Moléson, Mountain peak in Fribourg Pre-Alps, Switzerland

Moléson is a limestone peak in the Fribourg Pre-Alps reaching 2002 meters, sitting above the Gruyère region and marking the landscape visibly from many directions. The mountain displays steep rock faces on its upper portions, with meadows and forests covering the lower slopes.

The name is attested around the year 1000 as Moleisum, then as Moleisun in 1228 and Moleyson in 1237; its etymology is debated, with proposed roots in a Gaulish word for larch, an Old French term for wet meadow, and Latin mola summum. Admiration for the peak began in the late 18th century, and from 1870 hotel and railway projects (1905-1908) were blocked by alpine heritage defenders. A cable car and ski lifts followed from 1960, the holiday village in 1980 and the funicular in 1998.

The name Moléson is of uncertain origin: it is recorded around the year 1000 as Moleisum and in 1228 as Moleisun, and scholars have proposed the Gaulish molatia (larch), Old French moloise (damp meadow) or mola summum (summit of a hill). The folk song L'Armailli du Moléson, set to music by Casimir Meister and sung by Abbé Bovet, celebrates the mountain and the Gruyère herdsmen. The peak also appears on the 2024 official photograph of the Federal Council, and the asteroid (221712) Moléson bears its name.

The funicular from Moléson-Village (1109.5 m) to Plan-Francey (1520.5 m) covers 1364 m at 10 m/s and holds 90 people; a 60-seat cable car rebuilt in 2011 continues to the summit. Both run from late May to early November. The black summit run is ungroomed and narrow, so its opening depends on wind and snow cover.

The summit restaurant houses an observatory with four telescopes for amateur astronomers. The mountain also gave its name to asteroid (221712) Moléson, and it appears on the Swiss Federal Council's official 2024 photograph.