Chalets and Woodcarving in Brienz

2 August 2019

The meaning of the word Chalet as a characterisation of all wooden houses in Switzerland dates from the nineteenth century and can be attributed to English tourists.

Until then, a chalet was a wooden house high up in the alpine meadows and intended to accommodate the farmers in the summer. In the nineteenth-century sense of the word, the village of Brienz on the Brienzersee has a true art treasure to offer.

The many authentic chalets and woodcarving crafts have made this place famous, as evidenced by the Woodcarving Museum (Schweizerisches Museum für Holzbildbauerei), the school for violin makers (Geigenbauschule) and many woodcarving workshops.

(Further information: www.brienzersee.ch).