Though the pass was locally known in antiquity, it was not generally used until the early 13th century because it involved fording the turbulent Reuss, swollen with snowmelt during the early summer, in the narrow steep-sided Schöllenen Gorge (the Schöllenenschlucht), below Andermatt. As early as 1236, it was dedicated to the Bavarian Saint Gotthard of Hildesheim.
