Brienz

Brienz's wood carving tradition began during the hunger years of 1816-1817 following the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 (the 'Year Without a Summer'). Wood turner Christian Fischer (1790-1848) began decorating everyday objects with carvings and selling them to tourists. He taught the skill to others, and by 1843 there were approximately 300 woodcarvers around Brienz. By 1880, approximately 2,000 woodcarvers worked across the Bernese Oberland. The Schule fuer Holzbildhauerei, founded in 1884, is the only institution in Switzerland for vocational wood carving training.

The Brienz Rothorn Bahn is the only regularly operating steam-powered cog railway in Switzerland, 7.6 km long, climbing from 566 m to 2,244 m. It opened on 16 June 1892. In 1958, a general meeting voted to demolish the railway, but community opposition saved it. Five original locomotives from 1891/92 survive; Nos. 2 and 5 are still in regular operation, making them among the oldest continuously operating steam locomotives in the world. The railway was never electrified because it was mothballed during wartime when other railways modernised.

Lake Brienz is a glacial lake with famously intense turquoise water. The colour comes from glacial flour -- tiny rock particles ground by glaciers and washed into the lake by the Aare and Luetschine rivers. Approximately 10,000 years ago, Lake Brienz and Lake Thun were a single body of water called the Wendelsee; sediment from the Luetschine and Lombach rivers built up the Boedeli (the Interlaken plain), splitting the lake in two by roughly the 10th century.

The Giessbachfaelle plunge approximately 500 metres through 14 cascades into Lake Brienz. The Grand Hotel Giessbach was designed in French Baroque palace style around 1875. In 1879, Roman Abt built the Giessbachbahn -- the oldest tourist funicular in Europe still in operation. In 1979, the hotel closed and faced demolition for a modern apartment complex. Environmentalist Franz Weber launched the foundation 'Giessbach dem Schweizervolk' in 1983, raising 3 million francs from over 80,000 donors to save it.

The Ballenberg Open-Air Museum near Brienz is Switzerland's only open-air museum, established in 1968 and opened in 1978. Over 100 historic buildings from across all regions of Switzerland have been dismantled at their original locations -- stone by stone, beam by beam -- and reconstructed on the 66-hectare site. The oldest building is a residential dwelling from 1336 from Schwyz. Over 200 native farm animals populate the grounds, and traditional crafts are demonstrated daily.

The Swiss School of Violin Making in Brienz was founded on 1 July 1944, initiated by Prof. Dr. Heinrich Hanselmann and Dr. Max Gafner. The school was conceived during the economic crisis when tourism had collapsed and many woodcarvers were unemployed -- the founders believed violin making could offer new economic potential by building on existing woodworking skills. Adolf Koenig served as the first principal from 1944 to 1973. The school nearly closed in 1996 but was saved by a private committee.

On the night of 22-23 August 2005, extreme rainfall triggered catastrophic debris flows from the Glyssibach and Trachtbach that struck Brienz. Warning sirens sounded at 11:30 PM; a wall of mud and boulders up to eight metres high swept through the village. Two women were killed, eight houses completely destroyed, thirteen more damaged. Approximately 400 residents were evacuated. The event was part of the 2005 European floods, the most destructive natural event recorded in Switzerland since systematic recording began.

The Brienz Rothorn railway was initiated by manufacturer Karl Brueck and engineer Alexander Lindner, who submitted a concession application on 15 October 1889. Construction contractor Theodor Bertschinger mobilised approximately 700 workers (primarily from Italy) who completed the line in 16 months at a cost of 2.2 million Swiss francs. Mountain railway pioneer Roman Abt equipped the line with his rack system. The railway opened on 16 June 1892.