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The Rigi (or Mount Rigi; also known as Queen of the Mountains) is a mountain massif of the Alps, located in Central Switzerland. The whole massif is almost entirely surrounded by the water of three different bodies of water: Lake Lucerne, Lake Zug and Lake Lauerz. The range is in the Schwyzer Alps, and is split between the cantons of Schwyz and Lucerne, although the main summit, named Rigi Kulm, at 1,797 meters above sea level, lies within the canton of Schwyz. The Rigi Kulm Hotel, established in 1816, is located on the summit. Rigi Kulm Hotel official website
The Rigi Kulm and other areas, such as the resort of Rigi Kaltbad, are served by Europe's oldest mountain railways, the Rigi Railways. The whole area offers many activities such as skiing or sledging in the winter, and hiking in the summer.
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The name was interpreted as Regina montium "queen of mountains" by Albrecht von Bonstetten (1479), who however gives Rigena as alternative form."Und ist das der berg Rigena, die die alten ein küngin der bergen geheyssen habent. Dann in dem selbigen berg sint vor langen, alten ziten heiligen verborgen gelegen, die noch zuͦ disen ziten (als man redt) mit himelscher sinphonie und lobgesang oft gehöret werden got lobent, und ir liplichen fuͦsstritten oft gloubhaftigen lüten erschinen sind." "Superioris Germanie Confoederatis descriptio" / "... der Obertütscheit Eidgnosschaft ... kurze beschribung" ed. Albert Büchi, QSG 13 (1893), 217–267.
Bonstetten's interpretation as Regina was influential in the 17th century, and was still repeated in 18th-century travelogues. Karl Zay ( Goldau und seine Gegend, 1807) criticized this latinization, arguing for mons rigidus instead. Later in the 19th century, many authors repeated either rigidus or regina as the name's supposed origin. The two possibilities were also adduced as explanation of the name's grammatical gender alternating between masculine and feminine."Die Wurzelwort-Forscher und Urkunden-Leute haben schon gelehrte Untersuchungen angestellt, ob der Name 'Rigi' von rigidus mons (der rauhe Berg) oder von regina montium (die Königin der Berge) abstamme und er somit ein Masculinum oder Femininum sei; jede Vermuthung hat gleich Viel für sich." (Berlepsch, Hermann, Alexander): Der Rigi, der Vierwaldstätter-See und die Urkantone. Ein Führer für Fremde. Leipzig 1858. Brandstetter ( Die Rigi, 1914) finally discredited these interpretations and established the origin in Old High German rîga (whence modern German Reihe, Reigen; cognate with English row).
Rigi is also a destination for people practising winter sports and other winter recreation activities.
Mark Twain also visited Rigi during his tour of Central Europe in the late 1870s, and wrote about his travels in chapter 28 of his A Tramp Abroad.
There is a Catskills resort called the Rigi Kulm in Abraham Cahan's novel The Rise of David Levinsky (1917).
The Rigi, a downhill road in Wellington, New Zealand, is named for the mountain and for many years was used as a main thoroughfare for coach riders.
On 9 July 1868, during a three-week tour through Switzerland, Gerard Manley Hopkins ascended Rigi-Kulm, the highest peak of the Rigi massif: "From Lucerne by steamer to Küssnacht, thence walk across to Immensee, thence by steamer over lake of Zug to Arth, whence up the Rigi."
Pilgrimage tourism commenced in earnest in 1689 with the inauguration of the "Maria zum Schnee" pilgrimage chapel at Rigi Klösterli, which drew approximately 15,000 pilgrims annually. By 1730, pilgrim numbers had grown to around 25,000 per year.
The first inn for overnight stays opened at Rigi Kaltbad in 1756, followed by the first guesthouse at Rigi Kulm in 1816. Early wellness tourism also emerged around this time, with the natural spring at Kaltbad gaining a reputation for healing properties from 1540 onwards. By 1600, over 100 people annually made the trek to bathe in the spring water.
By 1818, English travel agencies were offering guided tours to Switzerland that included Mount Rigi as an option for "more adventurous and well-heeled tourists". The mountain's accessibility improved significantly in 1832 when Weggis became reachable by boat from Lucerne, serving as an interchange station for Rigi visitors.
Grand hotels were constructed across the mountain, including facilities at Kulm, Staffel, Klösterli, Rigi-First, Scheidegg and Kaltbad, providing approximately 2,000 hotel beds in total. Notable establishments included the fashionable Grand Hotel Schreiber at Rigi Kulm (opened 1875) with accommodation for 300 guests, and the high-class Rigi Kaltbad hotel (opened 1868) featuring 240 beds and various social rooms.
The mountain attracted distinguished visitors, including Queen Victoria of England, who rode on horseback from Küssnacht to Rigi Känzeli in 1868 and wrote "We are amused!" in her diary. In 1879, American author Mark Twain visited and wrote his humorous travel journal "A Trip to Mount Rigi".
Authorities in Zurich and Winterthur banned school trips to the Rigi, and the Zurich Department of Health demanded written measures from Schwyz Cantonal Council to prevent future incidents. An investigation by district physician Carl Real revealed that contaminated drinking water, not mountain air, was the cause. The water supply systems were found to be in "scandalous" condition, with coli bacteria repeatedly detected.
The Kulm and Staffel hotels had particularly problematic water systems that mixed drinking water sources with wastewater from higher elevations, creating a cycle of contamination. In 1914, geology professor Albert Heim publicly warned Zurich residents: "If you go to the Rigi, don't drink one drop of the water!". This led to a high-profile defamation lawsuit by hotelier Joseph Fassbind against Heim, though the Zurich District Court ultimately rejected Fassbind's claim in 1917, finding the water source to be "highly questionable".
After World War II, Mount Rigi transitioned "from being the preserve of the holidaying elite to a day trip destination for mass tourism". The mountain's infrastructure was modernized with new transportation systems, including the Weggis-Rigi Kaltbad aerial cable car (opened 1968) and the integration of the various railway companies into Rigi Railways in 1992.
Modern developments included the opening of the Mineral Bath & Spa designed by architect Mario Botta in 2012. In 2016, Mount Rigi Railways achieved record passenger numbers with over 305,000 passengers in a single quarter, marking the best results in its 145-year history.
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