To commemorate the founder of the Red Cross organisation the east summit of the Dufour peak got its name changed. During the official renaming ceremony on the 6th October 2014 it became the Dunant Peak.
The former name for both summits came from Guillaume-Henri Dufour (1787-1875), a “peace/building” general and a man who drew up the first topographic charts of Switzerland. Now the east summit honours Dufour’s contemporary, Henry Dunant (1828- 1910).
Dunant was a founder of the Red Cross, established after the tragic battle of Solferino in 1859. The most important battle during the Second Italian War of Independence left thousands soldiers died or heavily injured on a battlefield. It motivated Dunant not only to establishing the Red Cross in 1864, but also to starting a campaign that eventually resulted in the Geneva Conventions. This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Red Cross establishment.
The highest peak of Monte Rosa
Dufour Peak is the highest elevation (4 634 m) among 12 peaks of the Monte Rosa Massif and the highest summit in Switzerland. Now the 2-meter-shorter (4 632 m) east summit got the name for its own – the Dunant Peak. Both summits are the popular destination among alpinists as it requires no more than medium technical climbing abilities as for the peak over 4 000 m.