The Matterhorn Museum sits entirely underground beneath the village centre, entered through a glass pavilion beside the church. The museum traces the history of Zermatt from a farming village to alpine resort, and centres on the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 and its disastrous aftermath. The collection includes the original rope that broke on the descent, the equipment of the climbers who died, and the reconstituted interiors of Victorian-era Zermatt buildings.
The exhibition is thoughtfully done — serious about the mountaineering history without being dry, and honest about the tragedy and controversy that followed. There is a separate gallery on the geology and natural history of the Pennine Alps. Worth an hour; very good if it's raining and the mountains are invisible, which happens.