1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Jungfrau
JUNGFRAU, a well-known Swiss mountain (13,669 ft.), admirably seen from Interlaken. It rises on the frontier between the cantons of Bern and of the Valais, and is reckoned among the peaks of the Bernese Oberland, two of which (the Finsteraarhorn, 14,026 ft., and the Aletschhorn, 13,721 ft.) surpass it in height. It was first ascended in 1811 by the brothers Meyer, and again in 1812 by Gottlieb Meyer (son of J. R. Meyer), in both cases by the eastern or Valais side, the foot of which (the final ascent being made by the 1811–1812 route) was reached in 1828 over the Mönchjoch by six peasants from Grindelwald. In 1841 Principal J. D. Forbes, with Agassiz, Desor and Du Châtelier, made the fourth ascent by the 1812 route. It was not till 1865 that Sir George Young and the Rev. H. B. George succeeded in making the first ascent from the west or Interlaken side. This is a far more difficult route than that from the east, the latter being now frequently taken in the course of the summer. (W. A. B. C.)