Twenty Francs 2018 Klausen Pass, Coin from Switzerland - detailed information

The Twenty Francs coin is a denomination of the Swiss Franc. Given that Switzerland has four official languages, the Franc has three different names: Franken in German, franc in French and Romansh, and franco in Italian.

In regular circulation, the denomination is served by a banknote. These coins are non-circulating legal tender made for collectors. They are issued in topical series, celebrating various aspects of Swiss heritage or nature.

The edge is usually inscribed with the motto DOMINUS PROVIDEBIT (The Lord will provide - a quote from the Bible, Genesis 22, 8), and thirteen stars representing the original thirteen cantons of the Swiss Federation.

This coin features the Klausen Pass in Switzerland and is one of a series of coins dedicated to the mountain passes of the country.

The 1,948 metre-high Klausen pass is 46km long and links the valley of Schächental in the canton of Uri with the rear of Linthal in the canton of Glarus. As a non-transalpine route, the Klausen pass was of no significance during either Roman times or the Middle Ages. However, no later than the High Middle Ages, a simple cattle track existed which was mostly used for moving cattle to the Alpine pastures on the Urnerboden. A customs post in Bürglen monitored the insignificant local trade. Following Alpine disputes concerning the border between Uri and Glarus on the Urnerboden (it runs through the side of the mountain pass away from Uri), an agreement was reached in the 12th century. Commercial interest in a road over the Klausen pass grew with the opening of the Gotthard railway line in 1882 because the new north-south route was reliant on link-roads. After the project received the armyʹs support, it was quickly built between 1893 and 1899. The big day came on 15 June 1900: the first stagecoach drove over the mountain pass and opened up the magnificent landscape between Linthal and Altdorf to tourism. The Klausen pass gained fame from the legendary Klausenrace, a historic mountain race for cars and motorcycles.