where in the world is Middle Earth?
By: Rachel Kim
Switzerland
Interesting Fact! Did you know that Switzerland does not have any extreme climates, and is mostly all moderate? Switzerland has many beautiful features like the places described in the Hobbit. There are almost places where it is gloomy, or even mysterious. Because of these similarities, Middle Earth exists in Switzerland. so, the novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the rings existed in the Middle Earth, which is in Switzerland.
The features of Switzerland
Switzerland has many beautiful landscapes, and hills. These look similar to the ones described in the Middle Earth. It almost looks magical, because of the mountains. The Alps are a part of Switzerland, where there are many grasslands, some sow, and high hills. This can be compared to the lonely mountains in The Hobbit. Also, there are forests and a river in between it, just like the time when a pony with food with it ran off and fell into the river, taking most of the food with it, in chapter 2. Also, there are caves. An underground cave in Saint Leonard looks like the cave where Bilbo and the Gollum met. It has water, the lake that Bilbo accidentally fell in while walking in chapter 5. Also, Switzerland has has underground shires, which are like the Hobbit-hole like houses, described in Chapter one in the Book, Hobbit. Finally, in Switzerland, there are very very dark forests, like the one in chapter 8, where Bilbo and the dwarves try to get over. The forests in Switzerland are very alike to them. The forest is so dark, you can barely see anything at night, and as it says, it almost looks enchanted.
Shires
These are some underground Shires in Switzerland. IT almost looks alike to the hobbit holes in the book, Hobbit. They are real, and there are even some with modern design.
Mountains
These are the mountains in Switzerland. It almost looks magical, like the misty mountains.
Forest
This is the Dark forest in Switzerland. It is so dark, you can barely see the forest. Imagine it at night, you could barely see anything! This forest is like the one Bilbo and the dwarves went through in chapter 8, flies and spiders.
Mythology of Switzerland
There are many mythological creatures in the book, Hobbit. There are creatures like hobbits, dwarves, wizards, gollum, and many more, mentioned all throughout the chapters. There is a myth in Switzerland called the dwarves of the Alps. As explained earlier, the Alps are like the misty mountains. So, it makes perfect sense, because the dwarves and Bilbo went through the misty mountains in chapter 4. Also, there is a creature named the Barbegazi. It is shorter than a man, like a hobbit. This is said in Chapter one, it says," they were little people, about half out height". Also, the Barbegazi has white beards and they live in tunnels and caves. The white beards can be compared to Gandalf, the wizard. In the story, it says that he had a long white beard in chapter 1. Also, the Gollum lived in a cave, said in chapter 5, RIddles in the dark. My prediction is that all of the characteristics of the characters in the book came from the characteristics of a Barbegazi, forming different and various characters.
Other features
There are places in Switzerland that also can be similar to the settings in the hobbit. For example, there are mysterious castles. In the chapter, Not at home, they are in the castle, the dol golfer. It is a wired, almost mysterious . The castles not Switzerland is abandoned, and it looks enchanted. here is also a forest, and a lake in between it, like the one that bombur fell in, in chapter 8, while they were trying to get past the enchanted river. They were in a forest, and were trying to get through the river, and the Physical feature shown in the right is in switzerland, and a river is in between the forest, and could be shown as the river in the Hobbit.
Barbegazi
This is the dwarf/ gnome that seems to have many of the characteristics of the characters in the Hobbit. As seen in the picture, it has a white beard, and does not really look tall. It lives in tunnels and caves, and uses its big feet to travel down the steep hills of the mountains.
The Misty Mountains
..................Comparing the two
Switzerland's mountain, the Dom
Can't Middle Earth be somewhere else, too?
There may be some places like middle earth other than Switzerland. For example, let's take Ecuador. It has beautiful features, like Switzerland. It also has caves, but it is not as similar to the one described in the Hobbit than Switzerland's caves. Also, the map of Ecuador looks similar to the map of Middle Earth. It also has mountain ranges where it looks similar to the lonely mountains in chapter 4. However, the Mountain ranges in Switzerland looks more similar to the ones in the hobbit, and even though it does not have similar maps, it can still be inside of switzerland. Finally, the mythology of Ecuador can be explained, too. There is a myth of the chupacabra, where it can look similar to the Gollum. However, there is no direct mythology of the dwarves in the mountains, like Switzerland with the dwarves in the Alps. So, in conclusion, even though Ecuador may have some characteristics that can be related to Middle Earth, Switzerland has the most characteristics that it can be Middle Earth.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Switzerland is definitely Middle Earth. There are physical features, mythology, and even culture that match up to Middle Earth. There is no other place in the world that can be Middle Earth. The mountain ranges, the Alps where the dwarves are located, caves, shires, forests, almost everything in the Hobbit can be found in Switzerland. Even when it is compared with another country, it will be the country that better fits for Middle Earth. So with all of these evidence on why, Middle Earth exists in Switzerland.
Sources
1. The book, Hobbit