Europe. Emerging from the collaboration between the Swiss Society of Natural Scientists and the Swiss Alpine Club, and later supported by international partners from Germany, Austria, France, Great Britain, Belgium, and the US the station soon became a symbol of scientific cooperation under challenging circumstances. Through changing political, economic, and institutional contexts—from the interwar years to the founding of the Swiss National Science Foundation in 1952—the book reconstructs how the Jungfraujoch evolved into a center for atmospheric, physical, and environmental research. It situates the station as both a pioneering scientific enterprise and a landmark in the development of organized research in Switzerland.

This book traces the history of the Jungfraujoch research station, established in 1931 at one of the most remarkable scientific sites in the world. Conceived as part of the Jungfraujoch railroad project, the station embodied the ambition to conduct research at the highest altitude in Europe. Emerging from the collaboration between the Swiss Society of Natural Scientists and the Swiss Alpine Club, and later supported by international partners from Germany, Austria, France, Great Britain, Belgium, and the US the station soon became a symbol of scientific cooperation under challenging circumstances. Through changing political, economic, and institutional contexts—from the interwar years to the founding of the Swiss National Science Foundation in 1952—the book reconstructs how the Jungfraujoch evolved into a center for atmospheric, physical, and environmental research. It situates the station as both a pioneering scientific enterprise and a landmark in the development of organized research in Switzerland.

Highlights

• Recounts the first history of the oldest international scientific foundation in the world Richly illustrated with stunning pictures of research in extreme environments Provides a comprehensive overview on high altitude research

Über den Autor

Leander Diener holds a Master’s in German Studies and History from the University of Zurich and a Master’s in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine from King’s College London. In 2021 he completed his PhD on the history of neurophysiology in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries at the University of Zurich. During his dissertation he spent a research stay at the Countway Library of Medicine (Harvard University) and at the CHSTM at the University of Manchester. From 2023 to 2025, he worked at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin where he examined the history of geologic time in glaciology and geology. Currently Leander is a lecturer at the University of Zurich and at the University of Fribourg.