Pilatus (mountain)

A few different local legends about the origin of the name exist. One claims that Pilatus was named so because Pontius Pilate was buried there.[1] However, a similar legend is told of Monte Vettore in Italy. Another is that the mountain looks like the belly of a large man, Pilate, lying on his back and was thus named for him. The name may also be derived from "pileatus," meaning "cloud-topped."

Numbered amongst those who have reached its summit are Conrad Gessner, Theodore Roosevelt, Arthur Schopenhauer (1804), Queen Victoria and Julia Ward Howe (1867).

The cog railway opened in 1889.

The mountain has fortified radar (part of the Swiss FLORAKO system) and weather stations on the Oberhaupt summit, not open to the public view and used all year round.

^ "In Swiss Alps, Tales Stand as Tall as the Mountains". latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. 2 April 2006. Retrieved 29 April 2022.